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How Happy Are You?

The (USA) founding fathers declared that the pursuit of happiness was a right of the people.  So do you have a right to be happy at work?  No.  But you may pursue happiness there as well as anywhere.  And you may wonder if happiness at work will be more productive.  There is not yet enough study in this regard, and the studies of 19th C. work methods like the Hawthorne Studies might not be generalizable to the modern knowledge workers.

The Surprising Myths About Happiness at Work (Inc.com)  A body of research has found that a happy workforce doesn't necessarily equate to a productive one.
The Research We’ve Ignored About Happiness at Work (HBR.com)

The Science of Happiness in depth report by Scientific American.

The Harvard Life study of Happiness 75 years of it.


Learn the latest psychology behind why it's hard to be happy, and take the quiz to learn how your contentment compares to that in other cultures.

Scientific American

"Happiness varies not only from one person to the next but also from one country to another. (For more discussion of happiness around the world, see The Many Faces of Happiness.) Psychologists measure happiness in several ways. One approach involves the extent to which you experience positive versus negative emotions. Another assesses life satisfaction, or how pleased you are with your life as a whole."

Quiz: How Happy Are You?: Scientific American:

So maybe happiness at work is not a smart goal for a leader of an organization.  Perhaps it is an externality of some other aspect; think correlation not causation.  So what could be the savvy leaders smart goal?  I believe that Richard Sheridan has arrived at a viable solution and sees the externality of happiness in his employees.   Please don't mistake the cinnamon of Joy with Happiness... that is not his root purpose as a leader.  It is his desire... but he achieves the desire via other methods.  One is to create a safe to fail environment for his work force.  As a leader his main task is to drive fear from the room/office/environment and the organization.




See Also:

Warning: Your Workplace Can Improve By Adding Joy. Yes, I said Joy by Guy Kawasaki 

You'll Never Work Alone (Inc.com) At Menlo Innovations, all work (seriously, all work) is done by pairs.

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