Work-Happiness-Report: 3 factors for happiness at work
What is work happiness? For the second time, the Hamburg-based startup awork got to the bottom of this question and once again conducted a survey in collaboration with the market research scaleup Appinio and the Happyness & Work Academy. Three factors, sense of purpose, self-realization and community, turned out to be particularly relevant.
Rather more happiness than more money
1,068 people participated in the survey, which took place in the fall of 2022, and the average age was 40.1. When asked how happy they were with their current job, the average score was 6.7 on a scale of 1 to 10; overall happiness in life was rated at 7.1. To increase their happiness at work, 71% of respondents would be willing to give up some of their income. This is an astonishing increase compared to the first Work-Happiness-Report, which was surveyed in October 2021. At that time, only 38% were willing to take pay cuts.
Despite rising prices everywhere, the old wisdom "money alone doesn't make you happy" is apparently more true than ever. In addition, there should be the feeling of making a valuable contribution to a higher goal with one's work. It is also important to be able to use one's own strengths and abilities in this work and to contribute one's own ideas. This should not be confused with egoism, because the third happiness factor concerns the sense of community. There is a desire for everyone in a team to pull together and strive toward a common goal. All three factors were rated equally highly in the survey, with an expression of 66%.
What employer can do
If one or more of these factors are not present, the desire to change jobs increases. 36% of respondents occasionally or frequently think about quitting. One reason for this is a lack of team spirit - 39% said that responsibility is shifted back and forth in tense situations. Self-fulfillment is also still often a problem, with only 57% stating that they were able to implement their ideas. After all, 72% felt their work was meaningful, but even that can not be enough for an ambitious employer.
The best way to increase overall happiness at work in a company is to define common goals and values while considering the individual qualities of each team member. This is where startups have an advantage, as they often have a value-based approach from the outset rather than rigidly defined work requirements, and instead use their employees flexibly. By the way, flexibility is also desired in the location of work: 52% would like a hybrid solution of home office and fixed office. By contrast, only 7% want to work exclusively remotely. This also speaks for the growing importance of a sense of community.
You can download the entire Work-Happiness-Report here.
