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Putting Performance and Happiness Together in the Workplace

Both job performance and the employees' level of happiness

impact the potential of success for an organization.

Which of the following types of persons would you prefer to have in

greater numbers in your organization?

A. Happy Low Performers

B. Unhappy Low Performers

C. Unhappy High Performers

D. Happy High Performers

E. All of the above.

The obvious preference would be "D." Intuition aside, mounting

evidence suggests that happy high performing workforces correlatewith greater employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, productivity, and

profits. The majority of workplaces, however, are filled with "E": all ofthe above.

The intersection between the dimensions of performance and

happiness will dictate whether an organization is able to sustain itssuccess. This article highlights the importance of both performance

and happiness to the long-term success of a business, describes the

key dimensions of happiness in the workplace, and offers a self-assessment tool which individuals may use in thinking about their own

personal performance and happiness at work. A call is made topractitioners and applied researchers to design, develop, and test

happiness-enhancing interventions to assist practitioners in their

efforts to boost happiness in the workplace.

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The Performance Happiness Matrix

In the context of performance management, "performance" refers to

actions that drive the achievement of key results. A "high performer"

is an individual (or work group) that performs the actions necessary to

drive key results. "Happiness" is the experience of frequent, mildlypleasant emotions, the relative absence of unpleasant feelings, and ageneral feeling of satisfaction with one's life." People who are happy in

the work setting are generally having more positive experiences than

negative ones in connection with the work place and their job.

An interesting and useful way of viewing people and groups across the

two dimensions of performance and happiness is depicted in Figure 1.Happy and sad faces, with arrows symbolizing high and low

performance, represent the four permutations in this analysis. The

author often uses this matrix with executives to discuss their ownsituation as well as that of the people in their organizations.

References in this article to the various quadrants are used for thoughtand discussion purposes only. For more specific analysis of areas of

relative strength and weakness for a particular individual or group

within an organization, see the Performance-Happiness Self-Assessment Survey.

Performance-Happiness Matrix

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1. Quadrant #1:Happy Low Performer. These employees remainhappy in spite of poor performance. They may be especially optimistic,

perhaps mismatched for their current position, or need training. Tom,for example, a new and inexperienced pharmaceutical sales person,

was positive about his future and hopeful that his current poor

performance would improve with sales skill training. He was optimisticand hopeful about succeeding in this position, even though his current

performance was poor; as his performance improves, he would movetoward Q4 behavior.

2. Quadrant #2: Unhappy Low Performer. Many factors can

contribute to this condition, including a lack of performancemanagement systems, poor selection practices, and little or no

meaningful employee recognition. For example, Mary was frustratedand unhappy in the workplace most of the time. Her job required her

to be detail-oriented, structured and willing to work alone for long

periods of time. The problem was that Mary was not good with details,and she was creative and extroverted. She was an underperformer in

her current job with little chance of succeeding because her workpreferences did not match those required by her job.

Negative low performers can keep organizations from reaching their

full potential. Their own lack of success drags down overallperformance. Perhaps more significantly, unhappy low performers can

infect others with negative attitudes and become negative role models,

exacerbating the impact of their unhappiness, and allowing

counterproductive behaviors to creep into the workplace.

3. Quadrant #3: Unhappy High Performer. Various reasons may

underlie why an employee who is performing well may nonetheless beunhappy in the workplace. For instance, employees may be unhappy

because their work is not challenging, or they are repeatedly asked todo the same assignments because they are good at a particular

activity. Without challenging work, it is difficult for an employee tobecome involved, engaged, or positive about his or her work, making

it difficult to sustain high performance over time. This may result in

the most talented and marketable people, who are unhappy, leavingan organization.

For instance: Having been given the same assignments numerous

times, Peter was unhappy and frustrated. While he continued to be ahigh performer in his current position, Peter believed that no one cared

about his development and was contemplating looking for anotherposition.

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4. Quadrant #4: Happy High Performer. Happy high performancepresents the best prospect for long-term organizational success. A

high performer who is happy about his/her work will be much morelikely to sustain high performance over time and deliver key results.

A Closer Look at Quadrant #4, the Happy High Performer

People who occupy Quadrant #4 share some key characteristics. These

individuals:

1. Have a clear direction.

2. Find that direction motivating.3. Focus on what is important and what they can influence.

4. Are linked to the resources necessary to execute key actions.

5. Talk and act in ways that promote performance and happiness.6. Are significantly engaged in their work.

7. Find meaning and purpose in their work.8. Have more positive experiences than negative experiences at

work.

9. Are grateful about the past and do not carry grudges.10. Are optimistic looking into the future.

11. Achieve agreed upon results.12. Are happy about their workplace.

Managerial leaders are encouraged to use the "Performance

Happiness Self-Assessment Survey" to rate themselves on these

characteristics. This assessment tool is an informal survey that servesas a springboard for a conversation about areas of relative strength

and areas where improvement may be indicated, with the goal ofpersonal growth toward Q4.

Paths to Performance and Happiness

Job satisfaction researchers have had a long standing debate as towhether employees are happy first and performers second, or

performers first and happy second. However, both happiness and jobperformance need to be addressed.

Various paths exist to maximize performance and happiness. It may

be relatively easier to move people from Q1 or Q3, rather than fromQ2, toward the high performing happy Q4. For instance, a change in

recognition and reward strategies may be sufficient to move people in

Q3 to Q4. In most situations, however, the "fix" to enhance people'shappiness in their work environment will be challenging. Tools exist for

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increasing performance, but positivity enhancing interventions thatdrive happiness still need to be developed for use within organizational

settings.

1. Increasing Performance. A managerial leader can maximize

performance by taking action in the following four areas:

1. Designing, developing, and delivering a clear and motivating

direction2. Creating operational focus

3. Effectively and efficiently linking or coordinating resources

4. Ensuring that people practice effective influence skills

When managerial leaders effectively execute the action roles ofdirector, focuser, linker and influencer, performance is advanced. In

order to be a high performer, an employee must have a clear andmotivating direction, know what to focus on, know how to access and

link with resources to maximize his or her performance, and besurrounded by people who practice effective influence or people skills,

including individuals who model and promote happiness.

2. Increasing Happiness. In looking at happiness in the workplace,we find that a person's orientation in reflecting on the past, focusing

on the present, and looking into the future, is determinative of

whether he or she is happy.

When reflecting on the past, the way to happiness is to begrateful and "count your blessings." Happy people do not carry

grudges; they find effective ways to forgive others.

In looking at one's present situation, individuals derive

happiness from being significantly engaged in their work, findingmeaning/purpose in what they do, and/or regularly having more

happy/positive experiences than negative ones.

Individuals who are challenged while using their skills andstrengths will be engaged in their work. When an optimal

balance occurs between challenge and skill, a person becomesfully engaged in the activity at hand. Such individuals are "in

flow" with their work.

Employees experience meaning in their work when they

recognize that their work has an impact on others. Meaning is

often brought into greater focus when employees understandwhat needs they are satisfying for the end users of their

organization's products and services. For example, whenproduction workers in a manufacturing plant recognize that their

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company's products contribute to environmental safety incommunities around the globe, they can see the greater good, or

meaning, in their work beyond the relative simplicity ofcompleting their own daily tasks.

Finally, happiness comes from work experiences that yield

positive emotions, positive thoughts, and/or positive images inpeople. Positive emotions in particular have the capacity to

"build and broaden" people's positive response repertoire. Peoplewho approach tasks with positivity have been found to be more

productive, creative and resilient.

When looking into the future, happy performers are optimisticand hopeful. They utilize positive goals, self-talk and other

strategies to help them remain resilient as they move forward.

Perhaps the initial way for a managerial leader to think about how to

influence the happiness level of his or her employees is in relation to

the employee's present situation. For example, engagement with one'swork can likely be enhanced by having an individual assess her

"strengths" and utilize those strengths in her work. This may includecoaching to help the individual use her strengths in innovative ways.

An employee's level of engagement at work, and subsequent

happiness, is likely boosted when he or she has the opportunity to dowhat he or she does best at work utilizing one's strengths is a

positive experience. (This could likely help Mary, the Q2 Unhappy LowPerformer, move toward Q4.)

A Call to Action

Organizational leaders should strive to increase the number of Happy

High Performers in their ranks. Start by assessing yourself in relationto the qualities of a high-performing happy person. With this

assessment you can develop practical action plans that help you movetoward higher performance and happiness in the work environment.

To increase the number of happy high performers in the workplace,

organizational leaders need access to proven happiness-enhancinginterventions. Unfortunately, there has been little work done in

organizational settings to address this need. As a foundation, there isa growing body of applied research which seeks to validate happiness

enhancing interventions in self-help and mental health settings.

Practitioners and applied researchers working in organizations need tofocus more attention on developing practical happiness-enhancing

interventions to assist managerial leaders to help their people becomemore engaged in their work, experience meaning in their work, and

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experience positive emotions, thoughts, and images in relation to thework and work environment. With tools to help people in organizations

enhance their happiness combined with effective performancemanagement systems, happy high performers will likely grow in

numbers within organizations.

Use this article as a springboard to look at yourself and your currentorganization from a performance-happiness perspective. You are

encouraged to use the Performance Happiness Self-Assessment

Survey that is provided to help you target potential areas for personalchange and fine tuning. Strive to become a happy high-performing role

model for others as you move towards building and sustaining a highperforming happy workplace.

http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/081/performance2.htmlhttp://gbr.pepperdine.edu/081/performance2.htmlhttp://gbr.pepperdine.edu/081/performance2.htmlhttp://gbr.pepperdine.edu/081/performance2.html