The concept of happiness at work is more and more present. This raises certain questions such as why such a boom, whether happiness can really be treated in companies, what means are put in place to meet demand…

The world of work and business holds an important place in the life of every employee. Indeed, he spends most of his time there. This is why we can start from the premise that work will have an impact on the well-being and, on a larger scale, on the happiness of the individual. In recent years, there has been an increase in psycho-social risks. To meet the demands, some companies have set up a Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) who deals mainly with the issue of employee well-being.

Conditions for a good quality of life at work

The quality of life at work depends on several factors that can be grouped into three categories: working conditions, the ability to act and express oneself and the content of the work itself (autonomy at work, etc.). The fulfillment of the individual is correlated with a “perfect balance” between professional and private life. The separation between the two is essential, which is why employees are demanding a right to disconnect.
In addition, the notion of Flow, the fact of being entirely and consciously in an activity to the point of not seeing the past time, an almost transcendent notion of Csikszentmihaly becomes central. It is opposed to the concept of mind-wandering, according to which our thinking is constantly divided between several subjects.

The experts’ views

According to Julia de Funés (philosopher), we cannot talk about happiness at work because happiness is a private matter. This concept would be a “managerial hypocrisy”. Indeed, it is impossible to manage the happiness of others given that it is indefinable, subjective. Moreover, happiness is a temporary state that depends on people other than those in the professional context. There is a surprising direct correlation between the increase in the theme of happiness in the workplace and the increase in socio-professional risks. This shows that the means put in place are ineffective.
Nicolas Bouzou (financier), for his part, specifies that the increase in interest in this theme in companies is linked to a lack of employee involvement. A happy employee is a motivated and efficient employee. However, according to Mr. Bouzou, this concept is only an unapplied idea that employers use to make their employees dream.

Solutions

They propose as a solution more autonomy for the employee as well as the elimination of “useless moments” (meetings, powerpoint, etc.). This would be more useful for increasing happiness than the implementation of ergonomic means. The mediations set up provide entertainment but do not allow for in-depth work. Chief Happiness Officers will improve well-being but do not necessarily address the causes of unhappiness, if any.
As companies do not have a purpose, managers must give meaning to employees’ jobs in order to increase well-being. The share of disengaged employees is a consequence of contemporary management.
It is not a question of holding a grudge against managers or leaders. But to the tyranny of bureaucracy (too much process and complexity). The problem is not the authority of managers, because in the etymological sense authority aims to make progress. However, good authority is needed.
Finally, they propose to dare to say what we consider useless, what is wrong and what can be improved and changed.

To find the original article by Fabien Vous from Courrier Cadres: http://courriercadres.com/ management/change-management/happiness-at-work-a-intellectual-scam-05102018