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happy conclave 4

happy angle 7

happiness survey 9

happy encounters 14

happy lifestyle 17

happy spotlight 20

happy & healthy 23

happy pursuit 26

happy hours 28

happy trends 30

happiness advantage 32

happiness ambassadors 33

Dear friends,

I am really happy with my debut as an independent entrepreneur. The purpose is defined – to work towards creating happiness at workplace. Eclectic panelists, enthusiastic delegates, eminent sponsors and energetic volunteers – that’s all it took to pull off a show that saw a full house in the inaugural edition itself held at New Delhi. By all means, it was a dream start.

HyWe, the HappY Workplace conclavE is not merely a get together of working professionals. It’s a community of committed individuals who want to make a difference.

I decided to take this initiative because I want employee and employer to benefit from what I went through. I want to help organisation understand how unhappiness at workplace impact them. I want to help my colleagues realise various forms of this malady and what can be done to deal with it. I have seen people suffer in silence. I have seen colleagues going into depression. I have seen their family members having sleepless nights. Worse, I have seen children losing their childhood. And I have also seen organisation declining due to the fear and uncertainty that gripped and crippled the workforce.

Yes, I quit and chose self-esteem over job. But that’s not the choice that everyone is willing to make. I envision a transformation where employer and employees come together to create a workplace where people look forward to coming every day, where job is fun, and where one is fearless to express and experiment. It’s a proven fact that one needs to feel happy to be able to do anything meaningful and worthwhile. All one needs to do is to bring pride and purpose to boost performance at the workplace.

Sure enough, we need to think positive. More importantly, we need to stay healthy. As Dr. Rakesh Shrivastava, MD, Cardiology from USA in his article, ‘How does your work affect your health’, tries to convey with facts and logic. He writes, “Creating a healthy workplace is in the best economic interests of any organisation.” The article is included in this journal, which is essentially a compendium of some interesting snippets and write-ups, including excerpts of discussions and deliberations that took place at the conclave.

Let’s join hands to stand up and speak up in a constructive way. Let’s play with a straight bat. That’s what we want to do. And that’s why we created Straight Drive. The game has just begun.

We wish you a happy reading.

Warm regards,

Mukund Trivedy Founder, Straight Drive

4

A full house at the inaugural edition of HyWe, the HappY

Workplace conclavE only reinforces the significance of

the topic. More than 150 delegates from various leading

national and multinational companies including start-ups

and academia attended the conclave that was held at

Hotel Pride Plaza in Aerocity near New Delhi International

Airport on 23 February 2018. Another redeeming

feature of the conclave was that the participants were a

heterogeneous group comprising working professionals

from across the industry, functions and hierarchies. They

all congregated to seek only one thing – how to create

happiness at workplace? It was not a question of whether

to do it or not but how to do it.

A day long schedule divided into a mix of keynote address

and panel discussions, the conclave sought to discuss and

discover a holistic view of creating happiness at workplace

covering as many aspects as possible. Kicking off the

Happy ConclaveThe event did full justice to the name of organisation, Straight

Drive. The discussions and deliberations emanated straight from

the heart. It was a conclave with a difference where emotions took

precedence over eloquence.

event, Padma Shri Dr. S.C. Manchanda, the renowned

Cardiologist who is a former Head of Cardiology at AIIMS

and is currently associated with Ganga Ram Hospital in

Delhi, highlighted the need to inculcate a healthy lifestyle

to create a happy workplace. He cited several medical

reports and data to show how stress at work was causing

lifestyle diseases. Referring to happiness as the attitude of

mind, Dr. Manchanda said, “Workplace becomes a hell if

you do not enjoy and relax at your work.” His prescription

for a healthy mind includes, Healthy Diet, Stress Control,

Regular Exercise and Tobacco Cessation. The session was

moderated by Palash Jain, Ex Googler and Management

Consultant who also shared his personal experience of

coming to terms with personal tragedy and deciding to

move on with life with full energy and enthusiasm.

Dr. Debashis Chatterjee, Director General, IMI, New

Delhi, had the audience in splits when he in his inimitable

Session on Happy OursPadma Shri Dr. S.C. Manchanda delivering the keynote address

the happY Workplace conlave

5

style explained how some moronic bosses in the corporate

world derived happiness by making their subordinates

unhappy. He emphasised, “Happiness ensues and

it cannot be pursued.” Dr. Chatterjee referred to the

flawed mental models as the real bottlenecks, “Most

organisations are essentially designed to perpetuate the

pursuit of impossible.” Providing a genesis of creating

happiness at workplace, he suggested, “Organisations

need to create necessary structures and infrastructures

which allow people to be cool, calm and comfortable at

their respective workplaces.”

The panel session which essentially comprised Founders

and CEOs, elicited some interesting perspectives on

what happiness meant and why it mattered. Kartik

Bharat Ram, Dy Managing Director, SRF, set the ball

rolling by announcing that his company measured and

monitored happiness index of employees on a monthly

basis. He also attempted defining the happiness for his

organisation, “We sincerely believe that employees are

happier if they are clear about their roles, responsibilities

and accountabilities.” But the key to happiness according

to Kartik lies in recruiting people who fit the DNA of

the organisation. He supported the argument with an

assertion, “We try to create a genome in terms of who is

an ideal employee for our organisation.”

Describing his organiaton’s framework of a happy

workplace, Nitin Razdan, Partner, Deloitte Consulting,

India referred to Meaningful Work, Supportive

Management, Positive Work Environment, Growth Dr. Debashis Chatterjee, Director General, IMI, New Delhi

Nitin Razdan, Partner, Deloitte Consulting, India

Kartik Bharat Ram, Dy Managing Director, SRF

Opportunities, and Trust & Leadership as the five key

tenets of an Irresistible Organisation. According to Adam

Cox, an independent Management Consultant from

UK, happiness would mean different things to different

people and it would be different for the same people at

different stages of their life and career. Referring to the

organisation culture as the real bedrock of happiness,

Adam said, “The culture of an organisation is best defined

as the employees’ perception of the last visible internal

promotion.” When interpreted, it meant, “What gets

rewarded gets reinforced.” He reiterated, “Leaders must

say what they mean and mean what they say.”

From what the CEOs and Founders discussed, it was clear

that providing customised and flexible policies to different

generations of workforce, striking work life balance with

24X 7 always on work culture, working across different

geographies and time-zones, and offering a choice to the

happY conclave

6

employees for everything from job to policies to postings,

are the key challenges that today’s organistions are

grappling with.

Highlighting the key outcomes of his organisation’s

recently published report on Best Places to Work, Pankaj

Bansal, Founder and CEO, PeopleStrong, said, “Most

admired companies are not necessarily the best places

to work.” His rationale was that people now didn’t view

jobs and organisations synonymously. Quoting from the

report he further added, “People perceive an organisation

as the best place to work if it is inclusive and fair, if it

doesn’t have huge hierarchies, and if it gives them an

opportunity to innovate.” Pankaj also provided his own

take on creating happiness at workplace, “I feel happiness

is a western concept. Traditionally in the Indian context,

we have always strived for contentment and happiness is

only an outcome.” Pankaj also brought attention to the

scientists’ view of decoding happiness which essentially

entailed about achieving a balance between the four key

requirements namely 1) Personal Health 2) Professional

Achievement, 3) Social Relationships, and 4) Giving to

Others. The session was ably moderated by Sanjeeva

Shivesh, Founder and CEO, The Entrepreneurship School.

The conclave also witnessed some interesting discussions

on the concept of Happiness Inventory by Dr. Yogesh

Pahuja, Founder of Happiness Studio and author of ‘Are

you Happy@Work’ and ‘Using Science and Philosophy

to create Happier Workplaces’ by Jennifer Hancock,

Founder of Humanist Learning Systems from USA. Other

sessions included deliberations on the practical challenges

and opportunities of building happiness quotient at

workplaces by HR Heads of different organisations. The

speakers in this session included Ajay Chowdhury,

President & CHRO, SRF, Jaspreet Kaur, Head (HR), M3M,

Masroor Lodi, Co-Founder of The Entrepreneurship

School and Pravash Pandey, Group General Manager

(HR), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RINL).

The conclave concluded with the sharing of best practices

of creating happiness at workplaces. The panelists

included P Dwarakanath, Head - Group Human

Capital, Max India, Deepa Dey, Head Communications,

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare, Shravani

Dang, VP and Global Group Head - Corporate

Communications and Marketing, Avantha Group,

Lipika Verma, Director - Rewards, Schneider Electric,

and Shweta Kothari, Journalist and Communication

Consultant.

Earlier, Mukund Trivedy, Founder, Straight Drive while

welcoming the speakers and delegates set the context

with an emotional appeal that was interspersed with his

personal experience of how negativity and toxicity in the

organisation he worked earlier created an uncertainty in

the minds of employees. This, he said, adversely impacted

the health and happiness of individuals and family

members. The conclave he said was aimed at creating an

awareness about the need to harness the power of pride

and purpose to boost performance of the organisation.

Adam Cox, Management Consultant, UKPankaj Bansal, Founder and CEO, PeopleStrong

the happY Workplace conlave

7

“The Happy Workplace Conclave served as an exciting platform for corporate thought leaders

to come together and discuss the ever-so-urgent need to move away from traditional lead

performance measures like employee engagement towards creating happier workplaces. It

was exciting to hear experts from divergent fields – medical practitioners and academicians -

share their views on the subject. My best wishes to Mukund and the team behind HyWe, and

look forward to other similar initiatives from them.

Anurag Anand

General Manager, Coca Cola

Taking up happiness as a

purpose is chosen by very

few people. It was a pleasure

to be a part of the HyWe

conclave. Kudos to Mukund

who brought together so

many beautiful minds for a

common purpose of creating

happiness@workplace.

Jagisha Upadhyay

Chief Happiness Officer

Simplifit

This was a path breaking

conclave on the important

subject of happiness at

workplace. The wide variety

of knowledgeable speakers

from academia, industry

and consulting organisations

gave a holistic perspective

on the subject. We left with

an appreciation for the

impact happiness has on

the workplace with some

actionable insights. A very

good conference, sequel of

which is keenly awaited. All

the best.

Sanjay Rao

Group CIO, SRF

This was indeed a conclave

with a difference. What

I liked was that almost

everyone spoke from their

heart and hence the subject

connected with us at the

emotional level.

Prof Radha Sharma

MDI, Gurgaon

“Testimonials

The conclave was well

designed and executed with

some excellent speakers.

More importantly, the

conclave succeeded in

seeding the thought that

happiness at workplace

matters. I am sure the

campaign will catch

momentum.

Sandeep Kochhar

Storyteller & Founder

BlewMinds

happY angle

8

the happY Workplace conlave

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Happiness@WorkplaceA dipstick survey of Indian Organisations in 2018

SANJEEVA SHIVESH

Founder, The Entrepreneurship School

Modern management literature is now flooded with

research and articles on happiness and its importance

at workplace. Several research studies have shown that

happy employees have higher innovation disposition,

higher productivity – hours given and profits generated,

fewer sick days, better appraisal ratings and overall better

incomes.

The concept of happiness is in existence ever since

mankind flourished. In vedic texts, Ananda which

is happiness in English, signifies eternal bliss which

accompanies the ending of the rebirth cycle. For the

ancient Greeks, happiness meant virtue. For the Romans,

it implied prosperity and divine favor.

Darrin M McMohan in his book, Happiness – A History,

writes, “Throughout history, happiness has been equated

regularly with the highest human calling, the most

perfect human state. Yet it’s only within the past two

hundred years that human beings have begun to think of

happiness as not just an earthly possibility but also as an

earthly entitlement, even an obligation.”

So, when Straight Drive approached us to find the state of

happiness in Indian organisations, we pondered, what is

the meaning of “happiness at workplace”.

• Is ‘Ananda’ permanent or transient? Why is

an employee sometimes in a better mood and

sometimes not? How long can a person be happy?

• Why are some people at work happier or unhappier

than others?

• If a person has natual happier persona, does that

translate into a happy department or a happy

workplace?

• Conversely, if a group is happy does that mean that

individuals in that group are also happy?

• Are “engaged” employees more happier that others?

• Is happiness same as job satisfaction, employee well-

being and several new constructs that have come up.

Soon we realised the enormity of the task. There are

several instances of unpleasant incidences at workplace

leading to anxiety, tension and stress. People experience,

both positive emotions and negative emotions at

workplace, which clearly are not captured in job

description.

Survey Design and AdministrationSo, what causes happiness in general and happiness at

work, specifically?

There are reasons to believe that happiness comes from

within i.e. the state of mind of the individual, from outside

i.e. the external environment and the interaction between

the two. At organisational level, happiness attributes come

happiness@Workplace

10

from culture and business practices.

The most important constituent of

organisational culture is people.

People build the culture of any

organisation. These are colleagues,

bosses, leaders, customers, suppliers

and larger stakeholders.

In a seminal research “Who is

Happy”, D.G Myers and E. Diener

defined, happiness as “An experience

of frequent positive affect, infrequent

negative affect and an overall sense

of satisfaction with life as a whole”.

While, the survey design for Straight

Drive was intuitive, consciously we

avoided long questionnaire, as we

have doubts about applicability of

long surveys in organisations.

In the survey design, we adopted twin-

pronged approach to understanding

happiness, elaborated below:

a. The first approach asked

respondents to rank six

independent factors that affected

workplace happiness. These six

factors were identified through a

focused group discussion of six

senior professionals coming from

human resource management

side.

b. In order to build and test a

model for workplace happiness,

in the second part of the

survey instrument, individual

respondents were asked to agree

or disagree with six statements on

5 point Likert scale.

In another question, the respondents

were asked to declare their current

state of happiness at work and their

current state of happiness in life.

The language of survey was English.

For the reasons of conducting the

survey expeditiously, we chose the

online route of survey administration and were distributed to 800+ randomly

chosen people from whom we received 146 complete responses.

The summarised profile of respondents is as below:

• Male: Female split is 75:25

• Age profile: 21.9% in their 20s, 34.2% in their 30s, 34.2% in their 40s

and 9.6% in their 50s.

• Economic sector coverage of respondents: 19.2% from government,

20.1% from private sector, 26% from multi-national corporations, 27.4%

from MSME and startups and 5.5% from not-for profit sector

• Seniority: 31.5% respondents worked in top management, 28.8% in

middle management, 26% in junior management and only 13.7% from

worker category

This also means that a large section of working population, who did not

have access to Internet or smartphone and was not proficient in english, has

been ignored. This is reflected in lower share of workers in this survey. These

limitations can have implications on the overall findings of this survey.

Factors associated with workplace happiness

The survey asked respondents to rank following factors in order of importance:

• Good relationship with people at workplace

• Autonomy to make decisions with respect to work in hand

• Assurance of Good Career

• Being Respected at workplace

• Getting well paid

• The Boss

Factors that affect Workplace Happiness

Higher Score implies higher importance (Graph - 1)

the happY Workplace conlave

11

The State of Happiness in Life and at Work

(Graph - 2)

The State of Happiness at Work

(Sector wise - per cent employees who are happy, Graph - 3)

From the Graph-1, it can be seen that employees perceive

‘Good relationship with people’ is the most important

factor that affects workplace happiness.

Being respected is the second most important factor and

autonomy to make decisions is the third most important

factor that affects workplace happiness. As a matter of

fact, getting paid well and assurance of good career

is least important factors. This may appear peculiar,

however, we consider this as a fair assessment, given most

people consider good salary and career as a ‘must have’

feature in the context of jobs.

Causal Relationship To understand the causative factors linking into workplace

happiness, the survey asked respondents to declare the

level of workplace happiness and overall life happiness,

which was then correlated with six questions relating to

social bonds at work, importance assigned to job, being

respected by colleagues, treated well by the boss and the

belief whether happiness leading to good performance or

good performance leading to happiness.

Key FindingsThe good news is that more people have stated that

they are happy in life and at workplace (Graph – 2).

A point to note here is, more people are unhappy at

work as compared to life, indicating role of cultural and

environmental factors.

From this graph, we can also interpret that happiness in

life and happiness at workplace have good degree of

correlation.

There are three interesting high level data-cuts. These are sector wise, responsibility wise and age-wise results for

happiness at workplace.

The big news is people in government and public sector are most happy at their workplace as compared to other

sectors and people working in not-for-profit sector are least happy (Graph – 4). Another point to note is that people

working in MSMEs & Startups are happier than Large Private Companies. We believe that this spike is because of more

respondents are from startups than from MSMEs.

happiness@Workplace

12

The State of Happiness at Work

(Responsibility wise - per cent employees who are happy, Graph - 4)

The State of Happiness at Work

(Age wise - per cent employees who are happy, Graph - 5)

Happiness vs Unhappiness at Work

(Graph - 6)

From this graph, we get another

insight - employees at ground level

face most unhappiness and senior

management are the happiest. The

age group-wise break down of is at

Graph - 5.

On the whole, employees become

happier at work with the passage of

time and age. However, people in age

group of 30 to 40, are most unhappy.

While a part of this could be

attributed to life factors, such as

family and children responsibilities,

30s is also an “adolescent period

of working life” where person feels

pressure to prove himself / herself at

work, expect of greater respect from

peers and bosses. This is a vulnerable

period, where heightened awareness

and a nurturing environment could

address the vulnerabilities of an

employee.

Analysis of Happiness Factors at WorkIn a comparative analysis of factors

that differentiate people who are

happy at work with people who are

unhappy at work (Graph – 6), we

find a few points worth attention and

further discussion. These are:

• People who are happy at work

are happier in life (71% more)

• Happier employees experience

greater social bonding (70%

more than unhappy people),

sense greater peer respect (63%

more) and are treated well by

their bosses (59%)

• For happiness at work, assigning

higher importance to work is not

a differentiating factor between

happy and unhappy employees

• Overall, happy employees experience 300% higher positive emotions at

work in comparison to employees who are unhappy

the happY Workplace conlave

13

The Golden EquationWe conducted a regression analysis of this data set,

where “degree of happiness at work” was taken as

a dependent variable. Social bonding, importance

assigned to job, getting respected by peers,

treatment by boss and general level of happiness

in life are independent variables.

The coefficient of regression (R-square) for this

model is 0.58, which makes a case for fair

acceptance of the mode. The workplace happiness

equation is:

WH = -0.18 + 63%* Life Happiness + 34.3%*

Social bonding

+ 12%* Peer Respect + 6%* Boss Treatment

– 9.3%* Importance assigned to Work

Implications for ManagersSure enough, our findings offer a few implications

for managers, when it comes to crafting strategies

to increase workplace happiness. These are as

follows:

1. The most important aspect of happiness at

work is general optimism and positive attitude

in life, ‘ Ananda’ that is intrinsic to a person.

2. The second most important factor is social

bonding at workplace. Employees who get

better social networks and affiliations at

workplace are happier. Managers must work

to enhance the social bonds at workplace.

Social awareness and environments can be

developed to increase the desire of employees

to be wanted at workplace.Implications for

Managers

3. Peer respect also contributes to workplace

happiness. This is a tricky domain. There is

a famous saying, “Respect must be earned.”

Respect at workplace comes from various

things – quality of work, consistency of meeting

commitments, helpfulness and general degree

of image building. Coaching your employees

in these dimensions could work.

4. Bosses’ behavior can be source of unhappiness.

Bosses, who treat their staff well, also keep them

happy. It is a well-known fact that “Employees don’t

quit organizations. They quit bosses.” Therefore,

managers must be coached to treat employees well,

always.

5. The model has thrown a negative factor i.e.

Importance assigned to work is a source of

unhappiness. While this may appear bizarre, our

hypothesis is expectation to achievement gap. While,

organisations like to assign greater importance to

work, when people start attaching too much value to

their work, it could become a source of stress.

SummaryAs discussed, happiness is a complex construct; therefore

it must be examined from different perspectives.

However, given the soundness of business case of

improving happiness at work, it is an important goal for

management. Our quick survey, with its limitations of

diversity and volume of respondents, has thrown some

actionable insights, which can be rapidly employed by

managers.

{Comments are welcome The author can be reached at

shivesh@entrepreneurship.edu.in}

happiness@Workplace

14

Happy Encounters

the happY Workplace conlave

15

Happy Encounters

happY encounters

16

the happY Workplace conlave #PRAXIS7

RA CISC 2018

Presents

@PRAXISInd

Public Relations and CorporateCommunications India Summit

Hyderabad International Convention Centre

28 - 30 Sep 2018

The Essence of Storytelling

www.praxisonline.in

Register at bit.ly/PRAXIS2018

17

Happy LifestyleLifestyle and Happiness

PADMA SHRI DR. S.C. MANCHANDA

Sr Consultant, Cardiologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

Former Head, Department of Cardiology, AIIMS

At the outset, I must congratulate the Straight Drive team

for organising the conclave on happiness at workplace.

My limited objection to the topic is that why should we talk

about happiness at work only. After all, we spend only 8

to 10 hours a day at our workplace. We should remain

happy at home as well.

My patients from the corporate world very often complain

about stress at work. Some go to the extent of describing

their workplace as ‘hell.’ Many say, “I will be very happy

the day I retire.”

It’s indeed a matter of serious concern. I am 78 now and I

still enjoy my work. The reason I never get tired is because

I enjoy my work and this helps me relax. The worry is that

very few people enjoy their work.

Following a healthy lifestyle is the key to happiness.

Lifestyle is closely related to health and health is related

to happiness. Unfortunately, people have wrong notions

about lifestyle. For some wearing a branded shirt is a

lifestyle and for others going to big parties is a lifestyle.

Research has shown that around 60% of the people in the

world are dying because of lifestyle diseases.

In my view, a healthy lifestyle is all about committing to

four major habits namely Healthy Diet, Stress Control,

Regular Exercise and Tobacco Cessation. Believe

me, if you follow the regime, you would not require a

cardiologist.

Not many understand this concept in totality. People tend

to equate health with physical health. A person can be

called healthy only if he or she is physically,

mentally and spiritually healthy.

I, therefore, urge you all to follow some practical lifestyle

related habits:

• Sleep well, eat well and laugh well

• Eat lots of fruits (these are anti-oxidants)

• Avoid too much of salt and fried food

• Be mindful of not only what you are eating, but also

of what is eating you

• Remain cool and calm while eating

• Use stairs in office

• Prepare your mind to say yes to exercise, everyday

• Stop smoking and chewing tobacco

• Reduce alcohol consumption

• Do meditation

• Think positive

I am sure that if we adopt a healthy lifestyle, we will all be

happy. And if that happens, we doctors won’t be needed at

all.

(Excerpts taken from the keynote address of Dr. S.C. Manchanda at HyWe

2018. One can watch the complete video of the keynote address on www.

straightdrive.net.in)

#PRAXIS7

RA CISC 2018

Presents

@PRAXISInd

Public Relations and CorporateCommunications India Summit

Hyderabad International Convention Centre

28 - 30 Sep 2018

The Essence of Storytelling

www.praxisonline.in

Register at bit.ly/PRAXIS2018

happY lifestYle

18

the happY Workplace conlave

19

20

the happY Workplace conlave

Happy Spotlight Using Science & Philosophy to Create Happier Workplaces

JENNIFER HANCOCK

Founder, Humanist Learning Systems, USA

The prescription for happiness is so universal and so simple

that even a child can articulate it. When I was eleven I wrote

this motto for myself: Live life fully, love other people and leave

the world a better place. Every major religion and philosopher

throughout history has taught basically the same thing because

this prescription works.

I am a Humanist and I apply my philosophy to all areas of

life, including business. The cool thing about what I teach is

my philosophy is fed by science and science, validates the

philosophy.

Happiness is a difficult metric to measure because it means

different things to different people. I take a utilitarian approach.

To me, happiness occurs when my stress levels are low and I feel

“in control.”

In the workplace this means I feel happy when I feel respected,

when the work that I do matters, and when problem solving is fun

– not frustrating – meaning we solve problems collaboratively in

the best interest of the company and our customers.

Respect, relevance and problem solving are intertwined and

combined. They align with our prescription for happiness, loving

other people and leaving the world a better place. And all rely on

a combination of philosophy and science to implement!

This prescription for workplace happiness isn’t simply a feel

good buzzword. It directly impacts the quality of the work being

done and constitutes a moral and pragmatic imperative for the

workplace.

I realise a lot of people are in business just to make money and

happiness is an afterthought. But last I checked, no one is going

to give you money just because you asked for it. Most people will

only give you money if you solve their problems well.

All businesses are in the business of solving problems. If you

aren’t solving problems, you aren’t in business. The businesses

that do the best help their customers solve a problem in a way

that a) works and b) is cost effective.

Our business objective should be the making of good decisions.

To that end, we need a philosophic tweak to how we think about

our businesses and our jobs. The goal? Making the world a better

place by helping people solve their problems.

A work group can’t solve problems well unless they respect

each other and have a shared set of values that helps them

collaboratively judge what a good solution is. It helps if they all

understand why getting the solution right matters so they are

motivated to find good solutions to your customer’s problems.

The purpose of creating happier workplace cultures is truly

collaborative and everyone’s input is respected. To find good

solutions to our problems, we must create workplaces where

everyone is respected and the group is cohesive and not divisive.

The reason it is hard to create cohesive work groups is because

we humans are instinctually tribal and divisive. To overcome this,

we have to take practical steps to overcome our tribal brain.

The best way to do that is to encourage people to think more

humanistically and less tribally.

21

happY spotlight

Philosophy encourages us to respect other people. Science not

only validates the need for respect, it helps us create workplace

cultures were respect is the norm. It turns out the best way to do

that is through philosophic training that reinforces respect as a

primary value.

There is a reason why most of the business schools around the

world are starting to teach humanistic management. Humanism,

as a philosophy, helps us prioritize human value as important.

This, in turn, is validated by the science, which almost always

reinforces taking a humanistic approach to problem solving.

In fact, we often can’t implement a solution that actually works

unless we take a humanistic approach.

For example: let’s consider the problem of bullying and

harassment in the workplace. We need to tackle the problem of

bullying, because if we don’t we won’t have respectful workplaces

and that has negative cascading effects on not only the general

levels of happiness in the workplace, but the work itself and

problem solving specifically.

Our ideal is respectful collaborative problem solving. Realistically

businesses usually solve problems based on who is the loudest,

who is the biggest bully, people’s insecurities and more. It is time

we recognize that bullying management is bad management and

stop rewarding it.

Stopping harassment and bullying is both a moral and a practical

good. To solve this problem, we need science because we need

practical solutions. The good news is we have seven plus decades

of research on how to stop unwanted behavior, like bullying.

If we pay attention to the science we know what we need to do

to get bullying to stop. We have to stop rewarding it and start

rewarding the behavior we do want. To do that effectively, we

need to be more compassionate.

People don’t do this because it seems counterintuitive, but it’s

true. Treating a bully with respect and compassion allows us to

behaviorally train them to stop. In fact, it’s probably impossible

to stop bullying if you don’t approach it humanistically. Seven

decades of behavioral science validates this.

This brings us full circle. Humanistic philosophy makes us want

to stop bullying, science tells us how to get it to stop. Applying a

humanistic mindset helps us to actually do it.

Humanistic philosophy and science allows us to do what is right

and what will work in a way that is professional, compassionate,

ethical and effective.

We need to be more strategic in our problem solving and really

take time to view the research on what works and what doesn’t.

And this applies to everything! All aspects of life.

Creating workplaces where people are respected, the work

matters and the problem solving is done well, requires us to

combine both ethical humanistic philosophy with applied science

to get solutions that actually work.

This approach helps us to live life fully, love other people and

leave the world a better place in our business and personal life.

Imagine the positive impact we can have if we succeed in creating

truly happy workplaces that make a positive difference in our

communities.

{Jennifer is also the author of several award winning books.}

(https://humanistlearning.com)

22

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Regd. Office: Larsen & Toubro Limited, L&T House, N. M. Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai - 400 001, INDIA CIN: L99999MH1946PLC004768

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23Regd. Office: Larsen & Toubro Limited, L&T House, N. M. Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai - 400 001, INDIA CIN: L99999MH1946PLC004768

Technology I Engineering I ProjectsConstruction I Manufacturing

L&T partners the nation, industry and people to build a newer, brighter future. We offer talented young people the opportunity to grow

professionally and augment our engineering and construction offerings to critical sectors. To transform glorious vision into glittering reality.

www.Larsentoubro.com

Pursuing Dreams Partnering Growth

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8

Happy & Healthy How does your work affect your health?

DR. RAKESH SHRIVASTAVA

MD, Cardiology, USA

In the past few years, researchers have scrutinized how workers’

health has a direct bearing on productivity, but research on the

flip side of the issue remains largely unrecognized: How do work

environments affect workers’ health?

One study based on the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial

showed men who skipped their annual vacation were more likely

to die from coronary heart disease than were couch potatoes or

smokers who do get away for a little annual rest and relaxation.

Health affects workTo make a case for change, human resources managers must

establish two points: that corporate culture affects worker health

and that diminished worker health directly affects corporate

expenses.

A Health Enhancement Research Organization study showed

that smoking, stress, exercise and body weight together affect

20 percent of a company’s overall medical costs. Another study

showed the cumulative cost of smoking in terms of sick days, time

lost to smoke breaks, added cleaning costs, increased property

loss and burn damage, and employer- paid insurance premiums

exceeded $7,000 for a smoker, compared to less than $2,000

for a nonsmoker. Employees with good health habits or only one

health-risk habit cost employers 4.1 hours per week in reduced

productivity, short-term disability and sick time. Costs for those

with three or more risks jumped to 5.6 hours per week. That 1.5

hour-per-week difference translates to eight lost days per year,

per person.

Beyond poor health habits, of course, there is a whole range

of medical conditions - allergies, migraine headaches and

depression - that impair productivity, as can failure to take

prescribed medicines for these conditions. Once medical

spending, absenteeism, impaired performance and disability are

added together, poor health is a business challenge with major

financial consequences.

Work affects healthEnvironmental factors have a profound effect on health. Poor air

quality can affect the respiratory system. An ergonomically flawed

workstation can affect the musculoskeletal system. Can there be

any doubt that the culture of the place where a person spends 40

to 50 hours a week can likewise affect his or her health?

When the boss schedules a 7 a.m. breakfast meeting or the

technician grabs a bag of chips and works through lunch,

these work decisions impact health. Every day at 7 p.m., when

the salesman foregoes a trip to the gym to return a few more

calls, small but important trade-offs are made. Whether it’s

sleep, food, time with their families or exercise, workers forsake

something when they spend extra time at work. These trade- offs

may superficially benefit the business in the short run, but in the

long term they can start to cause problems.

Many argue the extra hours are needed to get the job done. Are

they? Anyone who ever pulled an all-nighter for a final exam

understands the law of diminishing returns. When does the

physical and psychological toll outweigh the productivity gain of

happY & healthY

24

another hour in the office? We don’t know.

No one has identified the point where productivity plummets and

work becomes a health hazard, which is exactly the type of data

HR professionals need to make a case for changing the culture of

a workplace.

Let’s think about what gives when work doesn’t. Sleep is an

obvious loser and one with clinically demonstrated ramifications.

Even moderate sleep deprivation can cause mood disruptions,

irritability, low motivation and slowed response. Shift workers

are particularly vulnerable; between 5 and 20 percent suffer

from Shift Maladaption Syndrome, which can result in sleep

disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, depression, personality

changes and decreased interpersonal skills. To cope with those

problems, sufferers are more likely to self-medicate with alcohol

or drugs.

Sleep isn’t all that suffers. Family relationships deteriorate,

as does the sense of well-being associated with a socially,

emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually balanced life.

The negative effects of work are particularly acute for employees

in high-strain jobs with little control over their workdays. A study

of 21,000 nurses in high-demand, low-control jobs found that

over a four-year period their health declined more than would

be expected if they were smokers or led sedentary lives. After

adjusting for age, body mass, smoking, exercise, chronic disease,

education, isolation, marital status and virtually every other

conceivable factor, the group still ranked considerably lower in

physical functioning, vitality and mental health than did those in

medium and low-strain jobs. In other words, independent of what

employees did individually, the organizational structure of their

workplace affected their health.

About 10 percent of people in high-demand, high-control jobs

exhibit symptoms of depression. That figure balloons to 57

percent for workers in high-demand, low-control jobs. Likewise,

for cardiovascular symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness

of breath: 3 percent of those in high-demand, high-control jobs

complained of such symptoms, compared to 20 percent in high-

demand, low-control positions.

Add a bad manager to the high-demand, low-control mix,

and the situation becomes even more toxic. Employees who

received little social support while working high-strain jobs were

considerably more likely to suffer from depression than were

those who had support on the job.

Intervention: An incomplete solutionTo a growing number of employers, none of this is news. They

have responded with stress interventions. They sponsor on-site

aerobics and yoga classes. They subsidize memberships to local

fitness clubs. They have employee assistance programs and may

even spring for on-site massages.

Such individually targeted interventions fall far short of the mark,

however, if the problem is systemic. If the workplace causes

the stress, sleepless nights, jangled nerves, heart attacks and

depression, then all the fitness programs add up to little more

than a heap of dumbbells. For systemic problems, nothing short

of a corporate cultural revolution will suffice.

In response to employee complaints and high turnover, most

companies have introduced alternative work schedules. One

survey found 83 percent offer part-time work options, 39 percent

have flextime, 30 percent allow telecommuting and 39 percent

say they have job sharing.

The case for change?Any hope of addressing work-related health problems must

demonstrate that change is in the company’s best economic

interests. Even with incontrovertible evidence that work can

negatively impact health, businesses won’t change their norms

unless someone shows them their practices cause them to lose

good people or result in lower output.

(Adapted from: Shelly Reese. Health affects work, and work

affects health. Business and Health 2002;1)

the happY Workplace conlave

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26

Happy PursuitChoose Happiness. Be Profitable

“Happiness is reality minus expectations.” It is only recently

that people have started identifying happiness as a key factor

for the well being of an individual as well as an organisation.

Sure enough, there is enough research data available today

to establish a positive correlation between the happiness of an

employee and productivity.

Happiness is a ChoiceMany of us actively choose to hold on to the ‘negative stimuli’ in

our lives. Worse, we tend to keep harping over problems instead

of moving on. It’s only when we choose to be happy we learn

that happiness is as basic as drinking water or breathing. So start

thinking of joy as a resource to be watched over and cultivated as

much as our bank balance.

Quick tip: Start each morning by saying, “I choose to be happy.”

And kick it off with a smile. Research has shown even a fake grin

improves our mood.

3D Model of HappinessFamily and social support systems can help us navigate the maze

that is life. Factors like supportive family, our spouse, cooperation

from friends, freedom for work and a positive environment has

a direct impact on our job performance and happiness at our

workplace. 3D Model of Happiness states that there are 164

factors responsible for an employee’s happiness at workplace.

Quick 5 Tips1. Have a friend at work

It always helps an employee to sail through and survive when he/she has

a sounding board and a reliable buddy, philosopher,and guide at work.

One survey found work friendships boost employee satisfaction by a

whopping 50 per cent!

2. Build pride in what you do

It’s easier said than done. Each and every work is important if you believe

it to be. Ask yourself what your work means to other people. If you show

and build respect for your work, others will also do the same.

3. Take (and make) opportunities to do what you can do the best

That’s how you get a chance to demonstrate your skills and gain

recognition for your work. Say yes to opportunities or make them for

yourself, even if it’s setting up a weekly after-work dining group.

4. Don’t think about only money

It is interesting to note that for employees, personal financial gain comes

way down the list of happiness indicators in our research. Opportunities

for growth and work-life balance are also important, so sort those out

before you go chasing a bigger paycheck.

5. Accept challenges Every day brings pressures, tasks and deadlines.

Accept them as part of your job. And if you fail, flip your view and accept

it as something positive — think: “I haven’t failed; I’ve found a chance to

learn.”

Question Time Sometimes you need to sit back, relax and ask yourself: what am I running for

and am I doing justice to my family and myself? ‘Nail down contentment’ and

it just might help you climb the career ladder.

DR. YOGESH PAHUJA

Founder & MD, Happiness Studio; Author, ‘Are You Happy@Work?’

the happY Workplace conlave

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28

Happy Hours

Rupa Tiwari, a classical singer of repute reciting the Param Brahma Shloka Lipika Verma, Director - Rewards, Schneider Electric

Vishwapriya Kochhar, Co - Founder and Managing Director of BlewMinds

Deepa Dey, Head Communications, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare

Mukund Trivedy, Founder, Straight Drive introducing the topic

(L to R) Sanjeeva Shivesh, Founder, The Entrepreneurship School, Nitin Razdan, Partner, Deloitte India, Adam Cox, Former ED,CEB , Kartik Bharat Ram, Dy MD, SRF

and Pankaj Bansal, Founder, PeopleStrong

Shravani Dang, VP and Global Group Head - Corporate Communications and Marketing, Avantha Group

Prachi Kaushal, the Padwoman receiving the cheque from Dr. Debashis Chatterjee. Straight Drive donated some amount from its proceeds of its very first event, HyWe to Vyomini, a social organisation that works in the field of providing low cost biodegradable and high quality sanitary pads to underprivileged women.

the happY Workplace conlave

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Happy Hours

Pravash Pandey, Group GM (HR),RVNL Jaspreet Khurana, Head (HR) M3M

P Dwarakanath, Head - Group Human Capital, Max India

Palash Jain, Ex Googler and Practical Workshops Director Benz Thomas, the anchor

Celebration Time at the Valedictory Session

Manika Sharma, Director, The Shri Ram Schools

Ajay Chowdhury, President & CHRO, SRF

happY hours

30

Happy TrendsBenefits of Happiness

It’s clear and supported by research that happy people work

together better.

Benefits to your employees • Learn to work in teams

• Increase leadership skills

• Enhance problem - solving

• Improve positive emotional contagion

• Reduce health care cots

Benefits to your company • Increase productivity

• Inspire creativity

• Ease of change

• Improve customer service

• Reduce sick day costs

• Create a better place to work

Source: “HAPPINESS AT WORK” Survey by Julie Ann

Sullivan

The five ways to well-beingThe five ways to well-being are a set of positive actions that

have been developed to help people get started on their way

to a happier life. While we all have different circumstances and

different likes and dislikes, these five ways are broad enough for

you to find your own style of happiness. Try them out at work and

in your daily life. See how well they work for you and tell us how

you get on…

Connect… With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and

neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community.

Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in

developing them. Building these connections will support and

enrich you every day.

Be active… Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden.

Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly,

discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of

mobility and fitness.

Take notice…

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual.

Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you

are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware

of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on

your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Keep learning…

Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that

course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike.

Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food.

Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will

make you more confident as well as being fun.

Give…

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone.

Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out,

as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to

the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates

connections with the people around you.

Source: Developed by the centre for well-being at nef (the new economics foundation) as part of the UK Government’s Foresight project on

Wellbeing.

the happY Workplace conlave

31

Happiness in the NewsU.K. Appoints a Minister for Loneliness

More than nine million people in the country often or always feel lonely, according to a 2017 report published by the Jo Cox

Commission on Loneliness. The issue prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to appoint a minister for loneliness.

Jan 17, 2018

Delhi government to introduce daily ‘happiness’ classes in schools

The move comes in the backdrop of instances of violence reported in schools. An activity-based ‘happiness’ curriculum will be started

in April this year for Classes nursery to 8.

Feb 07, 2018

Madhya Pradesh becomes first State to have ‘Happiness Department’ “Besides the basic necessities of Roti, Kapda aur Makaan (food, cloth and shelter) people need something more to be happy in their

lives,” said the Chief Minister.

July 16, 2016

UAE’s minister of happiness insists her job is no laughing matter

“My position is to promote happiness and a positive attitude in government, and life”, said Ohood bint Khalfan Roumi, minister of

state for Happiness for the United Arab Emirates.

Mar 06, 2017

Happiness Advantage According to a research conducted by the famous research scholar and an expert in positive psychology, Shawn Achor, the

organisations derive the following benefits by creating happiness at workplace:

Greater Sales

37%Increased Engagement

10 timesIncreased Creativity

3 timesMore Productive

31%

Fewer Fatigue Systems

23%

More Likely to Receive a Promotion

40%

Likely to Live Longer

39%

happY trends

32

Happiness AdvantageThe mistake we make

When we encounter an unexpected challenge or threat, the only

way to save ourselves is to hold on tight to the people around us

and not let go.

In the midst of challenges and stress at work, nothing is more

crucial to our success than holding on to the people around us.

Yet when the alarm bells at work go off, all too often we become

blind to this reality and try to go it alone; and as a result we end

up circling helplessly at some dead-end corner until we run out

of air.

I have seen too many businessmen and women fall prey to this

miscalculation. I can remember hearing the trading bell ring at

the end of one particularly vicious day in November of 2008.

The Dow was way down; countless sums of money had been lost.

I watched as swarms of traders loosened their ties and walked

dejectedly off the floor. But what struck me was that they did not

retreat to the stronghold of their teams as they normally did after

a day of trading. They all walked off silent and alone.

These were smart, capable people with MBAs from some of

the world’s leading institutions, yet in a situation that required

them to be firing on all cylinders, they were actively undercutting

themselves. At the very time that they needed one another most,

they were forgoing their most valuable resource; their social

support. Time and again during those perilous months, I saw

companies jettison team trainings and social “perks”, ignoring

plummeting team morale in favour of things deemed more

“important.” But in fact, nothing was more important than what

they were letting go of.

We don’t have to go to the brink of a collapsing economy to

understand how easy it is to retreat into our own shells at the

moment we need to be reaching out to others the most. We’ve

all been there some time or another. A daunting project gets

dropped on our desk, and we get consumed with worry that we’ll

fail to meet the demands. Is there enough time to get it all done?

What will happen if we don’t? As the deadline looms and the

pressure mounts, we start eating lunch at our desks, working late,

coming in on weekends. Soon, we’re “focused like a laser” (or so

we tell ourselves), which means no face time with direct reports,

no casual hallway chats, no time even for nonessential calls with

clients. Even our e-mails are more brusque and impersonal. As

for time with family and friends, well, these things are the first to

go when we’re in crisis mode. But even though we’re giving work

our undivided attention, our productivity is declining, and as the

deadline nears, our goal seems to be slipping further and further

out of reach. And so we hunker down, shut off our cell phones,

retreat into the bunker of ourselves and double-lock the door.

One of the two things usually happens at this juncture. Either we

falter and fail to finish the project, or we power through and get

it done, then immediately get rewarded with another challenging

project, though we now have zero oxygen left in our tank. Either

way, we’re not only miserable, dejected, and overwhelmed, but

lost in a dead end, unable to perform – and all alone.

The most successful people take the exact opposite approach.

Instead of turning inward, they actually hold tighter to their

social support. Instead of divesting, they invest. Not only are

these people happier, but they are more productive, engaged,

energetic, and resilient. They know that their social relationships

are the single greatest investment that they can make in the

Happiness Advantage.

{Excerpts taken from the book

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor}

the happY Workplace conlave

33

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