Happiness at work: A business imperative

For organizations today, the business case for keeping employees happy holds an even greater relevance as it is a proven fact that employee happiness leads to productivity at work. Thus, to achieve business excellence, it is becoming increasingly important for organizations to focus on providing an impeccable employee experience and create a work environment that is conducive to performance. 

In order to explore the numerous strands of thoughts around employee happiness and fostering better thought leadership on the matter, NIPM Kerala Chapter recently organized 'HR Con 2017', the institution's biennial HR Conclave and Exposition on the theme of 'Happiness @ Work: Realigning workforce & workplace'. The two-day event saw an enthusiastic participation from a bevy of HR practitioners and leaders eager to make, share and take back powerful insights on how to make their workplace a ‘La La Land’. Furthermore, the exposition featured exhibits from several HR tech vendors who showcase the latest technologies in employee well-being to the HR professionals.    

In the inaugural session, Prof. Biju Varkkey, Faculty Member, IIM Ahmedabad disclosed that the endeavor of the program was to link the existing practices in employee engagement with the emerging global trends. And that for organizations, there are four key drivers to employee experience – meaning-making, safety (psychological and physical), availability (mental and physical) and a sense of community.  

During the same session, Kris Lakshmikanth, CMD, Head Hunters India, made a pertinent point about the high cost of unhappy employees, and spoke of the importance of addressing the needs and expectations of the millennial generation. Echoing Kris’s thoughts, Nithya Subburaj, HR Strategy Advisor, SAP explained how service providers have already begun to address this trend, discussing about the new mental models that are based on the thought processes of the millennial generation. She summed up her take on the topic by stating that: “treat employees like they make a difference, and they eventually will”. Addressing the topic from the employee’s perspective, Dr. Ushy Mohan Das, CEO, Dr Ushy’s Wisdom Works, also encouraged employees to meditate in their workspaces, and be more aware of every passing moment in life, to be truly happy. 

The second day of the conference saw discussions on the primary actionables that organizations should undertake in enabling the change. Ravi Vyas, performance and leadership coach, through an anecdote from his life stressed on the fact that all organizations need to make their employees happy, involve them in the critical activities, and make them understand how they are contributing to the overall success of the company.

Drilling down on the mechanisms for evaluating happiness at work, Swati Dwivedi, Business HR Head, Marico, discussed how they developed their own model of employee engagement with the core elements of Pride, Advocacy and Discretionary effort. Zac Thomas, CEO, HR 90Degrees Consulting Services, also unraveled case studies of an Egyptian and a Turkish company, where the key motivating factors for the respective countries’ individuals were taken as the basis for designing customized employee engagement programs.

One of the highlights of the symposium was the special session on CEO's take on happiness and its impact on business. The discussion featured NS Parthasarathy, Exec. Vice Chairman & COO, Mindtree, and Jofin Joseph, Head of Operations, India at FullContact, who shared some unique perspectives such as a manager's thinking style has to change from being a taskmaster to being a helper for employees; and organizational change cannot happen when you’re going by the rulebook; it will happen when the senior leaders have enough conversations. As Dr. Velumani, MD Thyrocare Technologies Ltd., truly puts it "If you don't love your employee, your competitor will."