It makes sense that what makes us feel good at work is also which helps us to be fuller engaged and more satisfied.

A 2019 study by Said Business School concluded that happy workers are 13% more productive.

Happiness is the feeling of pleasure and contentment. The relationship skills linked to increased engagement that managers use to make their workers feel good about themselves, will probably help to increase the level of happiness among workers.

However, it does depends on how widely we interpret happiness. Is it just hedonistic pleasure or does it include our sense of well-being, which is reflected in our attitude to life.

Then there is the questions of which comes first success or happiness?

While traditional thinking might suggest “success”, a sizeable amount of research is suggesting that happiness is often the pre-requisite to success.

Our model, the UHM, supported by experience and research indicates that if we want to be happier then we need to go higher levels of motivation. Typically to go from being motivated by pleasure to motivated by meaning. It suggests that ways to happiness include building character: honesty, dignity, and trust while having hope and firm belief. It is not by just striving to be happy.

“Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.” – John Stuart Mill, British philosopher.

Happiness can be defined as being well, hence the importance of “well-being”.