What a year 2023 has been. As we look ahead to 2024, I also did write a series of AI predictions and many articles on Mental Health, Wellness and Happiness, and links can be found easily below.
We are faced with major challenges in our new hybrid and back to office work as so many employees remain very unhappy with their new job context reality.
I have seen companies change their policies more than 4 times in a year as rising employee temperatures expressed how they were feeling.
The statistics show that employees are much unhappier than they were at the start of 2020. Bamboo HR did a recent survey and they found that 57,000 workers across 1,600 companies shows that employee satisfaction has dropped 10 times faster than in the previous three years. ADP has also reported US happiness and motivation has dropped to the lowest level in August since 2022.
Unhappiness in the technology sector has been particularly hit with the sharpest declines in happiness over the past three years – down 145 percent.
As our economy remains wobbly in North America, and struggling with higher interest rates, trying to balance inflation, with a back drop of unhappy employees, averaging 20-30% of employees are waking up sad or angry daily.
How do you turn the tides? My 2024 wish list for executives is to do the following.
1.) Become more knowledgeable about Happiness as a strategy foundation integrating the most advanced research and scientifically proven root casuals of unhappiness and build a go forward improvement plan (read my research articles below).
2.) Create a brand around your happiness improvement program – words must be chosen carefully that are energizing like: Thrive, Joy, Happiness, Passion, etc.
3.) Leverage the science from physics on attractor theory to create an energy force that helps cluster new desired behaviors and amplify them in proven employee engagement strategies.
4.) Create a leadership team that smiles often as smiles are priceless, free and they are powerful motivators to your employees. Sour grapes are no fun to work with, or Debbie Downers. Did you know that when you smile, your brain releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. These neurotransmitters are associated with lowering your anxiety and increasing feelings of happiness. In fact, serotonin is often the chemical that anti-depressant medications attempt to regulate. Even be creative and measure your smiles in your leadership meetings.
5.) Appoint a Chief Happiness Officer is, in its essence, an HR Manager with a special qualification: he/she believes happy employees make better employees. Engaging employees, motivating them and raising performance levels are all HR attributions. Whilst these are the most common responsibilities used to describe the CHO position, there are many more HR areas where happiness matters. (This is often a VP of Employee Engagement title but more formalized titles and does not have a clear outcome like Happiness – signals the goal).
6.) Develop your employee happiness toolkits and operating practices, with a strong eye to using daily happiness check in, simple structures that show you care more. Check out innovative AI happiness toolkits mentioned in my most recent article below.
Conclusion and 2024 NY Best Wishes
As I sign off my 2023 Forbes writing as a global AI thought leader passionate about designing and building AI SaaS products, customized AI models, and generative AI apps, my passion is always ensuring responsible AI practices are always front and center, and what counts the most is ensuring that your people are happy and transparent in their every day leadership behaviors.
I hope that you have enjoyed the employee happiness series as I hope to write a book on this in the near future.
Currently writing a book on Responsible AI and Ethics – so stay tuned.
How do I find the time to juggle so much – its a discipline of getting up early and writing and always reflecting and always staying healthy.
Off for my NY day walk – and the spending the evening with friends and family.
Signing off and best wishes for the New Year ahead and stay happy.
#Happiness Matters
Dr. Cindy Gordon’s articles on Employee Happiness can be found here:
