On Monday, the UK got a new Prime Minister, and he set to work straight away trying to make everyone happy. Even before he set foot inside Number Ten, he promised to eradicate rough sleeping. The next day, he gave every household a £45 tax cut by dropping tax on electricity charges. Then he announced that pubs would get a discount on their business rates. And that was all before he set off for a day in Manchester to start the relocation of some of Downing Street’s activities to his home town. It was a week of giveaways and announcements designed to make everyone smile.
Except, of course, not everyone is happy. Businesses on the same High Street as pubs say they have been “left out in the cold”. Plus, there is unhappiness that the focus on Manchester means the West Country will be ignored. It turns out, you can’t make everyone happy.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. An interesting new study has mapped happiness across the world and identified five ways to improve it. Researchers from Poland found that a nation’s overall happiness depends on five factors. This new research shows that the main factor in a nation’s overall happiness is people being empowered to be autonomous within a caring society. That’s typical of Scandinavian countries, which regularly appear among the happiest nations listings. Being part of a community increases happiness. However, it can also decrease happiness if that sense of community goes “too far” and sets the group against others.
The second factor in overall happiness is being in a society based on science, evidence, and critical thinking rather than dogma. The study confirmed that when people have good food, shelter and access to healthcare, they are also happy. The fourth factor was effective governance and the security it brings. Finally, happiness is driven by feeling closely connected to the people around you.
None of this should come as much of a surprise. What is interesting is that it was published at around the same time as a study of emotions in the workplace from researchers in Barcelona. It appears that there are significant connections between the two studies.
The Barcelona study found that people are happiest at work when they have higher levels of autonomy. That micro-managing boss is bound to make you unhappy…! A collaborative environment was also important for positive emotions at work. The researchers pointed out that it was inevitable that there would be setbacks in business that led to negative emotions. However, they added that the impact of these issues could be minimised by creating the right environment to foster greater positivity.
In her book, The Win-Win Workplace, Dr Angela Jackson suggests that creating a positive work environment increases a range of business outcomes, including productivity and profits. Her ideas are backed with evidence from a range of companies. Indeed, research has shown that increasing happiness in the workplace improves innovation. Research at the University of Oxford a few years ago demonstrated that employee happiness increases productivity by 13%. Also, a Gallup study has shown that engaged employees boost profits by 23%. Wherever you look, there is evidence to show that happy people who are engaged in the workplace have multiple benefits – including staying with your business longer.
However, much of this depends upon one crucial thing: the behaviour of the boss. A boss who is willing to “let go”, to give employees more freedom and to encourage them to work together to achieve things, will create a happy workplace. A boss who insists on controlling every decision is much more likely to generate frustration, anxiety and disengagement.
The test for Andy Burnham, therefore, will not be how many announcements he makes in his first week. It will be about whether he can resist the urge to control everything himself and instead give ministers, officials and communities the freedom to deliver. You heard it here first…!
