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.

1. Happiness at Work
Nic Marks
Happiness Works
"
@happiness_works

6. Watt’s Perfect Engine

7. Watt’s Governor – beautifully simple

8. We are emotional beings

9.
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.

10. emotions are contagious

11. emotions are contagious
we co-ordinate them

12. emotions are contagious
and communicate with them

13. emotions are contagious
we share them
Photo by Annika Bischof

15. "
ED :
CT
NE
ON
C
"
tworks
e
social n es
f
ower o e our liv "
p
"
9
mazing hey shap
ea
er; 200
l
Th
how t
es Fow
m
and
is & Ja
k
Christa
icholas
N

17. =2,000+

18. • 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

19. 3
great
pieces
of
research
about
happiness
at
work

20. 1
the
role
of
posi7ve
emo7ons
in
team
performance

21. 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) "

22. Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"
Team Performance
HIGH (15)
MEDIUM (26)
LOW (19)

23. Role of Emotions at Work"
Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"
Team Performance
HIGH (15)
MEDIUM (26)
LOW (19)
Positivity / Negativity
ratio

24. 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

25. 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

26. Happiness
at
Work
• So
does
Happiness
come
from
HIGH
performance?
• Or
does
Happiness
lead
to
HIGH
performance?
• Or
both!

27. 2
the
rela7onship
between
happiness
and
performance
through
7me

29. Happiness
at
Work
Happiness
T1
Happiness
T2
Performance
T1
Performance
T2
11
organisa7ons;
2,000+
teams;
140,000+
respondents

30. Happiness
at
Work
Happiness
T1
Happiness
T2
Performance
T1
Performance
T2
11
organisa7ons;
2,000+
teams;
140,000+
respondents

31. Happiness
at
Work
Happiness
T1
Happiness
T2
Performance
T1
Performance
T2
11
organisa7ons;
2,000+
teams;
140,000+
respondents

32. Happiness
at
Work
Happiness
T1
Happiness
T2
Performance
T1
Performance
T2
11
organisa7ons;
2,000+
teams;
140,000+
respondents

33. 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

34. 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

35. Happiness
works!
It
is
a
serious
business
…
But
somehow
it
is
not
being
taken
seriously

36. 3
the
stock
market
performance
of
great
places
to
work

37. “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

38. “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

39. 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

40. 350%
300%
250%
200%
150%
100%
50%
0%
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

41. 350%
300%
250%
200%
150%
100%
50%
0%
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

42. 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

43. 2.5x
ROI
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

46. • 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

47. What
could
it
mean
for
your
company?

49. 49

50. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
data
Absenteesim
Staff
Turnover
Produc7vity
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
Modest
es%mate
Benefit

51. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
data
Absenteesim
-­‐38%
Staff
Turnover
down
25-­‐65%
Produc7vity
up
21%
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up10%
Modest
es%mate
Benefit

52. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
data
Absenteesim
Modest
es%mate
-­‐38%
-­‐10%
Staff
Turnover
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up10%
+10%
Benefit

53. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL

54. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL
£16,667

55. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
£16,667
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
£15,680
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL

56. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
£16,667
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
£15,680
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
£122,500
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL

57. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
£16,667
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
£15,680
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
£122,500
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
??
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL
(lower
cost
of
sales)

58. Benefits
of
Happiness
at
Work
Gallup
Modest
Benefit
data
es%mate
Absenteesim
down
38%
-­‐10%
£16,667
down
25-­‐65%
-­‐10%
£15,680
Produc7vity
up
21%
+5%
£122,500
Customer
Sa7sfac7on
up
10%
+10%
??
Staff
Turnover
TOTAL
(lower
cost
of
sales)
£154,847

59. 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!"

60. Taking
happiness
mainstream

61. Taking
happiness
mainstream
Pragmatists
"
Enthusiasts
"
Innovators
"
Conservatives
"
Skeptics
"
Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999
"

62. Mind
the
gap
…
Pragmatists
"
Enthusiasts
"
Innovators
"
Conservatives
"
Skeptics
"
Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999
"

63. Understanding
the
gap
…
Innovators &
Enthusiasts"
Creating the future"
The
GAP"
Pragmatists"
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”"

64. Happiness
works
…
Innovators &
Enthusiasts"
Creating the future"
Enjoys being the first"
Likes new ideas"
Inspired by the vision"
“State of the art”"
The
GAP"
✔✔
✔✔
✔✔
Pragmatists"
Dealing with the present"
Values experience"
Likes what works "
Interested in details"
“Industry standard”"
www.happinessatworksurvey.com

65. a
sta7s7cian’s
strategy
for
bridging
the
gap

66. 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?"

67. 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. Business Case:"
10 reasons why
a happiness
survey is better
than
engagement
surveys"
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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"
68

70. “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. 71

72. 72

73. 73

74. www.happinessatworksurvey.com"
74

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 "
75

76. “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
77

78. Only
if
insights
are
generated
and
acted
on
will
change
happen

79. Happiness
Insight
Engines?

80. www.happinessworks.com

81. www.happinessworks.com