Happiness expert, educator and coach, speaker, Founder and CEO of the Oxford based consultancy iOpener, Jessica Pryce-Jones, was kind enough to answer a few questions about her important and research based book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success.
The author demonstrates, with real world examples, of how employees who are happier at work achieve their highest potential, earn more, are promoted more readily, and are much more productive than unhappy staff members.
Thanks to Jessica Pryce-Jones for her very interesting and informative answers on this important, but rarely discussed topic.
What was the background to writing this book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: I’ve wanted to write a book since 2005 when we first started really understanding the subject of happiness at work. And having done a long-term study into what it is and how to use it, I felt it was a real pity not to share what we knew from our research and consulting work. So having talked about it for four years I finally decided to take action. So I met a friend who told me how to write a proposal, took a week off and at the same time happened to spot an ad from agent Ant Read at Jaine J Brent. Within a couple of months he’d found me a publisher and then came the real test: delivering on the deal.
When you mention happiness at work, what do you mean by that term?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: Having interpreted the data, we can see that at some core level, people believe that happiness at work is a mindset which helps you maximize your potential. You do that by being aware of the highs and lows when working alone or with others. In other words it’s the way you approach things, manage yourself while understanding that your happiness as a valuable resource. So it needs to be protected and fostered as it’s good for you and your organization.
Many people have worked at companies where no one seemed very happy, yet they will tell you that the company was successful. Is happiness at work really necessary for success?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: It depends on what you mean by success. If results are produced yet the cost is burnt-out dysfunctional employees, lack of trust and high interpersonal conflict I’m not sure that this is truly ‘success’: the fallout is simply too great. Happiness is very closely associated with productivity, so if organizations were to start to drive it through addressing what makes them happy – and this isn’t difficult or costly to do - we’d see some very different workplaces. And here’s the business case: people who are happiest at work are 47% more productive, take 300% less sick leave and intend to stay about 200% longer in their jobs. In other words there’s a high price for low happiness.
What benefits does an individual and the organization receive if people are happy at work?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: Individuals who are happiest at work have a host of benefits. They:
• Are 180% more energized
• Experience 155% more happiness in their jobs
• Find 108% more engagement
• Feel 50% more motivated
• Find 50% more belief in their potential
• Are 40% more confident
• Think they have 35% more control over what they do.
What’s not to like about any of this, and these items are merely scratching the surface of all the positive outcome of being happy at work. There are many more statistics, numbers and stories illustrating all of it in my new book ‘Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success’ published by Wiley Blackwell.
Jessica Pryce-Jones (photo left)
If a person is happier at work, will they also be happier and more successful in other areas of their lives as well?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: Yes! They’ll be happier with the home lives too. In fact their general happiness scores are 150% higher than their least happy colleagues.
Your book is heavily research based. Who did you interview and what did you discover about workplace happiness?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: I was privileged enough to interview some fantastic and awe-inspiring people who shared their incredible stories with me. In fact I was often humbled and left in awe about what these amazing people had done: I don’t just means CEOs, like Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, but for example the server in Au Bon Pain, Boston, Habibo Hirsi, who had such dignity and insight into what being a refugee had bought her. Or Brother Paulus Terwitte, the Capuchin Friar who was passionate about enabling everyone to finding meaning in what they do.
In fact every single interview moved me in some way: my only regret is that I didn’t have more space in the book for all of them. What I really found is that everyone wants to achieve, to do something and do it well. No-one shows up at work actively wanting to do a bad job. And that’s something we all need to remember when things look tough.
Were there any findings in the research that surprised you?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: One of the things that surprised me most was how important listening is for happiness at work and enabling great performance. In fact that finding made my heart sink because I thought ‘I can’t write a book about listening!’ Another thing that surprised me were how relatively unimportant using your strengths is: it’s coming in 24 in order of importance. Finally there was the issue of money: I was convinced it had a role in happiness at work but our data is telling us that it has no effect on overall workplace happiness. In contrast it does affect our overall general happiness. I suspect it’s because work isn’t the place where we get to think about how we spend our earnings.
Your book outlines the five Cs to workplace happiness. What are those five Cs and why are they important?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: The five Cs for happiness at work are:
- Contribution, which is the effort you make and your perception of it
- Conviction, which is your motivation in good times or bad
- Culture, which is about how well you feel you fit
- Commitment, which is about your level of engagement
- Confidence, which is about your ability to take a risk
They matter because they affect everything you do and without them your happiness levels will take a dive – fast, and in turn your performance will plummet too.
How can an employee become happier at work?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: One of the first things an employee can do to assess their happiness at work is to do our free online questionnaire. It’s available at www.iopener.com/report and it will provide you with a 6 page report into exactly what is affecting performance, productivity and happiness at work. And there are many self-help starter points included too.
Another fantastic technique was devised by Amy Wresniewski: she advocates writing down all the tasks and relationships that someone really enjoys at work, rank ordering them and thinking about how to get more of the stuff that’s appealing.
How can an employer or manager help staff members become happier and more engaged in the workplace?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: First and foremost leaders need to create the context for people to feel happy in. And that means focusing on what creates pride and trust. These are essential for the 5Cs to truly flourish. Then they need to recognize employees in the way employees need and want to be recognized. It’s incredible the effect that this powerful trio have in setting the context in which people work. And it’s clear from our research that they really lock onto and influence the 5Cs – and have decreased dramatically since the recession started.
So in addition to paying attention to the 5Cs, employers and managers need to have some conversations and get to the root of what matters for each and every employee. It might sound time-consuming but we’ve worked out that an organization of about 500 employees doing this would get the equivalent of 60 additional jobs.
Does happiness at work pay off in a tangible way in the form of enhanced profits?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: Absolutely. There’s a clear line of sight between happiness and performance and although I can’t say because we’ve signed non-disclosure agreements, clients have been delighted by the outcomes they’ve experienced when using our approach. By the way sometimes, ‘profits’ aren’t a useful measure for tracking performance, for example for those working in the Third Sector. So reduced errors, accidents, greater client contacts, share price, market share, repeat business can be more interesting ways of tracking what’s going on depending on who we’re working with. Ultimately all of these will impact finances one way or another.
If in the end, a person truly dislikes their job and the company, what should they do?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: If someone really hates their job, their boss and the organization, plus they aren’t prepared to take any steps to try and make things better, the only thing that I recommend they do is to quit. And that can be hugely liberating. I’d recommend to anyone in this position that they line something else up first and don’t react in the heat of the moment. If that’s not possible, then I’d ask what the cost of doing nothing is? Because in most cases there’s a high cost for low happiness.
What is the first step a company should take to increase the happiness quotient in their entire organization?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: First they have to engage with the concept and that’s down to the leadership team. Then ask employees: they’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s going on, what works and what doesn’t. Another option is to use our assessment tool which gives organizations a really clear picture of the happiness-productivity chain. For the quick fix option, my book will give leaders lots of ideas of what to do. It’s called Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success, published by Wiley Blackwell and it’s available on amazon.
What is next for Jessica Pryce-Jones?
Jessica Pryce-Jones: At the moment and in the future I’ll be leading a tremendously exciting project to accredit business leaders, HR practitioners, executive coaches and the learning and development community what we do, so they can use this approach themselves. I’d love to make a special offer to all readers: the first 5 people to read this article and who email me at jess.prycejones@iopener.com can attend any one of the two-day workshops below:
Washington DC, USA, September 27-28, 2010
Chicago, USA, September-October 30-1, 2010
Dubai, UAE, November 9-10, 2010
Dallas, USA, November 15-16, 2010
Los Angeles, USA, November 18-19, 2010
London, UK, November 24-25, 2010
The cost is usually $795 for not-for-profit organizations or sole practitioners and $2,395 for corporate who want to attend. Included will be access to all the tools and techniques, our database and anything new we develop in the future. Our aim is to co-create a new global community of practice for all those interested driving performance through the new science of happiness at work. What could be better than that?
Jessica Pryce-Jones is author of Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success, published by Wiley Blackwell. She lives in Oxford. For more information, visit iOpener.com.
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My book review of Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success by Jessica Pryce-Jones.
