We all know them. The team leader who arrives to work on Monday morning looking that little bit too cheerful. The fellow employees who always act as if they’ve just won the lottery – especially when the boss does her rounds. Indeed, one of the reasons we probably find fly-on-the-wall BBC documentary The Call Centre so fascinating is because the unnaturally positive CEO Nev is so deeply irritating.
And this is the dilemma for those who seek to transform the workplace into the set of a sitcom – is that truly achievable without coming across as a cheap parody that annoys everyone?
No doubt the recent concern with happiness among management consultants and employers coincides with the financial crisis. While our jobs have become one of the most central parts of our lives – we are now working more than ever – it is also the biggest cause of anxiety for many of us. If things are not going well at the office, or we see another headline about the unemployment rate, we get stressed. This is hardly the best mental outlook for creative, fulfilling work.
One of the biggest problems with the concept of happiness in the workplace is that it misinterprets the drivers of this emotion. We tend to think of it as something inherent in our personality; if you can just hire naturally happy people then everything will turn out well. But research tells us that happiness largely depends on your social environment, the cues you receive from it, and the feeling of security that derives from it. Instead of referring to unhappy workers we should instead be talking about unhappy workplaces. If your supervisor is bullying you, the staff turnover rate is out of control and pay is lower than industry standards, then being unhappy is a rational response to those surroundings.
In order to make the office a happier place to be, the environment is the first thing to treat. An environment conducive to happier employees might be related to pay or conditions, but it’s also likely to be one where there is support, security and, most importantly, a friendly social climate.
All of the research concurs that one of the most damaging mistakes a company can make is to hire the wrong person in the role of line manager. If they turn out to be nasty to those in their charge – and we’ve all met them, those control freaks who abuse their power for the sake of it – the effect can be irreparable. Some firms where staff morale is low even launch wellbeing at work programmes, led by the supervisor who has caused all the damage. For anyone who has been on the receiving end of the happiness command, the outcome can be utterly soul-destroying.
Moreover, some jobs we do just don’t work if we are overly cheerful. If we saw a police officer restraining a rowdy member of the public with a big grin, appearing to take great pleasure in the task, we would think something were amiss. Not all types of occupation require the over-the-top displays of fake optimism that Nev demands from his call centre employees.
Happiness at work is very important, but it’s more related to the social environment rather than individual personality. We mirror our surroundings. Moreover, artificial attempts to create a happy environment – with balloons, ribbons and so on – often have exactly the opposite effect.
Peter Fleming is Professor of Management at the Cass Business School in London, see cass.city.ac.uk for more information. His research focuses on the changing nature of employment and the subjective impact of work. His most recent books include Dead Man Working and The End Of Corporate Social Responsibility
