why happiness at work is a serious business - nic marks speaking at nixonmcinnes, nov '13
DESCRIPTION
On the first Friday of every month we ask a speaker to join us for our team meeting. We drink beer, we eat crisps and we invite in new ideas, new people and new possibilities. In December we were delighted to be joined by TED speaker, well-being researcher and creator of The Happy Planet Index - Nic Marks from Happiness Works. Nic's company provide science-based online tools that instantly give organisations of any shape or size the power to change into happier and more productive workplaces. He'll spoke to us about the science behind the serious business of happiness.TRANSCRIPT
Happiness at Work
Nic MarksHappiness Works @happiness_works"
Watt’s Perfect Engine
Watt’s Governor – beautifully simple
We are emotional beings
Barbara Fredrickson’s theory of the evolu7onary role of posi7ve emo7ons
1. Posi7ve emo7ons BROADEN our thoughts & ac7ons: paying more a,en-on, being more crea-ve & playful, open to rela-onships, and flexible.
2. Posi7ve emo7ons BUILD psychological resources: resilience, coping, physical abili-es, emo-onal intelligence, social skills and self mastery.
emotions are contagious
emotions are contagious we co-ordinate them
emotions are contagious and communicate with them
emotions are contagious we share them
Photo by Annika Bischof
CONNECTED:"The amazing power of social networks "
and how they shape our lives"
Nicholas Christakis & James Fowler; 2009"
=2,000+
• Emo7ons help us regulate our behavior
• They are also highly contagious
• “Nega7ve” emo7ons help us deal with threats
• “Posi7ve” emo7ons help us deal with (and create) opportuni7es
3 great pieces of research
about
happiness at work
1 the role of posi7ve emo7ons in
team performance
Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work""Study of 60 Strategic Business Unit teams, each of eight
people, all from within the same organisation.""The SBUs performance categorised in terms of:"
– Profitability (SBU profit & loss accounts)"– Customer satisfaction (surveys & interviews)"
Each “utterance” in meeting was coded in terms of:"– Positivity (support, encouragement, appreciation)"– Negativity (disapproval, sarcasm, cynicism) "
Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"
Team Performance
HIGH (15)
MEDIUM (26)
LOW (19)
Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"
Team Performance Positivity / Negativity ratio
HIGH (15)
MEDIUM (26)
LOW (19)
Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"
Team Performance Positivity / Negativity ratio
HIGH (15) 5.61
MEDIUM (26) 1.86
LOW (19) 0.36
Role of Emo7ons at Work
Fredrickson and Losado: Posi7ve teams at work
Magic Ra7o of Posi%ve : Nega%ve
3 : 1 to 8 : 1
BUT – they do NOT show causality
Happiness at Work
• So does Happiness come from HIGH performance?
• Or does Happiness lead to HIGH performance?
• Or both!
2 the rela7onship between
happiness and performance through 7me
Happiness at Work
Happiness T1 Happiness T2
Performance T1 Performance T2
11 organisa7ons; 2,000+ teams; 140,000+ respondents
Happiness at Work
Happiness T1 Happiness T2
Performance T1 Performance T2
11 organisa7ons; 2,000+ teams; 140,000+ respondents
Happiness at Work
Happiness T1 Happiness T2
Performance T1 Performance T2
11 organisa7ons; 2,000+ teams; 140,000+ respondents
Happiness at Work
Happiness T1 Happiness T2
Performance T1 Performance T2
11 organisa7ons; 2,000+ teams; 140,000+ respondents
Both models fi_ed the data … Source: Causal impact of employee percep7ons on the bo_om line of organisa7ons; James Harter et al; Perspec7ves on psychological science 5(4); 2010
Both models fi_ed the data … but Model 1 was much be_er “these data suggest that the impact of … [happiness at work] on … performance is twice as large as from performance to … [happiness at work]” Source: Causal impact of employee percep7ons on the bo_om line of organisa7ons; James Harter et al; Perspec7ves on psychological science 5(4); 2010
Happiness works! It is a serious business … But somehow it is not being taken seriously
3 the stock market performance of
great places to work
“The management are focused on employees to the detriment of shareholders. Why would I want to buy a stock like that?” Equity analyst quoted in Business Week
“I happen to believe that in order to reward the shareholder in the long term, you have to please your customers and employees.” Jim Sinegal, Costco’s CEO, quoted in the Wall Street Journal
Companies listed in the top 100 “great places to work” have outperformed the market every year between 1985–2011 by 2.3 – 3.8%. Source: “The link between Job Sa7sfac7on and Firm Value” Alex Edmans; Academy of Management Perspec7ves 2012
Source: “The link between Job Sa7sfac7on and Firm Value” Alex Edmans; Academy of Management Perspec7ves 2012
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
CRSP Value weighted index of US stocks
Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Places to Work
Source: “The link between Job Sa7sfac7on and Firm Value” Alex Edmans; Academy of Management Perspec7ves 2012
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
CRSP Value weighted index of US stocks
Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Places to Work
Companies listed in the top 100 “great places to work” have outperformed the market every year between 1985–2011 by 2.3 – 3.8%. Source: “The link between Job Sa7sfac7on and Firm Value” Alex Edmans; Academy of Management Perspec7ves 2012
Companies listed in the top 100 “great places to work” have outperformed the market every year between 1985–2011 by 2.3 – 3.8%. Source: “The link between Job Sa7sfac7on and Firm Value” Alex Edmans; Academy of Management Perspec7ves 2012
2.5x ROI
• Posi7ve teams are characterized by be_er performance
• Happiness at work predicts performance (a leading indicator)
• Happier companies outperform their compe7tors on the stock market
What could it mean for your company?
49
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate
Benefit
Absenteesim
Staff Turnover
Produc7vity
Customer Sa7sfac7on
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate
Benefit
Absenteesim -‐38%
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
Produc7vity up 21%
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up10%
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate
Benefit
Absenteesim -‐38% -‐10%
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10%
Produc7vity up 21% +5%
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up10% +10%
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10%
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10%
Produc7vity up 21%
+5%
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10%
TOTAL
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10% £16,667
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10%
Produc7vity up 21%
+5%
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10%
TOTAL
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10% £16,667
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10% £15,680
Produc7vity up 21%
+5%
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10%
TOTAL
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10% £16,667
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10% £15,680
Produc7vity up 21%
+5% £122,500
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10%
TOTAL
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10% £16,667
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10% £15,680
Produc7vity up 21%
+5% £122,500
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10% ?? (lower cost of sales)
TOTAL
Benefits of Happiness at Work Gallup data
Modest es%mate Benefit
Absenteesim down 38%
-‐10% £16,667
Staff Turnover down 25-‐65%
-‐10% £15,680
Produc7vity up 21%
+5% £122,500
Customer Sa7sfac7on
up 10%
+10% ?? (lower cost of sales)
TOTAL £154,847
Happiness works"• More innovation"• Higher performance"• Shareholder value"plus … lower absenteeism, less staff turnover, better customer service and increased word of mouth recommendations"
"
But “happiness at work” is not mainstream … yet!"
Taking happiness mainstream
Taking happiness mainstream
Enthusiasts"
Pragmatists" Conservatives"
Skeptics"
Innovators" Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999"
Mind the gap …
Pragmatists" Conservatives"
Skeptics"Enthusiasts"
Innovators"Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999"
Understanding the gap …
Innovators & Enthusiasts"
The GAP" Pragmatists"
Creating the future" Dealing with the present"Enjoys being the first" Values experience"
Likes new ideas" Likes what works "Inspired by the vision" Interested in details"
“State of the art”" “Industry standard”"
Happiness works …
Innovators & Enthusiasts"
The GAP" Pragmatists"
Creating the future" Dealing with the present"Enjoys being the first" Values experience"
Likes new ideas" Likes what works "Inspired by the vision" Interested in details"
“State of the art”" “Industry standard”"
✔✔ ✔✔
✔✔
www.happinessatworksurvey.com
a sta7s7cian’s strategy for bridging the gap
a strategy for bridging the gap
• 50% of people have done one in last 3 years"
• 80% of them think it made no difference to their working lives"
• Why?"
what’s wrong with staff surveys?
• Wrong questions"• Bad user experiences"• No feedback to individuals
and teams"• 6 weeks till a report"• Statistics too complicated"• Not enough consistent
follow up and through from the organization"
68
• Happiness is more than engagement"• Instant results"• Team level results"• Easy to use "• Results easy to understand"• Accurate reflection of the organisation"• Encourages conversations and insights"• Helps turn insights into actions"• Measures changes over time"• Based on state of the art measurement
techniques"• More cost effective"
Business Case:"10 reasons why a happiness survey is better than engagement surveys"
“If you look at the modern workplace, I would say it's one of the most feedback-‐deprived places in American civiliza7on.” “feedback comes in the form of a once-‐a-‐year, awkward, 45-‐minute conversa7on with your boss. It's a feedback desert.” Washington Post, 9th January 2011
71
72
73
74
www.happinessatworksurvey.com"
75
Mirrors and Windows"
The happiness at work tool helps organizations and leaders to “lean” towards the future rather than just looking back at last years performance""It acts like a mirror – helping the system become more aware of itself""It also acts like a window – showing the possibility of a better way""Leaning = Learning and Leading "
“the finger that points
to the moon is not the
moon”
77
The BIGGEST conversation"
The tool points to happiness at work but it is NOT happiness at work! It will only be useful if it provokes conversa7ons and insights within the organiza7on And those conversa7ons and insights need to be turned into posi7ve ac7ons
Only if insights are generated
and acted on will change happen
Happiness Insight Engines?
www.happinessworks.com
www.happinessworks.com