The impact of employee engagement on company performance has now being studied intensively and there is enough data to drive consensus among management professionals that increased employee engagement will deliver better financial results.
There are reports which claim significant improvement in growth & profitability of companies with high employee engagement.
Today, employee engagement is gaining attention in business community as research repeatedly shows that engaged employees are not only better producers, but they’re also more committed to the organization, achieve better business outcomes, and deliver superior levels of customer satisfaction.
Employee Happiness Index
Many companies are prioritizing employee engagement but when you look at how to measure its outcome, there is no clear consensus.
Among different methodologies used, Employee Happiness Index is a candid approach explored by many HR practitioners. It was modeled after Gross National Happiness Index. In contrast to the well-known Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for evaluating a country’s national wealth and people’s richness, Gross National Happiness Index considers people’s sense of happiness along with material wealth. Of late, many HR researchers have adopted this measure for businesses as a way to measure employee engagement. Happiness Index to be an indirect path to an organization’s profitability, reputation, and long-term success.
Happiness is “Immersed in Work”:
Moments of flow and happiness make your mind become so entirely absorbed in the activity to the extent you “forget yourself”
The Hungarian psychologist of happiness and positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who has been studying what makes people happy calls it – “Flow.”. One feels this when one is acting effortlessly, with a heightened sense of awareness of the here and now.
Happiness Index of the organization can be increased by making more employees find their flow in the organizational setup.
Simple Strategies to improve Happiness Index
Here are some of the simple strategies to improve the happiness index of an organization
- Create policies you would enjoy adopting
The first strategy would be to apply the above criteria on every HR policy devised by the management. If you are imposing a policy, the first question would be ask .whether you would be happy to follow it if the same policy was imposed on you.
- Freedom – Provide flexible work hours
Work-Life balances also something everyone look for in a job. The best thing an employer can do to improve employees’ personal lives and work productivity is offer adaptable working hours and generous flextime policies.
- Exposure and learning environments
When an organization provides opportunities for an employee to work with experienced people, they get valuable opportunities to learn and expose themselves to new ideas which will be very useful for preparing their next career move. Such employees would value the organization for giving them the opportunity to grow.
- Role and Responsibility
Employees should be made to realize their importance in the organization by keep reminding them of the criticality of their contribution to organizational success as a whole. The sense of their place in the bigger picture makes the employees take their roles and responsibilities more seriously.
- Fair play
Most engaged employees will be motivated by meaningfulness and purpose rather than money, status and power. An environment which respects & rewards them will be critical for retain them. Ensuring fair play in the organization will foster trust in them and strengthen their bond with the organization.
