The UK Channel Community gathered in Birmingham on the 15th of June for CompTIA’s second UKCC meeting of 2016. Hosting 100’s of CompTIA members, some of the best and brightest in the Channel industry, the theme for this event focused on IT as a business game changer. Breakout sessions discussed everything from data regulations to diversity in the workplace, and high-profile keynote speakers shared a wealth of experience and knowledge with attendees.
One of the keynote speakers was Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer at Woohoo Inc., who provided guests with a fascinating talk on the importance of employee happiness.
Alexander’s presentation, titled: Want great results? Create a great workplace!, covered a range of issues affecting employee satisfaction at work and how these can be combated, all in an interactive and engaging manner. He started his talk with audience participation, getting everyone to stand up and find a partner from another table and explain what they had enjoyed most about their day. Needless to say conversation erupted in the room as people described what they had heard and what they had been doing.
Alexander then went on to explain the geographical differences in the ways that we approach work. As a Dane, he described how in Scandinavia, happiness in the workplace is expected, saying in Denmark you expect your job to be a good job with a good base, good colleagues and a good atmosphere. However, in other countries disliking your job is seen as the norm. This doesn’t have to be the case, and that we have the knowledge and tools to make companies happier and more successful.
The way that Alexander believes we can do this is through two key steps:
The first is results. Good results indicate that you are good at your job, capable of achieving goals and creating value for your company and your clients. The key, Alexander says, is making sure employees are being praised for achieving these goals: “praise gives us a feeling of pride, which is a major source of happiness at work. People can’t be happy in a job they feel they are no good at.”
Alexander went on to say that we need to instil this feeling of pride and achievement in the workplace and that recognising achievements of results will go a long way to doing this. These don’t need to be huge acknowledgments; even small things such as emails or post-it notes praising someone’s work can go a long way to improving employees’ happiness.
The second key to workplace happiness Alexander described was relationships, particularly with co-workers and managers. He pointed out that you don’t have to be best friends, but having a working relationship where you support each other and can work together in a positive manner is vital. To demonstrate this, he pointed to a Swedish study of workplace stress, which found that people who have a high workload and high social support in the workplace were at no higher risk of stress. Yet those with high workload and low support did have more stress, and even a 30% more chance of dying.
Building these relationships is very simple he explained, showing how even something as simple as saying “good morning” to your colleagues and employees will get noticed, creating a far more positive atmosphere and improving productivity.
Alexander finished his talk by sharing how work today has gone way beyond the traditional necessity for survival and is something that we should be enjoying. He explained how a happy workplace makes more money due to three factors: less absenteeism, less employee turnover and increased ability to attract talent. Through all of this, we can have workplaces with happy staff who love their jobs, all while making our businesses more profitable, a truly win-win scenario.
You may also be interested in reading our report “Manging the Multigenerational Workforce”
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