Happiness & health

Some companies have a Chief Happiness Officer to support the employees in the organization to work towards a better balance in life. A happy employee is motivated, more productive, creative and shows initiative. Last year I participated in a workshop on happiness at work.  180 representatives from over 150 companies answered the question what they think could improve happiness at work. A comprehensive overview of the attributions to happiness as those 180 people described it is shown here;

  1. Adaptive Leadership
  2. Open culture, physical & psychological safe environment
  3. Celebrate successes, learn from mistakes
  4. Respect and reflect (listen!)
  5. Purpose
  6. Ownership
  7. Healthy and fit
  8. Focus on result, less on process
  9. Teamwork
  10. Structure

There is resemblance of the same subjects in various studies, documents and norms.  After all resilience is depending on people performance. The Human Element is gaining more importance, especially in changing work environments as we see today. People working in companies, institutes, schools & universities suddenly were activated to step into the digital world of meetings, preparing classes, activities and webinars. People now comment that the world will be a different place after the virus has been gone. The ‘social distancing’ shows us that we need each others presence, more then ever. Being mobile is not always necessary but very much appreciated, so will we really see a different world?

Improve on aspects, healthcheck

After the initial shock, the next step during this time of uncertainty is to think and act on the aspects which may lead to an operational model that takes the lessons learned with it. This can be done on individual level, within the team or the department, or even at organizational level. For example working with the Resilience game to improve decision making, use Facet5 assessments to gain insight in individual and team aspects, and on a high level investigate the Resilient performance of the company.

Indicators for Organizational Resilience support three main subjects;

  1. Leadership & Culture
  2. Networking & Relationships
  3. Change Readiness

If you want to optimize individual or organizational performance, you may start with these elements. Use the HealthCheck as a first impression and identify the hotspots where work is needed or where you can release the tension. It might be good start for discussions in the team, department or organization to address. Another possibility is to have a review on the lessons learned process in the company. Incidents and near misses are valuable indicators to identify where the organization may drift from its orginal performance path.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you like support or guidance. Mizzen Global has adapted the HealthCheck methodology and is able to conduct these Healthchecks with and for you. If you want more emphasis on safety performance, we work with the Hearts & Minds method from the Energy Institute.

Next to these, Thom Koning is Facet5 facilitator for individuals and teams and Ronald Spruit is active in quality performance based on ISO standards.