Happy at work?

Honeydew team attended an inspirational talk about how to become happy at work. The room full of HR professionals all agreed that a happy workforce is a productive one and the speaker, Henry Stewart of Happy Ltd, suggested that the primary strategic goal of any business should be to make its employees happy for best results operationally and financially.

When you think about the things Stewart had to say, a lot of it harks true: When have you worked the hardest and been the most productive? When motivated by money? When you had clear communication from management? No, everyone present agreed that the most productivity was found when you felt challenged and had trust and freedom to tackle the challenge in your own way.

We also discussed people management and the role of managers. Being promoted to a managerial role is often the natural reward for a job well done but too often this puts people who are ill equipped to manage others in a position they don’t even feel comfortable in. Separating those who are good at what they do and others who are good at managing people, is a key step toward a happier workforce. Many successful companies like Gore, Microsoft, Google, IBM etc already recognise this to their great advantage.

It was also interesting to hear Stewart ask what would be the recommended course of action after an employee has had an appraisal where their strengths and weaknesses were listed. Many answered: training and development in the weak areas. Stewart suggested differently, however. Why not focus on the strengths and make sure each employee can really tap into his or her strengths to the company’s benefit?

Of course it’s not always as straightforward as it may seem at the face of. In some work environments it’s not possible to allow people to elect their own managers or set their own targets. It might not be practical to pre-approve projects or let everyone choose that they prefer not to take on managerial responsibilities. Nevertheless, it’s good to attend talks like this one, if only to make you think about your own ways of doing things. My biggest revelation of the day was to realise that I shouldn’t aim, as Stewart put it, to clone my team members to become like myself but rather to let them find their own ways of getting the job done – maybe even better than I could’ve done!

If you want to find out more about Happy Ltd, visit their website www.happy.co.uk or if you’re interested in inspiring your own staff to be happier at work, get in touch with Honeydew to see how we can help!