Corporates Turn to Inject Happiness at Workplace, the Bhutan Way
Happiness Quotient (HQ), till now associated with Bhutan that had the Gross National Happiness and called itself the happiest nation, has now reached corporate boardrooms.
Being engaged at work, being made to feel inclusive, being given responsibilities at a young age are some of the injectors of happiness at the workplace suggested by HR managers. While no two companies have the same HQ, it is seen as being very contextual. “An employee at a Coffee Day outlet feels happiest when he/she serves a celebrity he/she is a fan of,” said a top HR professional.
According to Raj Raghavan, Director, Country HR Leader, Amazon India, it is important to be compulsively engaged at work rather than just focus on happiness. Happiness and success are not relative terms and optimism should never be equated with happiness. “Happiness,” he added, “is contextual and depends on a person’s emotional intelligence. Companies can only help in creating an inclusive environment, but at the end everyone needs to persevere on their own.”
Atul Sharma, Senior General Manager – HR, Bosch, meanwhile, says that happy employees at the shop floor and front line can lead to safer workplace. “Though happiness is a state of mind, we need a few injectors to us happy — work-life balance, creating sufficient opportunities for employees to learn and a positive work environment. However, there should be some purpose that would become the main driver of happiness,” he said. Sharma should know, given that the company is known for its strikes by employees, every two years or so.
Balachander N, Group Director – HR, Coffee Day Group added that it is also key to HQ that companies have a clear growth path and seniors who work to ensure that sub-ordinates have full faith in them.
“Giving responsibility at a young age, appreciating, acknowledging and rewarding quickly and a having a defined career and personal growth programme laid the path for happiness as a culture for any organization,” he said.
Employee happiness is also linked to employee engagement. “At the workplace, it is important to work on morale of employees by defining clear roles, constructive feedback, interesting job profiles, favorable work environment etc,” pointed out Sudheesh Venkatesh, Chief People Officer, Azim Premji Foundation.