SHOULD THE HR DEPARTMENTS ADDRESS TO ‘THE HAPPINESS INDEX’ OF ITS EMPLOYEES?

The term “Happiness Index” of people has been recognized at the International level and some measurement systems are applied to assess the Happiness Index of the people based on certain parameters. This however is the product of several concerns in each country - social, economic, cultural and otherwise. The index is nurtured by many ingredients of the vibrant society both human and non-human. In this context, the role of organizations where people get employed for several years or for a large part of their life appears quite important as ‘the guardian angel’ of the happiness of the people who are employed by them and who contribute to their productivity and growth. Though organizations cannot take total responsibility for such issues, given their priorities elsewhere, it appears that an organization which has a social consciousness must facilitate and empower the people with them to assimilate the inputs which would go a long way to enriching their happiness.

Some factors that might be relevant to mention are:

1.     Work environment:  An organization is bound to provide a safe, secure and stress-free environment that would help the employee to work with comfort and confidence. An insecure environment, a disrespectful environment and a negative environment will cause physical, emotional and psychological set backs which the employee will carry from the workstation to the home also and thus demotivating his/her environment stealing away the happiness. Possibly the HR departments should keep a vigil on such environments through inputs from internal and external sources, so that there is a continuous enrichment mechanism to add value to a positive work environment. The success of the organization lies in the psychological wellbeing of its employees

     Work-Life Balance:   This issue should be put on the top agenda of the HR departments. Any employee, whatever level he functions, is given a work schedule and a time schedule. There should be a reasonable match between the above so that the employees do not spend time in the organization sacrificing their personal and domestic life and concerns. In many organization, this becomes an addictive behavior and at some time, the employees start celebrating their overstay as an attribute of their challenging work, which may not be true. Any mismatch between work-Life profiles is indeed a negative input to the happiness level of the persons concerned. In short or stretched times, this leads to psychological imbalances. Working in organizations for long hours after regular timings should be discouraged. Productive use of “Time” is an important indicator for happiness and hence HR should continuously facilitate development of “skills” and “effectiveness” along with “efficiency”.

Health consciousness:  Organizations need to support and audit the health profile of its employees. Healthy individuals are assets to the productivity profile of any organization. Hence apart from the financial incentives, the HR departments need to organize, support and enable people to develop positive and enriching attitudes towards preventive health care. Periodic health camps and outings that give time for breathing freshness of life will go a long way to enrich their health and thus happiness. Financial investments in this are should never be treated as burden on the budget, but should be built into the investments on improving core resources of the organizations.  Opportunities for organized gym work, meditation and yoga, and similar support systems might help them to opt for their own methods in pursuit of happiness. The organizational health is possibly the summary of the healthy profile of its employees.

4.    Family support systems: A progressive organization should keep an eye on the family relationships of the employees and help them to support and look after their families, which in turn will trigger the confidence profile of the employee over the commitment of the organization. This hidden agenda to nurture the happiness of the individual facilitates free and positive thinking and hence improves the belonging of the individual to the organization.

5.     Recognition and self-esteem: One of the significant contributors to the happiness of the individual is the ‘recognition’ they get from their superiors, boss or the company. That helps to build their self-esteem. Self-esteem infuses a sense of confidence, positive working attitude and an intent to enjoy whatever one does. That seeds elements of happiness in one’s mind. HR units should work on a scheme that could trigger the self-esteem of the people through timely appreciation, guidance and mentoring.

6.    Empowering Growth: “Growth” and “Development” are powerful inputs for triggering happiness. All organizations should have a scheme or a plan of action that would facilitate ‘further learning” for its employees. “Education” is considered as a strong scaffold for happiness and hence facilitation for continuous learning and empowerment will help the employees to learn as well as develop a sense of ‘ownership’ with the organizations.

 While several other factors including financial support and scope for display of talent would help in improving the Happiness index of the employees, the above are a few pathways which could be considered by the HR departments. In a fast-changing global set up of organizational management, the role and functions of the HR is also fast changing. The expectations of employees with emerging “work from home” culture has redefined the relationship profile of the people with the organizations and thus the functional dynamics of HR departments. The change is inevitable. one doesn’t know who are those early birds?