The Pursuit of Happiness at Work Place

Abstract

Happiness is perhaps one of the most important concerns for humans since we have been living in this planet. In order to achieve this existential goal, humans have created religions, gods, philosophies and activities that can bring meaning to our existence with the main purpose of being happy. This paper examines happiness from the eyes of different authors from different cultures and backgrounds. The different 'faces' of happiness - unhappiness in organizational research: Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002) come up to the topic from the job performance perspective and give interesting findings regarding happiness and job satisfaction. From the other side, Sources of happiness: A qualitative approach by Luo and Jian, (1997) explain the top nine sources of happiness in a heterogeneous group in China. Luo and Jian show differences and similarities of happiness between east and west.  The pursuit of happiness at work place is a shared goal of companies and employees and it is challenge for this century.

Keywords: happiness, work, job satisfaction

 

Introduction

Happiness is considered the most important goal for humans. Since capitalism has risen as the dominant doctrine in the world, people spend most of their time at work. Seeking happiness should no longer be an isolated activity from the rest of human activities. The pursuit of happiness at work place is perhaps the most important challenge for companies and employees to find self-actualization. This paper gives a brief overview of the relation between happiness and job satisfaction. 

Different cultures around the world have different views of the concept happiness. For western cultures happiness is an individual duty, for people in the east, happiness has more to do with collectivism. Happiness and human needs evolve and our purpose is to meet those needs in order to obtain satisfaction and thus obtain happiness.

 

Pursuing Happiness at Work Place

Happiness is perhaps the most important goal for human beings. The pursuit of happiness is more than an inalienable right written in the declaration of Independence; it is the only reason that gives meaning to our existence. Kerfoot (2012) say that “It should be intuitive that happy people produce better results than unhappy people” However data show that people are not happy at work Kerfoot (2012). We spend more than eight hours a day at work. Looking for happiness should not be an activity that people develop after working hours. I consider that happiness should not be reduced to family and personal life; it should be an integral part of every human being. The great challenge to corporations in this century is to contribute to this purpose. Corporations are composed by people and people are the most important asset for them. Happy people are more productive and engaged to their goals Kerfoot (2012). The objective of this paper is to give corporations important key points to increase people’s happiness and contribute to human development.

Job satisfaction and happiness are related each other, the more people are satisfied with their job the more happy they are with their lives. Akhtar, (2010) introduced various point of view of happiness, For example for Freud  "what we call happiness  in the strictest sense comes from the (preferably sudden)satisfaction  of needs which have been damned up to a high degree, and it is from its nature only possible as an episodic phenomenon". For Helene Deutsch “Happiness is an endogenous, narcissistically determined ego-feeling; it materializes when the boundaries of the ego have been expanded by the establishment of unity between ego and the world as a result of object cathexis, sublimation, or the attainment of unity in the ego itself. (p. 721)”. 

Akhtar, (2010) consider that happiness seems to be comprised of four types of experiences: (a) pleasure, (b) joy, (c) ecstasy, and (d) contentment. These experiences have the potential to occur at the same time. Based on these experiences, this paper will focus on these experiences and the way to develop them in the work place. Psychology, religion, family are sources that have contributed to human happiness. Corporations have done very little in the pursuit of happiness. A good salary is very important, but it is only a part of job satisfaction. Reducing job satisfaction to the payment of a salary is reducing happiness to a simple economic transaction. It seems that this has been the corporate view of many companies in the world and that is one of the reasons why people are not satisfied at work. Kerfoot, (2012).

The four experiences of happiness mentioned before are the starting point for corporations and employees to develop a common agenda in order to increase happiness at work place. Next two articles have contributed to this common purpose.

The different 'faces' of happiness - unhappiness in organizational research: Emotional exhaustion, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, and psychological well-being by Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002) 

Researchers examined emotional exhaustion, positive affectively negatively affectivity and psychological well-being with happiness/unhappiness in organizational environments. For this study, the authors have formulated four hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: Emotional exhaustion will be negatively related to job performance.

Hypothesis 2(a): Positive affectivity will be positively related to job performance.

Hypothesis 2(b): Negative affectivity will be negatively related to job performance.

Hypothesis 3: Psychological well-being will be positively related to job performance.

Emotional Exhaustion refers to the state of physical and emotional depletion that occurs from excessive job demands and continuous stress it describes a feeling of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one's work. Positive Affectivity is “the disposition to experience positive feelings” Wright, Larwood  & Denney (2002). Negative Affectivity is is “the disposition to experience negative feelings” and Psychological well-being “people's emotional and cognitive evaluations of their lives, includes what lay people call happiness, peace, fulfillment, and life satisfaction .” Diener, Oishi and Lucas (2002).

The researches’ method used in this study was to investigate the role of emotional exhaustion, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, and psychological well-being and how they correlate of job performance. The researchers asked 90 employees from private and public companies in western United States.

Data showed the following results: for Hypothesis 1 a negative relation between emotional exhaustion and job performance. This prediction was not supported.  Hypothesis 2, neither positive nor negative affectivity were related to job performance. Hypothesis 3 proposed that psychological well-being was positively related to job performance. This prediction was supported; psychological well-being was related to job performance.

This study gives corporations important arguments to confirm that psychological well-being is very important for them to achieve better performance. I consider that corporations should focus on this aspect in order to improve job satisfaction and corporate results.

Thomas A. Wright is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and industrial relations from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Wright's research has focused on business ethics, employee commitment in organizations, turnover, job burnout, affect and emotion, creativity, whistle-blowing and the role of time in organizational research. http://www.unr.edu

Sources of happiness: A qualitative approach by Luo and Jian, (1997).

The authors of the study conducted a qualitative research where they wanted to study the top nine categories of happiness among 180 reported sources. The sources were They were (a) gratification of need for respect, (b) harmony of interpersonal relationships, (c) satisfaction of material needs, (d) achievement at work, (e) being at ease with life, (f) taking pleasure at others' expense, (g) sense of self-control and self-actualization, (h) pleasure and positive affect, and (i) health. Luo, Jian, (1997). 

Perceived sources of happiness differ between west and east. Western conception of happiness emphasizes on intrapersonal or internal evaluation and contentment, whereas the Chinese conception of happiness focuses on interpersonal or external evaluation and satisfaction. Luo, Jian, (1997).  

When the authors ask themselves the question what is meant by happiness? They say that most people answer  two states of happiness: experiencing a positive emotional state or being satisfied with life. They also cite Andrews and Wthey (1978) that happiness has three components a) positive emotion, (b) life satisfaction, and (c) the absence of negative emotions or psychological distress. Ryff (1989) added a new important component to the three already mentioned and that is the purpose in life and personal growth. 

The method used by researchers was a qualitative research. They interviewed 54 community residents of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A sample of adults between the ages of 18 and 60 was taken. The sample consisted of 26 persons aged 18-29 (48.1%), 16 persons aged 30-39 (29.6%), 12 persons aged 40-49 (22.2%), and 10 persons aged 50-59 (18.5%). The questions asked to the sample were What is happiness?" and (b) "What sort of things will make you happy?" No time limit was set” Luo, Jian, (1997).

Conclusion of the study showed that Chinese and the Western conceptions of happiness do have some similarities, such as pleasure and positive affect The conception of happiness as harmony in interpersonal relationships conveys a desire for solidarity and loyalty, especially within the family or clan. Satisfaction of material needs and achievement at work are two means of serving one's family and glorifying one's clan. Luo, Jian, (1997).

According to this statement, people and corporations should have a different approach to the topic depending where they are located.

Luo Lu is a professor of the National Taiwan University her research topics include Organizational behavior, human resources management, occupational health management/ stress management, culture and self-subjective well-being newweb.mangement.nyu.edu.

The different 'faces' of happiness - unhappiness in organizational research: Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002) 

First article written by Wright, Larwood and Denney (2202) about the different “faces” of happiness, used a non-probability sampling procedure. The method used by the researchers was the convenience one. One of the researchers asked mental health case workers (N=90). The employees worked at a public sector agency located in the western United States.  From 90 people he interviewed, he received actual data from 66 employees (73% rate of response). All respondents were employees of the same department and had similar responsibilities. The mean age was 47 years and the mean tenure was 17.7 years. Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002). The authors selected this sampling procedure because; these employees had available measured information about emotional exhaustion, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, psychological well-being and job performance. This characteristic was mandatory for the researchers to proceed with the correlations they wanted to research. About the validity of the procedure, the authors chose measures scales performed and validated by previous researches.

The researchers identified four dependent variables emotional exhaustion, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, psychological well-being and one independent variable, job performance. Basically, the researchers used previous researches about these topics and connected them with job performance. One important thing about validity is that the authors used previous tested and validated measures and scales in order to reduce validity threats.

Sources of happiness: A qualitative approach by Luo and Jian, (1997).

The researchers chose a heterogeneous sample from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A total of 54 people were interviewed. Adults between 18 and 60 years were chosen for this study. I think the researchers decided to use a long range of ages, gender and social and cultural status, because they wanted to see if there were a relation about happiness and these demographic and cultural factors. The method used is non-probability procedure and the selected method is convenience, they interviewed randomly volunteers of the city. 

Like the first article, the authors relied on previous researches categorized as reliable and valid. Internal validity is supported by previous studies of well-known authors from east and west. External threats are also reduced by using these previous researches and randomly selection of the people who were interviewed.

The researchers have selected the Oxford Happiness Inventory (1989) which is a valid and reliable study accepted by the community. Based on this study, the researcher narrowed the sources of happiness to the top nine. In this qualitative study, the authors identified the following variables What is meant by happiness in traditional Chinese culture and how can happiness be achieved, Luo and Jian, (1997). At the end, what the authors wanted to see and compare are the differences and similarities of happiness between east and west.

The different 'faces' of happiness - unhappiness in organizational research: by Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002) used a non-probability sampling procedure, the method selected was convenience. The survey was conducted by 66 employees whose data about the topic of research were already measured and available and I think that is maybe the main reason researchers have decided to choose this type of design. Authors defined “a sample size of at least 40 is required to detect a squared correlation of .25 with power equal to .75 and alpha equal to .05. Thus, the obtained sample size of 41 used in the regression analysis is adequate for testing the relations investigated in this field research.” Wright, Larwood and Denney (2002).

Sources of happiness: A qualitative approach By Luo and Jian (1997) performed a simple  probabilistic procedure and the method was simple. The decided for this approach in order to obtain a well-diversified heterogeneous sample. “previous research has indicated that sources of happiness may be heavily influenced by the individual's lifestyle or age group” Luo and Jian (1997).

Predictors of Job Satisfaction among Emerging Adults in Alberta, Canada by Nurullah (2010)  explores the aspect of satisfaction with jobs and career, and the predictors of job satisfaction among the emerging adults in Alberta. Data were obtained in 1030 adults in the region Alberta, Canada using a cluster sampling technique. The question the study wants to answer is what job satisfaction for emerging adults in Alberta is. The research considers the following job predictors which are self-esteem, happiness, work-reward preferences, valued job characteristics, income, education, occupational categories, and other demographic variables.

“The findings indicate that self-esteem and valued job characteristics are direct and strongest predictors of job satisfaction among the emerging adults. In addition, happiness and income positively predicts job satisfaction. The variable 'work-reward preferences' does not directly predict job satisfaction, but is rather mediated through self-esteem and valued job characteristics.”  Nurullah (2010). This study reveals that in fact job satisfaction is positive correlated to job satisfaction, which leads me to conclude that happiness at work place should be focused to satisfy self-esteem and self-realization.

Abu Sadat Nurullah is a PhD Student at Alberta University in Canada his topics of interest include Sociology of Health & Well-being Alcohol & drugs; Social Problems; New Media & Society; Cybersociology; Sociology of Religion; Culture & Identity.

Folk Theories of Happiness: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Conceptions of Happiness in Germany and South Africa by Jan Pflug (2008) makes a comparison between students from Germany and South Africa about this fundamental and simple question “What is happiness to you?” The researcher selected 57 German students and 44 black South African students. The data were collected in free format essays. Researchers found that satisfaction, contentment, positive affect, social relationship, freedom and the opposite of unhappiness were the main topics described by the students in their writings. South African students associated happiness with collectivism while Germans associated with individualism. However, strong culture-specific factors, such as the influence of philosophical traditions, material living circumstances and linguistic influences, were also found. Jan Pflug (2008).

This study gives good evidence that happiness has sociological and cultural influences on everybody’s opinion and idea of being happy. It is also important to consider these factors in job satisfaction and globalized corporations with people from different cultures and backgrounds. 

Conclusion

The topic of happiness will always be controversial and will always have different approaches and points of views depending on the origin, background, education, wealth, social position etc. What these articles have brought is that happiness at work place is related to job satisfaction. To obtain job satisfaction people need big doses of self-esteem, because happiness is not a constant state of human behavior. Happiness is a hard goal that needs to be achieved by every single person with its given resources. It is our responsibility to be coherent with our thinking, speaking and doing in order to be happy. Companies and employees should be aware that not every company meets their needs and not every employee meet companies’ needs. Under this fair and freely binding agreement should work companies and employees in order to transform work places into happier life’s plans.

References

Akhtar, S. (2010). Happiness: Origins, forms, and technical relevance. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 70(3), 219-44. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2010.13

Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2003). Personality, culture, and subjective well-being: Emotional and cognitive evaluations of life. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 403-25. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205753091?accountid=33575

Kerfoot, K.M. (2012). The pusuit of happiness science, and effective staffing: The leader’s challenge . Nursing Economics, 30 (5), 305-6, 260. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/1112217893?accountid=48385

Luo, L., & Jian, B. S. (1997). Sources of happiness: A qualitative approach. The Journal of Social Psychology, 137(2), 181-187. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199809079?accountid=33575

Nurullah, A. S. (2010). Predictors of job satisfaction among emerging adults in alberta, canada. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(3), 3-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/821542963?accountid=33575

Pflug, J. (2009). Folk theories of happiness: A cross-cultural comparison of conceptions of happiness in germany and south africa. Social Indicators Research, 92(3), 551-563. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9306-8

Wright, T. A. (2006). The emergence of job satisfaction in organizational behavior. Journal of Management History, 12(3), 262-277. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17511340610670179

Wright, T. A., Larwood, L., & Denney, P. J. (2002). The different 'faces' of happiness - unhappiness in organizational research: Emotional exhaustion, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, and psychological.. Journal of Business and Management, 8(2), 109-126. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211508979?accountid=33575