Meaningful Happiness at Work

What is Meaningful Happiness

There is a tonne of research in the psychology field that has identified happiness and meaning are fundamental elements of wellbeing. Happiness and meaning are intertwined and often feed off each other. The more meaning we find in life, the more happy we typically feel, and the more happy we feel, the more likely we are to pursue even greater meaning and purpose.

This may not always be the case.

An apparent distinction between the pursuit of meaning and pursuit of happiness may very well result in two different outcomes:

• If we pursue happiness, we may have our needs and desires satisfied in the short term; yet
• If we pursue a life of meaning, happiness will likely ensue as a by-product and more importantly we establish a greater sense of purpose in life.

Another way to consider this is that while happiness may make us feel good in the moment, meaningful pursuits allow us to experience a broader range of emotions and therefore a deeper sense of wellbeing.

Meaningful Happiness could then be defined as pursuing a life of meaning and that happiness along with a broader set of emotions can ultimately lead to a life well lived.

Meaningful Happiness at Work

Companies that engage in an employees wellbeing, including Meaningful Happiness, are putting meaning in the heart of companies decisions and actions. By understanding ourselves better and what our values are, we live a more fulfilled life and companies will benefit as well.

So how much is Meaningful Happiness for its employees worth to a company?

In an article published by Harvard Business Review, employees with very meaningful work, spend one additional hour per week working, and take two fewer days of paid leave per year. Simply put, companies will see more work time put in by employees who find greater meaning in that work. The result seeing greater employee job satisfaction. Based on this greater job satisfaction, the article in the Harvard Business Review estimated that highly meaningful work will generate an additional US9,078 per worker, per year. The study also discovered that job retention increased by 7.4m months — estimating that companies would save US6.43 million per year in turnover relating costs per 10,000 workers.
 
There are more and more studies that are focusing on just how much impact a meaning centred approach has on companies. The introduction of the Meaning Quotient (MQ) in some studies is already suggesting that it plays a vital role in employee performance. Even more so when Emotional Quotient (EQ) is considered alongside MQ. See more here.

We need more emphasis on both emotional and meaning quotient in personal development if you want employees with higher job satisfaction and effectiveness. It’s important to note that it’s in the genuine pursuit of employee’s wellbeing that will lead to sustained job satisfaction.

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