Today is the UN's International Day of Happiness – a day set aside to raise global awareness that happiness is a fundamental human goal. Global issues such as human rights, peacekeeping and sustainable development are what we would expect the UN to have on its agenda. So why has it decided that the seemingly frivolous idea of happiness is worth championing?
If we could create a world that was more inclusive, equitable, and balanced, a world where all people were happier, most of us would agree that this would be progress. When understood like this, happiness suddenly seems a much more serious issue, one that belongs on the global agenda. The UN is so serious about it that in a 2012 resolution it called for a "more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes ... the happiness and well-being of all peoples".
As far away as Bhutan, whose government convened the first UN Conference on Happiness at which the International Day of Happiness was instigated, happiness is now featuring on national agendas. The UK government is taking a lead and is the first western nation to have an official national indicator of wellbeing.
All too often, the concept of happiness is hijacked by advertisers and the popular media and then sold back to us in the form of materialism and glamour. In reality, the important things for our happiness are rarely even things at all. They are more about the quality of our relationships and whether what we do in our home and working lives feels purposeful.
The London-based campaign group Action for Happiness is co-ordinating many global events this year under the banner of "reclaiming happiness". Falling on a Thursday, this year's International Day of Happiness is a workday for most of us. Let's ask ourselves the question: how would the world be if we were all happier at work?
It is quite a radical question. For many, work has come to signify the exact opposite of happiness. It's where we go to earn the money to buy the things we hope will make us happy. We don't expect to be happy at work; we expect to endure it until we clock out or log off and return to our real lives – a life outside of work.
But hang on a minute. The average Brit spends 100,000 hours at work during their lifetime – that's more than 11 and a half years. Work is part of our real life and if we were happier at work we would be happier in our whole lives. We'd be better partners, better parents, better people. So happiness at work is good for us, as individuals.
But what about business? Let's ask another question: what happens to a business if its employees are happier at work?
Far from spending the day lolling about and chatting with colleagues, as some sceptics might assume, happier employees are more creative, more innovative and more focused on their work. Every day they make more progress with their work than their unhappy colleagues. They also are much less likely to leave – who leaves a job they love?
When we do the maths, the costs of ignoring happiness at work are substantial. An average UK company will employ about 250 people. If it is average in all aspects, then about 40 of them will leave each year and over 1,000 days will be lost due to absenteeism. If the company had a really happy, engaged workforce, then staff turnover would typically halve, absenteeism would be cut by 25%, and productivity would increase by about 20%. The cost of ignoring happiness in an average UK company, paying average wages, works out to be in excess of £1m every year. Happiness at work is not a threat to business; it's an opportunity.
Creating happy profitable businesses may work for the few but surely the world will continue on its current path towards an inequitable, unbalanced, and unsustainable future, regardless?
This is where the happiness perspective gets really interesting. Most of us feel happier when we work for an organisation that is seeking to make a positive impact in the world. In fact, many of us forgo higher salaries to work for organisations and on issues that are aligned with our personal values and sense of purpose. Organisations that create products and services that make the world a better place will surely be rewarded with employees who are happier, more engaged, and genuinely proud to work there. There is a win-win-win here for individuals, business and society.
So today, let's reclaim our happiness – at work as well as at home. Let's follow the example of the UN and put happiness at the core of everything we do and we can work together to a make a better world for all of us.
Nic Marks is director of Happiness Works and on the board of Action for Happiness
Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
View all comments >