mind your business: A Happy Worker is a Productive Worker

Unhappiness among workers in America is costing a shocking $300 billion per year in lost productivity, Gallup-Healthways estimates. According to its recent Well-Being Index, Americans are increasingly unhappy with their jobs and work environments. When people aren't happy about their jobs or their employers, they don't show up consistently, they produce less and their work quality suffers.

Current American Psychological Association research findings show that people want contentment, love and happiness derived from meaningful work. They want nourishing personal relationships, a healthy mind and body, a spiritual core, and a reason for living. But with only 24 hours in a day and all of the competing demands of modern life, the question is—how? Is it even possible? How can you as a manager facilitate your employees' happiness and consequently increase your company's success along with your own?

You, as well as your company, need a defined mission. With an established purpose, you can manage and prioritize energies and resources to best fulfill the mission. Work and life have meaning when we feel what we are doing is worthwhile and in alignment with our values. There are five life factors that need to be kept in dynamic balance to achieve and maintain happiness and productivity. Understanding people's motivators will help you structure the work environment and develop products and services that serve your customers.

Money (and Other Means of Value Exchange)

In today's world, money is the primary, and sometimes only, form of work compensation. Yet surveys have shown that the most effective motivator for increased performance and creativity is when people feel their work has meaning and value. Understanding what drives people is helpful in the design of incentive programs to increase satisfaction and performance. Show people how their jobs impact the overall success of the company's mission, and tie their remuneration to their contribution to the objectives of the organization. That way, they can see how their efforts benefit the company, and be motivated to contribute to its success.