Vhi Health Insights - The pursuit of happiness: Exploring the dynamics of happiness in the workplace

Edition 4

Vhi Health Insights The pursuit of happiness: Exploring the dynamics of happiness in the workplace

Contents Foreword

1

Executive Summary

2

1. Happiness matters The implications of unhappiness for the health of corporate employees

2. Me, myself and I Self-esteem and a sense of identity are significant factors in the shaping of a happiness mindset

3. Happy to be here?

The workplace acts as a critical venue for the interplay of factors affecting happiness and life satisfaction

4. The social network Professional relationships can have a profound influence on corporate employee happiness and life satisfaction

5. Serious about happiness Key research implications for the corporate workplace

Appendix Research methodology

4

7

9

13

16

20

Foreword Vhi is committed to deepening our knowledge of the challenges to health and well-being and exploring the most innovative and effective responses to those challenges. In this, the fourth edition of Vhi Health Insights, we report on corporate employees’ happiness and life satisfaction, the factors that influence these states of mind and their implications for overall well-being.

In particular, our research highlights clear affinities between corporate employee responses on happiness and self-esteem measures, while highlighting a potentially highly significant relationship between selfesteem and stress levels.

The research published here will help us address the challenges around happiness, life satisfaction and self-esteem identified by our findings and the expert group: Steven Dhondt, Senior Researcher at TNO; Carol Graham, Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Labor; Blánaid Hayes, Consultant Occupational Physician; Christian Krekel, Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science, LSE; Enda Murphy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist; and Ruut Veenhoven, Emeritus Professor of Social Conditions for Human Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

I would like to express our gratitude to the group of employees across Ireland whose continuing participation in our surveys is an essential element of this research series. I also want to extend our thanks to Behaviour & Attitudes for carrying out this valuable research to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the happiness of corporate employees.

John O’Dwyer Chief Executive, Vhi Group

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Executive Summary More than 1 in 3 corporate employees are unhappy A substantial proportion of corporate employees in Ireland report they are unhappy, a finding that carries concerning implications for their overall health and well-being.

A substantial cohort of corporate employees in Ireland report that they are unhappy (37%), dissatisfied with their working lives (49%) and dissatisfied with their lives as a whole (33%).

The proportion of corporate employees who are unhappy is relatively consistent across all demographics, except in relation to gender where more women, 42%, describe themselves as unhappy, compared to 32% of men.

A comparatively high percentage of parents report high stress levels with responses pointing to the distinct set of challenges experienced by parents in navigating the competing demands of work and home. In all, 22% of women report high stress levels, with mothers in particular experiencing a unique set of pressures brought on by the multiple roles of employee, partner and mother.

In total, 19% of corporate employees can be classified as a high stress group, a significant proportion, with clear implications for the findings in relation to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. The high stress group has been a persistent finding across the series since our research began in 2018. In addition, 22% of corporate employees overall express dissatisfaction in relation to work/life balance.

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While it is encouraging that 63% of corporate employees say they are happy, the unhappiness that more than one in three report is cause for concern, according to Dr Ruut Veenhoven. Based on findings from the World Database of Happiness, an extensive archive of research on subjective enjoyment of life, his analysis points to strong evidence indicating that happiness has a causal effect on length of life.

The research points to self-esteem being a pivotal indicator in relation to happiness and a potential signpost to solutions for those experiencing unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Self-esteem levels show a strong correlation with feelings of happiness and life satisfaction and, of those who report high levels of self-esteem, a remarkably small percentage (5%) experience high levels of stress. In an emphatic contrast, 51% of respondents with low self-esteem experience high levels of stress.

The workplace is identified as a critical venue for five key factors that can have a determining impact on happiness and life satisfaction including: relationships, personal autonomy, culturally-defined expectations, life stages and the day-to-day impact of the immediate environment.

Expert group recommendations The experts recommend the following workplace interventions to support corporate employees and nurture the development of their happiness/life satisfaction levels.

Align team culture with overall corporate culture

Encourage participation in CSR activities

Train line managers to encourage effective listening

Introduce mood-lifting interventions, particularly in the morning

Refine metrics to assess job satisfaction where possible

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1. Happiness Matters Implications of unhappiness for health There are substantial levels of unhappiness among corporate employees in Ireland.

How Happy Are You? Base: Corporate employees n=430 37% of corporate employees classify themselves as unhappy.

9-10 Extremely happy

14%

0-6 Unhappy

37%

49%

7-8 Happy

A significant cohort of corporate employees report that they are unhappy (37%). This finding on levels of unhappiness is relatively consistent across all demographics, except in relation to gender where more women, 42%, describe themselves as unhappy, compared to 32% of men.

To anchor the research findings in relation to happiness, which the expert group describes as an emotional metric (see panel, A measure of happiness, Page 6), it is useful to compare the responses on happiness with those on life satisfaction, considered to be a less volatile indicator of well-being.

A third (33%) of corporate employees say they are dissatisfied with their lives as a whole. Levels of dissatisfaction with life, which have been tracked by the Vhi Health Insights series since it began, has remained consistent. And they are a telling echo of the 37% of respondents who report they are unhappy.

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Adjusting the focus of the research to probe levels of satisfaction about specific aspects of life, the findings again remain largely consistent with earlier findings in the series: work life, along with diet, physical health, social life and sleep have been the five areas in which respondents have expressed the greatest levels of dissatisfaction in their lives.

Taking into consideration the implications of happiness and life satisfaction levels for overall well-being reinforces the significance of these research results. The expert group points to numerous international studies that repeatedly demonstrate consistent patterns of behaviour linking life satisfaction to health and well-being, including life expectancy.

Current satisfaction with life as a whole Base: Corporate employees n=430 15% of corporate employees are extremely satisfied with their life as a whole these days; 33% can be classified as dissatisfied (broadly in line with 2018 research).

2019 July %

2019 Feb %

2018 %

Extremely satisfied 9-10

15

13

15

Satisfied 7-8

52

52

52

Dissatisfied 1-6

15 33

35

33

Accentuate the positive In the past, happiness and life satisfaction might have been viewed as vague or fluffy concepts but as awareness grows of their implications for health so their increasing significance in relation to individual well-being and, therefore, the individual’s capacity to perform and participate fully in day-to-day life, becomes more apparent.

Professor Ruut Veenhoven cites strong evidence indicating that happiness has a causal effect on length of life. Working from an analysis based on findings in the World Database of Happiness*, Professor Veenhoven notes that less happy people are impacted by negative mechanisms relating to stress such as high blood pressure. He reports that studies show happy people drink less and they smoke less. If they have health problems, they are more likely to carry out their doctors’ recommendations.

Happy people also tend to have better relationships.

Overall, people with higher innate levels of well-being seem on average, to do better over the course of life, in a number of areas, in particular, health, income and social behaviours.

The scale of the research archived at the World Database of Happiness adds to the persuasiveness of Professor Veenhoven’s analysis.

The corporate employee perspective It is clear that employees themselves strongly associate happiness and health. In a typical employee comment, one respondent says: “Health is one of the keys to making sure that I am happy.”

But there is also evidence that employees feel challenged in acting on this. For example, while most value exercise as a means of maintaining health and happiness, and many consider physical activities as a route to better stress management, participation is often inhibited by busy lives/long commutes and, in some instances, feeling pressurised by work. Where participation takes place, there can be a tendency to self-assess in relation to activity adherence, an additional self-created pressure, that can undermine the aspirations driving involvement in the activity in the first place.

* The World Database of Happiness is an ongoing register of scientific research on the subjective appreciation of life.

A vast resource, its findings span more than 150 countries. Professor Veenhoven is the founding director of this online archive. (www. https://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl).

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Equally, employees believe that improving themselves and their standard of life is fundamental to life satisfaction and happiness. Having a sense of progression in life, of moving forward, is essential to feelings of happiness and satisfaction, according to employees.

Employees are conscious of the need to maintain an equilibrium between both health and ambition, although achieving it is proving a difficult challenge for many. Specifically, work/life balance is seen as a key objective in relation to achieving happiness but it is an objective beset by obstacles. In the words of one respondent: “Finding a balance to fit everything in, that’s happiness. Having time for myself, having time for my family, having time as a couple. But getting everything together can be difficult.”

While there is some reassurance to be derived from the research findings that a strong percentage of employees, 63%, report they are happy, the cohort that are unhappy remains a substantial bloc. The expanding evidence surrounding the interplay of happiness and health suggests that increased attention needs to be directed toward the large minority who are unhappy and, by implication, vulnerable to a range of health and well-being issues.

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A measure of happiness Happiness and life satisfaction sound like simple concepts but, the expert group advises, there are important nuances to be considered in relation to these states of mind, if they are to be measured and used effectively to inform and guide corporate wellness policymakers.

In the first instance, happiness, although a critical measure, is an emotional assessment and can vary moment by moment. It can be affected by many factors from events to peers to blood sugar fluctuations. The expert group suggests that measurement of happiness levels over a sustained period of time will help to mitigate the impact of this inherent volatility. A sampling over time should help to identify sustained trends and deliver an increasingly accurate assessment.

In addition, the use of life satisfaction as a metric, alongside findings on happiness provides a useful comparator. It is seen as a more stable indicator in relation to holistic life assessment and offers a more grounded context with which to interpret findings on happiness. This is because the self-assessment of life satisfaction by respondents tends to take a ‘longer view’ than an immediate assessment of how one feels on a given day.

2. Me, Myself and I Self-esteem and identity as happiness indicators Our quantitative research points to self-esteem having an inverse correlation to stress levels and suggests it is a highly significant indicator of happiness.

Probing further, the research goes on to show an inverse relationship between levels of self-esteem and reported stress levels. In an emphatic contrast, as many as one out of two (51%) of respondents with low self-esteem experience high levels of stress, but a remarkably small percentage of those with high levels of self-esteem, only 5%, report high levels of stress.

Responses from survey participants suggest that self-esteem is a potential determinant of happiness, while the expert group identifies key metrics that map the psychological space which shapes feelings of happiness and satisfaction.

Evaluations of self-esteem, happiness and life satisfaction show clear compatibility among corporate employees*. Specifically, 10% of corporate employees report high self-esteem, 14% view themselves as extremely happy and 15% are extremely satisfied with their lives. The compatible responses are also evident in the more negative self-evaluations: 26% of corporate employees self-evaluate as having low self-esteem, 37% are unhappy and 33% are dissatisfied with their lives.

It is notable that the demographic with easily the largest percentage of those who enjoy high levels of self-esteem (20%) are those aged 46 and over, this group also report higher levels of satisfaction than other demographics across the majority of specific life satisfaction categories.

Self Esteem* Base: Corporate employees n=430 Only 10% of corporate employees are classified as having ‘High’ self esteem; 26% qualify for the ‘Low’ self esteem group.

Self Esteem Spectrum (Composite Analysis) % ‘High’ self-esteem

10

‘Normal’ self-esteem

64

‘Low’ self-esteem

26 15

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The pronounced nature of these findings suggests that self-esteem is a particularly significant indicator in relation to stress and its management. The strong inverse correlation between stress and the selfesteem scores taken alongside their compatibility with happiness and life satisfaction evaluations, points to a function for self-esteem as a potential determinant in relation to happiness and life satisfaction. It also points to the potential impact of initiatives promoting self-esteem in the workplace.

A sense of autonomy and self-actualisation have a proven contribution to make to both life and job satisfaction. This sense of autonomy can be nurtured in a number of ways including being perceived to be listening to employees’ concerns and also to the extent that employees have the freedom of choice to change their circumstances. This is often associated with workplace flexibility particularly in relation to working from home and ‘flexitime’. Flexible regimes are beneficial because they enable people to self-select, notes expert group member, Christian Krekel.

Identity crisis?

While the research highlights self-esteem as a significant factor, it is one part of a wider evaluation of happiness and life satisfaction mapped by the expert group, that also includes concepts of identity and the influence of peers on the employee.

Large multi-country population studies and specific studies of workplace environments, put forward strong evidence to support the relationship between identity and life satisfaction. For example, in her research, expert panel member Carol Graham has shown how there can be significant variations in life satisfaction between groups at similar levels of affluence in different cultures thereby demonstrating how cultural norms can create expectations with both positive and negative effects.

In the view of the expert group, identity in the context of the corporate employee is a construct defined and supported by a range of influences: wider culture, such as national identity, racial identity; immediate culture, such as workplace, home life (a reference point for self-assessment); and, quality of interpersonal relationships in the workplace, at home and beyond.

At an individual level, a deeper satisfaction can come from a coherent sense of meaning to life and work, potentially an important contributor to the development of higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness.

Within the workplace, this satisfaction can often be defined by whether or not an employee is motivated by the meaning of their work. More specifically, it can be driven by the extent to which individual corporate employees experience a sense of purpose as it relates to a larger goal. Also, recognition for the particular roles they carry out is equally important.

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The experts suggests that it may be useful to think about engagement with work in terms of an employee’s level of absorption in what they do and their commitment to advancing their specific work objectives. In summary, their levels of engagement are reflected in their levels of motivation.

People who need people…

Daily human interaction is a highly influential contributor to happiness and life satisfaction, and, in the context of the workplace, this is particularly true of colleagues and line managers. The expert group notes that we are all social beings and happiness and satisfaction can be profoundly influenced by how our peers are performing.

The expert group comments, taken in conjunction with the quantitative research findings, suggest a correspondence between a network of key factors surrounding feelings of happiness and life satisfaction.

Notions of identity, the feeling of a sense of purpose or meaning in one’s work, levels of stress and the relative robustness of the corporate employee’s self-esteem are all implicated in feelings of happiness and life satisfaction. The next two chapters assess how this network of factors operates within the workplace.

3. Happy to be Here?

Factors affecting satisfaction in the workplace The workplace is a critical venue in understanding the factors affecting happiness and life satisfaction.

Employees continue to rank their work life among the top five sources of dissatisfaction, with 49% saying they are extremely dissatisfied. This level of dissatisfaction with work life persists despite the introduction of a range of workplace arrangements – such as options around starting and finishing times during the working day, flexi-time and the option of working from home on occasion – that support and encourage a sense of identity and facilitate autonomy. These are acknowledged as important factors in supporting happiness, life satisfaction and well-being as detailed by the expert group at the end of the previous chapter.

The research suggests that the introduction of these arrangements needs to evolve on two fronts to be more effective and impactful. In the first instance, even the most widely implemented of the arrangements (the facility to modify start and end times of the working day) is currently available to only 44% of employees.

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Culture gap The potential for divergence between the aspirations of corporate policy and the day-to-day implementation of policy at local department/team level is illustrated by research findings around workplace arrangements.

Within the workplace, the expert group says it is important to be aware of the existence of two cultural ‘levels’: the ‘policy level’ that defines overall corporate aspirations at the company in relation to well-being and ‘local level’ where the aspirations and principles are implemented. Divergences between the two contribute significantly to how employees frame their expectations.

In this context, it is worth noting that the provision of flexible workplace arrangements is still not a widely available facility. Currently, the most widely available arrangement is the option of starting the working day earlier or later and finishing earlier or later. Where such arrangements are in place, there are varying degrees of ‘opt-in’ from employees. For example, 24% are offered a gym membership, but almost half do not avail of it.

Overall, across a range of innovative workplace arrangements, typically 30% of those with such an arrangement available would like to use it but do not feel they currently can.

The notable exception is flexible starting and finishing time in the working day: 44% of corporate employees are offered the facility and 38% do so. The atypical uptake of this particular facility suggests that, for those companies where it is practicable and has not yet been implemented, it is worth serious consideration.

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Secondly, and perhaps even more significantly, the expert group have noted the effects of a cultural disconnect (see panel, Culture gap) that can exist between the overall aspirations and objectives of employers in relation to well-being initiatives and the reality of their implementation at local department/ team level on a daily basis.

Well-being initiatives can tend to operate on two levels. There is a company’s culture at policy level, an organisation-wide culture that outlines the principles of well-being, formulates the corporate wellness policy and establishes specific initiatives. Alongside this, there is the department or team level culture where the initiatives are to be implemented within the fluid circumstances and practical constraints of the day-today realities of work.

At the corporate level, the policy may define certain qualities, aspirations and commitments but, crucially, whether an employee has confidence in these commitments at a local department or team level can impact on their job satisfaction. The individual employee is faced with questions of prioritisation such as ‘Can I attend the work yoga class this afternoon or is a work objective a greater priority?’

Immediate environment The workplace is a highly dynamic, ever changing environment where the pace of activities can vary widely requiring corporate employees to be adaptable in terms of how they react. People respond to daily experiences differently, for instance someone may offer a positive self-assessment after a long commute, whereas others would consider this a negative experience. Thus, self-assessment of satisfaction or happiness is relative to that environment.

If this assessment is compared with life satisfaction (the longer view) we may get a better sense of how they view their overall circumstances. In the context of measuring happiness, the expert group recommend a projected assessment measure (The Optimism Index on page 11) that asks corporate employees to estimate their level of life satisfaction levels in five years’ time.

Comparing current satisfaction levels with projected satisfaction can help to clarify any short-term anomalies that result from an individual’s response to the current circumstances of their immediate environment.

Optimism Index*: Future projections of life satisfaction ‘5 years time’ Base: Corporate employees n=430 Corporate employees express considerable optimism with 69% expecting to be more satisfied with ‘life as a whole’ in 5 years time.

24

Your working life % Your social life %

16

19

3

13

45

No difference in 5 years time

10 25

A little less satisfied in 5 years time

3

7

36

2 3

6 32

35

A little more satisfied in 5 years time

10

40 40

24

4

6

27

33

17

6

33

41

Your diet %

Much more satisfied in 5 years time

35

16 18

Your life as a whole %

39

24

Your mental health %

Your sleep %

29

32

Your family life % Your physical health %

37

2 4

5

1

Much less satisfied in 5 years time

The Optimism Index Corporate employees were also asked for their view on the state of the overall economy next year and 26% predicted it will be better than this year’s. Corporate employees also express considerably more economic optimism than the general public. It is worth noting in looking at these findings that optimism levels can tend to be over-stated.

In the context of the longer term, corporate employees express considerable optimism with 69% expecting to be more satisfied with ‘life as a whole’ in five years’ time and 61% predicting they will be more satisfied with their working lives by then.

* Based on research by Dr. Carole Graham

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The impact of stress The parent trap Responses from corporate employees, who participated in focus groups as part of this study, highlight the distinct set of challenges experienced by parents in navigating the competing demands of work and home. In all, 22% of parents report that life is very or extremely stressful.

The responses of the focus group illustrated some of the aspects of parenting that present the most challenges. For instance, mothers tend to view “time with the family” as an important source of happiness, but the positive aspects of the experience are undermined to a degree by the additional time pressures it creates, not least the curtailment or elimination of personal time.

Mothers also referenced the constant need to juggle the demands of the workplace and the home.

All of this has health implications, according to the expert group. Examples of adverse health effects for mothers could include suppressing their personal need for sick leave in case they need to look after a sick child or trying to find some ‘me-time’ in the late evening/night time rather than ensure they get a full night’s sleep.

It is also evident from some of the responses that the workplace, particularly in relation to innovative working arrangements, can provide practical and effective supports to parents in crucial ways. One mother’s reaction to working a four day week sums up the kind of impact this kind of flexibility can have: “Having the opportunity to take a day for myself gave me a chance to alleviate a lot of pressure factors.”

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Our latest findings continue to indicate that a significant proportion of corporate employees (19%) can be classified as a high stress group. High stress levels peak among women and parents (see panel, The parent trap).

The full significance of this finding is clarified by taking into consideration the correlations of stress, selfesteem and happiness, along with their implications for overall well-being, detailed in Chapter 2.

In all, 27% of corporate employees think that the amount of stress in their lives is more than they experienced one year ago and this climbs to 52% for those in the high stress group. More than half (55%) of respondents feel it is likely they will have increased health problems in future if their current stress levels are maintained.

The findings on stress are echoed in relation to work life balance with 22% of corporate employees expressing dissatisfaction in this area.

It is worth noting in this context that a majority of corporate employees, 59%, express interest in a work course on life satisfaction and happiness, with women and those in the high stress group expressing the most interest in participating.

4. The Social Network Corporate employees can be profoundly influenced by the performance of their peers Professional relationships in the workplace, particularly with line managers, can have a significant influence on corporate employee happiness and life satisfaction.

In outlining the network of factors that shape the psychological landscape of happiness and satisfaction, the expert group acknowledges the importance of the social experience, not least in the context of the workplace.

In the corporate workplace at the local department/ team level, there are two primary spheres of influence surrounding the individual corporate employee: immediate work peers; and, line managers.

The expert group notes that the quality of relationships and interaction of peers and line managers with the corporate employee are crucial.

Peer pressure?

Corporate employees can be “profoundly influenced” by how peers are performing, the expert group states, while their relationships with managers to whom they report directly are pivotal to feelings of job and life satisfaction, and happiness.

The relationship with peers is multi-faceted and can be a source of both support and stress. The individual tends to look at a colleague as an immediate reference point, assessing one’s own happiness relative to one’s colleague. Is one doing as well as one’s colleague at work or socially? The answer to that question can result in satisfaction or stress.

Online self-help tools are available that claim to help the individual employee to make informed decisions based on what makes her or him happy. The expert group also suggests more experience sampling, i.e., taking more in-the-moment measurements to create composite assessment and provide a basis for comparison with broader satisfaction measures.

Our research findings show an encouraging trend with corporate employees assessing their relationships with their peers in a broadly positive manner. In total, 61% say they are fairly to very satisfied.

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Leading the line Maintaining balance on the success ladder As described in Chapter 1, many in the workplace, particularly younger employees tend to define work (and life) success in terms of a series of advances, as moving up “a ladder”.

There is a tendency to constantly focus on performance in all aspects of life, and to repeatedly compare progress to that of one’s peers, the expert group notes.

While ambition and competitiveness are inescapable corporate realities, constantly being focused on oneself and thinking about the next step up the success “ladder” can be counterproductive and often have a negative effect on one’s mood.

This phenomenon is summed up in an observation by the expert group member Enda Murphy: “If I want to have a miserable day, all I have to do is give myself my complete, undivided attention.”

The expert group observes that feelings of life satisfaction tend to be more influenced by a less ego-centric vision of success. In that sense, there can be a tension between ambition, the drive to climb the “ladder”, and the less ego-centric motivations that drive the pursuit of life satisfaction.

Ideally, these drives should be in balance. In the view of the expert group, corporate social responsibility initiatives and team building activities could provide a useful approach to encouraging individuals to “take a break” from their concerns and anxieties.

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One of the most important influences in the local department or team culture is the line manager, in the view of the expert group.

According to Blánaid Hayes: “The most important determinant of your well-being at work is your line manager. Particularly in how the line manager embodies the kind of nuanced emotional awareness, intelligence and self-awareness that’s required to be a good manager.”

The corporate employee looks to the line manager for recognition and understanding. Furthermore, the line manager’s approach informs the corporate employee’s acceptance of the underlying fairness of management decisions and can be perceived as either supporting or undermining the wider corporate culture. Effective communication that translates corporate objectives into local department and team targets is viewed by the expert group as essential.

The headline response from corporate employees appears to be encouraging with 57% reporting that they are satisfied with their professional relationships with their immediate and higher level managers.

Respondents were also asked to compare the quality of their professional relationship with their line managers to those of their colleagues. In total, 30% thought they had better relationships with their line managers than their colleagues.

In both instances, however, there is a significant minority expressing dissatisfaction. Close to one in five (19%) report being fairly to very unsatisfied with their line managers/immediate managers, while 16% believed their relationships with their line managers/immediate managers was worse than their colleagues’ relationships with their managers.

It is interesting to note that the higher the manager’s level the better that respondents felt their relationship was with that manager. This suggests that the greater levels of interaction with immediate managers must be factored into the interpretation of the responses in relation to dissatisfaction.

Satisfaction with professional relationships Base: Corporate employees n=430 Corporate employees assess their key professional relationships in a broadly positive manner.

Your line manager/immediate manager

Your work colleagues

Very unsatisfied

7

3

12

10

Fairly unsatisfied

24

26

Average

38

40

Fairly satisfied

19

20

Very satisfied

Overall, while these findings show little evidence of active dissatisfaction with either line managers or colleagues, there remains a small but significant cohort who are dissatisfied. Taking this cohort into account, along with the responses on dissatisfaction in relation to work life in general, these findings suggest that there are positive benefits to be gained from increasing engagement between line managers and employees, particularly in relation to happiness and well-being related-aspects of the workplace.

In addition, the centrality of the line manager to the two-culture workplace phenomenon identified by the expert group, points to a need for greater attention to the enhancement of the communicative and leadership aspects of the line manager role.

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5. Serious About Happiness Addressing unhappiness and dissatisfaction The responses to our happiness study reveals important indicators of health in the workplace, reflecting and reinforcing the identification of key determinants of well-being made by the expert group and pointing towards practical solutions.

There are broad principles of workplace management that consistently contribute to greater engagement of corporate employees with consequent enhancement of work and life satisfaction levels. In the view of the expert group, one of the most important of these is a sense of flexibility. This can have precise meaning like flexible hours or working from home, but it also represents a ‘code’ for workplace responsiveness to employee needs.

More specifically, the expert group highlights the importance of five key determinants and the extent to which the workplace provides opportunities to support employee needs in each area. Key determinants that have the potential to shape the evolution of a corporate workplace which more effectively addresses the well-being of corporate employees are: 1. relationships, 2. personal autonomy, 3. culturally-defined expectations, 4. life stages; and, 5. w day-to-day impact of events in the corporate employee’s immediate environment.

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I. Relationships The expert group says that the quality of relationships in daily life are one of the most important predictors of happiness/satisfaction in the workplace. The influence of colleagues is underlined by what the experts refer to as “peer effects.” These effects can lead to feelings of greater or lesser satisfaction based on how others are faring. They can also lead to a clustering of positive or negative outlooks among particular groups of employees, where one individual’s perceptions are affecting another’s.

In the context of work relationships, the corporate employee’s relationship with the line manager is strongly emphasised, as discussed in Chapter 4, page 14. The line manager is in a position to witness the peer effect dynamics described above and, with the proper support and training, to interpret their implications.

Overall, in the view of the expert group, these relationship dynamics are a crucial element of any effective route to developing effective responses to unhappiness or dissatisfaction in the workplace.

II. Personal autonomy A sense of autonomy and self-actualisation has a proven contribution to make in relation to both life and job satisfaction. At a ‘micro’ level this can mean a sense of being listened to. It can also relate to the ability of the individual to change circumstances.

Employees’ sense of control is a fundamental driver of satisfaction. This is not just a factor in job satisfaction, according to the expert group, an absence of control can contribute to workplace stress. Offering workplace options and encouraging corporate employee initiatives can help respond to the need for autonomy.

III. Culture alignment The role of relationships at local department/team level as outlined in Chapter 4 have an important part to play in mitigating misalignments between overall corporate policy and the day-to-day activities at local department/team level.

IV. Variations by stage in life One of the strongest and most consistent patterns in life satisfaction across the world is the ‘U shaped’ pattern, a persistent research phenomenon which shows the greatest levels of life satisfaction being expressed by the youngest people and older people.

In the context of the workplace, according to the expert group, it is helpful to be aware of the ‘cohort norm’ as a background issue, i.e., an older workforce may be more satisfied due to their life perspective rather than workplace initiatives per se (see panel, Ageing well).

Ageing well In relation to the key areas of happiness and life satisfaction, those in the 46 years and over cohort report greater levels of happiness and higher overall life satisfaction levels than their counterparts aged 45 and under.

One in four of the older respondents, report being “extremely happy”. That is more than double the percentage of those aged 18 to 45 years.

Furthermore those 46 years of age and over are more satisfied on six of the seven detailed life satisfaction criteria, a consistent trend that the researchers considered noteworthy.

In particular, there is evidence of a significant degree of greater satisfaction among the older group in regard to family life, mental health, social life and diet.

Perhaps surprisingly, those 46 years and over, also expressed significantly greater satisfaction with their physical health. This finding counters assumptions that equate youth with health but at the same time reflects the experts suggestions of strong links between happiness, life satisfaction and health. Interestingly, in relation to their working life, the older cohort are, largely, as dissatisfied as those aged 45 years and under.

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V. Immediate environment The local conditions of life experience can impact on day-to-day happiness whether this is to do with the ‘built’ environment of the workplace or a specific experience that triggers a positive response. Whether in large population studies, or within a workplace, people often adapt to the local environment.

Thus their self-assessment of satisfaction or happiness is relative to the local environment. Workers have been shown to be more creative and more productive if they have been triggered by a recent positive experience.

The long-term validity of happiness levels derived in the context of the immediate environment must be assessed by tracking data over time and weighed up in conjunction with responses on life satisfaction as well as being contextualised by the use of the Optimism Index (See panel, The Optimism Index, Chapter 3).

These five determinants will overlap and affect each other as part of the ongoing dynamics of a typical demanding corporate workplace. The expert group suggest a number of practical steps (see Page 19) that can be taken to proactively address these determinants in ways that can enhance workplace happiness, well-being and productivity.

Overall, it is evident that happiness and life satisfaction can be accurate predictors of health and are useful metrics in addressing issues of corporate employee well-being, while self-esteem is a particularly strong indicator in relation to stress and its management.

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Emerging science Happiness and life satisfaction have been recognised as key aspects of well-being in occupational health and mental health, but it is the way in which economics, and theories of behavioural economics, in particular, have adopted these measures which has brought new interest.

In particular, numerous studies have demonstrated a close correlation between life satisfaction and long-term health outcomes. As a result, public policy in many countries now looks at life satisfaction and happiness as important targets for society as a whole.

However, in the workplace two primary challenges persist: scepticism about the validity of happiness/job satisfaction as meaningful. proof of a causal link between these measures and performance.

Key recommendations for workplace interventions Ensure the local department/team culture aligns as much as possible with the overall corporate culture.

Provide line manager training to develop more effective listening skills.

Promote ‘life skills’ through education programmes at work and/or online self help initiatives.

Develop more nuanced job satisfaction measures to include emotional engagement, optimism and perceived flexibility.

Encourage participation in CSR activities.

Introduce ‘mood-lifting’ interventions, especially early in the day.

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Appendix Quantitative Survey

Qualitative Study

The quantitative survey focused on those up to 65 years working in the corporate sector from across all sectors who work in businesses of 100+ employees.

The survey was conducted online via B&A’s own online consumer panel, Acumen.

The qualitative study focused on:

% Gender

Age

Region

Children

Company Size

Work Status

Male

48

Female

52

-34 years

31

35-45 years

49

45-65 years

20

Dublin

43

Ex Dublin

57

Any children

58

No children

42

100-249

18

250+

82

Higher Managerial

10

Intermediate

37

Supervisory

36

Other

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In-depth interviews with six happiness and life satisfaction experts In-depth full focus group interviews

Happiness and life satisfaction expert group Steven Dhondt, Senior Researcher at TNO and Visiting Professor at the University of Leuven (Belgium).

At TNO, Professor Dhondt coordinates the Smart Working research programme, developing insights on the impacts of robotics and digitisation on organisational practices.

Carol Graham, Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and a College Park Professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Professor Graham is a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) and author of several highly regarded books on happiness.

Blánaid Hayes, Consultant Occupational Physician, Beaumont Hospital and Immediate Past Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI).

Christian Krekel, Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics.

Dr Krekel’s work looks at how our environment affects our lives – specifically our behaviour, health, and (ultimately) our well-being.

Enda Murphy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and Assistant Director of the Vocational GP Training Programme. CBT HSE North East Region, Mr Murphy is the author of Five Steps to Happiness.

Ruut Veenhoven, Emeritus Professor of Social Conditions for Human Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Professor Veenhoven established a world database of happiness archive and the self-help website, The Happiness Indicator.

20 Vhi Health Insights

Key Statistics

19%

37%

26%

Almost one fifth can be classified as a high stress group

classify themselves as unhappy

More than one in four are classified as having low self-esteem

59%

More than half

are interested in a life satisfaction and happiness course

feel health problems may increase in future if current stress levels persist

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