Happiness @work is serious business part 2: Tips & our client experiences

When I recently published an article on this topic, I was pleased to get so many positive responses. I wrote about successful companies that value happiness at the workplace and show us how employee well-being drives profits.

The main reactions I got back were, ‘great article, very insightful, where should we start, and how can we measure Happiness at the Workplace?’ And those kinds of questions make me happy!  It tells me that also on our islands more and more organizations become aware of how important it is to maintain and improve the employee experience and company culture.

One of my clients who takes ‘Happiness at the Workplace’ very seriously is the Giannis Group in Aruba. This family-owned business which employs almost 400 people, runs 8 successful restaurants on our tiny neighbor island. Only that is impressive enough I would say!  The recently assigned a wellness manager who is in charge of the well-being of all employees and makes sure core values are lived by. Their vitality program is very well attended and at the moment they are in the process of assigning happiness officers in each department.

What I like very much about these developments is that they are employee-driven. It’s the team itself that feels the need to cultivate a happy and healthy workplace and initiatives brought forward are usually supported by management.

The most important condition however to realize the cultural transformation you pursue as an organization, is the way it is orchestrated by the leaders in your company.

Here is some advice:

1) As a leader or management team, you have to make sure that your Happiness Journey is embedded in your strategy and your Key Performance Indicators. When you assign happiness officers, make sure there is a clear vision on how they will contribute to the long-term strategy and what is expected from them on a daily basis to get there.

2) If you consider implementing tools, team development/leadership programs, or Happiness Boosters, make sure you measure those interventions through surveys and feedback. Happiness is also measurable!

3) Practice what you preach and show that as a leader you are willing to grow and learn yourself. So besides investing in the well-being and growth of your team, also put the effort into your own development: Lead by example!

In other words, creating a happy workplace requires investments of everyone who is part of the team and Happiness is measurable! The success of this Happiness Journey depends very much on how leadership is taken and how well you can reflect on yourself. If you would like to elaborate with us on how to build a workplace people love and how to keep track of employee engagement and happy & healthy employees, we can offer you our free grow session.