Happy Employees = Productive Employees

Such is the conclusion of a scientific study conducted by the University of Warwick (UK) that was recently mentioned by Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group.

The research shows that, on average, happy employees are 12% more productive. It even points out that Google, which is among the companies that invest most in staff wellness programs, enjoys a 37% higher productivity than average businesses.

Obviously, staff happiness is extremely difficult to manage. First, each person can find their happiness in their own way and there is therefore no single recipe to make your team happy. Second, many personal factors beyond a manager’s control can affect the well-being of their employees.

(CC) @Doug88888

However, any manager who cares about the happiness of their team, whether for reasons of ethics or self-interest, should know that other prevalent studies show that intrinsic motivation (feeling part of a project, loving what you do, being intellectually stimulated…) is much more powerful than extrinsic motivation (looking for a financial reward, avoiding a punishment…).

Moreover, intrinsic motivation offers in my opinion the double advantage for the manager of being much more challenging to inspire than extrinsic motivation and less dependent on factors beyond their control (salary raise budget, bonus policy…).