America’s Declaration of Independence famously declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Unfortunately, America is becoming a less happy place to live. Last year, the “Gallup World Poll for the World Happiness Report 2024” found that the U.S. had fallen out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time since a global ranking began in 2012.[1] It remained outside the top 20 in this year’s report. The decrease in happiness was due in large part to a drop in happiness among younger adults. Which countries were the happiest countries? As usual, the countries ranking highest in the annual World Happiness Report are Nordic countries: Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Writing about the 2024 Report, journalist Ivana Saric noted, “A steady supply of studies has found that Americans feel glum about issues ranging from loneliness to the economy and the country’s political leadership. … Today’s young people report feeling less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices, more stressed and less satisfied with their living conditions. … People under 30 today also feel less confident in government and have increased perceptions of corruption.”[2]
Is the falling happiness rate no big deal or should business leaders care about the happiness of their workers? Tiffany Danko, an adjunct professor at USC Bovard College and a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, and Susan Vroman, a Senior Lecturer in Management at Bentley University, believe that happiness at work is a big deal. They explain, “Happiness, in general, has significant impacts on health, longevity, and relationships, and happier workers are shown to be more productive. While there are demonstrable benefits to cultivating a sense of happiness among workers, roles like chief executive optimist rarely appear on an organizational chart.”[3] I’m not sure a chief happiness officer is necessary; however, I agree that worker happiness is a big deal.
Danko and Vroman believe the best way to start improving corporate happiness is by improving trust. They explain, “Trust is an essential element that contributes to happiness. Research shows that people are happier when they find those they interact with to be trustworthy. With trust, individual well-being improves and people lead more satisfying lives. Trust has even been credited as being a key driver of shared prosperity in cohesive societies. An organization should prioritize developing trust in and among the workforce to cultivate happiness.” So how does a company create more trust? To answer that question, Danko and Vroman asked business leaders in Nordic countries, where happiness appears to flourish. Those leaders pointed to three areas: transparency, equity, and candor.
● Transparency: Stand for what you say you do, all the time. According to Danko and Vroman, “Transparency removes personal agendas or filters from practices and behaviors. End-users can discern the motives and methodologies of leaders who do what they say they will do, for stated reasons, consistently. … [In 2024] among working Americans, trust [was measured] lower than it had been. From the court system to banks, tech companies, and media, less than one-third of the U.S. feels they can trust the leading institutions in the country. Years of scandals, bail-outs, and contentious, divisive political campaigns are part of the problem. The lack of transparency in the operations of these entities has led to widespread mistrust, impacting the broader American public.” They conclude, “Leaders are watched, and those who have integrity to their stated goals merit trust which in turn makes employees happy.”
● Equity: Encourage equitable efforts toward public welfare. Danko and Vroman report, “The Global Competitive Report asserts that Nordic leadership places a high value on public welfare. Taxpayer money is trusted to support social programs that support healthcare, education, and job training. … Together, all of these efforts work toward building trust between the population and government, recognizing past obligations, and preparing for a future of cooperation in building a prosperous country across the social spectrum. Building trust across levels of an organization extends beyond government in these countries, with companies and organizations also committing to transparency, trust, and a commitment to support human resource management.” With more and more companies in America deemphasizing DEI initiatives, companies may find employee happiness declining. Danko and Vroman conclude, “Providing programs that serve the well-being of employees can generate a sense of trust between employee and employer through the simple recognition that everyone’s well-being matters.”
● Candor: Foster constructive candor. According to Danko and Vroman, “[Candor] is about being yourself, providing accurate representations of thought, and sharing the insights and ideas you are uniquely qualified to impart. … Candor is both founded on trust and strengthens it, while also being a core element of authentic leadership. Candor encourages innovation, fosters growth, and nurtures ethics and accountability. Furthermore, candor enables leaders to respond to changing stakeholder needs and navigate challenges because they have access to timely and relevant information. … To foster this kind of candor, companies should formalize the establishment of systems, norms, and communication modalities that build psychological safety.”
Danko and Vroman conclude, “When workers feel like they know what is going on, that their well-being is formally on the company’s agenda, and that their voices are valued, and will not be retaliated against, they feel comfortable coming to work and doing their best. They will feel happy. Happier employees can make our companies more competitive and more successful.”
Another trait business leaders should cultivate in their organization is gratitude. According to Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, “Gratitude is the high-octane fuel without which we’d be in relational ruin. … [Without gratitude] organizations, families, [and] societies would crumble.”[4] Jesse Harriott, global head of Analytics at Workhuman, believes cultivating a gratitude attitude at work will go a long way towards making employees happier and more productive. He explains, “One way organizations can infuse gratitude into their cultures — and generate useful data in the process — is by implementing an employee recognition program. Social recognition is a real-time stream of the excellent work happening in your company, and it empowers all employees to reward each other for behaviors that align with your values and mission.”[5] He also notes, “Peer-to-peer recognition strengthens ties among team members and departments.”
A close traveling companion of gratitude is social capital. McKinsey and Company executives, John Parsons and Brooke Weddle, explain, “Social capital, a technical term for connectivity in the workplace, is important for helping employees execute, learn, innovate, and advance in organizations. … It’s important to have connections to facilitate greater creativity and greater learning. There’s a lot of research that shows if you are more engaged, you’re more likely to stay.”[6] Another way of stating that is, “If you are happy, you’re more likely to stay.” And businesses generally prefer low turnover in the workforce. If Danko and Vroman are correct — that happiness is “a key driver of shared prosperity in cohesive societies” — America’s happiness rating will continue to fall as political parties continue to encourage culture wars. Business leaders would be wise to encourage cohesiveness and trust in the workplace. The International Day of Happiness might be a great time to evaluate how happy your employees are and to assess what else you can do to help them in their personal pursuit of happiness.
Footnotes
[1] Clare Ansberry, “U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World’s 20 Happiest Countries,” The Wall Street Journal, 19 March 2024.
[2] Ivana Saric, “U.S. hits new low in World Happiness Report,” Axios, 20 March 2024.
[3] Tiffany Danko and Susan Vroman, “There’s a happiness gap at work. Here’s what we learned from leaders in Finland and Denmark, the happiest countries in the world,” Fast Company, 5 August 2024.
[4] Jesse Harriott, “How measuring gratitude can help entire companies work better,” Fast Company, 27 November 2019.
[5] Ibid.
[6] John Parsons and Brooke Weddle, “Social capital: Build back better relationships at work,” McKinsey & Company, 20 October 2022.
