Lincoln Financial Explains Link Between Employee Happiness And Business Success

RADNOR, Pa., Nov. 18, 2013

Happiness and the Bottom Line: The Happy Worker Prescription draws from research, demonstrating a direct connection between employees' well-being and their performance at work. Well-being—or happiness—is more than just feeling good. It includes engagement, a sense of meaning and positive relationships. Employees who are unhappy at work are seven times more likely to be absent from work, twice as likely to give themselves low performance ratings and seven times more likely to look for a new job, according to recent findings by Healthways-Gallup.

"Only one in five Americans say they feel happy at work," says Eric Reisenwitz, senior vice president, Group Protection Market Solutions, Lincoln Financial. "Many people don't realize that dissatisfaction is so widespread, or that it's a detriment to business. When employees are happy at work, they work smarter and harder. Companies that put employee happiness first see increased engagement, improved productivity, higher profits and an enhanced competitive advantage. It's a true win-win situation, and providing quality employee benefits that meet individual employee's unique needs is a key way to influence employee engagement and happiness."

In the whitepaper, Dr. Kertay offers his "Happy Worker Prescription"—ten tips to help employers create a positive workplace culture:

1. Make sure managers understand that employee happiness impacts productivity and helps keep your workforce fully engaged and productive.
2. Hire happy people.
3. Invest in managers' emotional intelligence.
4. Provide recognition in the way the employee values most.
5. Provide opportunities to socialize, and encourage it.
6. Provide benefits that are important to your employees and enhance their financial security—and emphasize the value of those benefits.
7. If there are issues with performance, address them directly, starting with the positive.
8. If an individual or the team is showing signs of stress, listen without judgment.
9. If you have done something wrong, apologize.
10. Express interest in staff well-being, including when an employee is out of work.

"Some people are just naturally positive; they're predisposed to happiness," explains Dr. Kertay. "But, happiness can be fostered, too. Studies have found that the number of times each day someone experiences even brief moments of positive emotion is a strong predictor of overall happiness. This means that an employer can boost employees' happiness on a day-to-day basis, simply by helping employees experience more positive emotional events. The Happy Worker Prescription can offer suggestions to create these positive events."

Learn more about the link between happiness and business success, and read more about Dr. Kertay's ten tips to creating a culture of positivity in Happiness and the Bottom Line: The Happy Worker Prescription.

About Dr. Les Kertay
Dr. Les Kertay is a licensed and board certified clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the arena of mind-body health, including disability medicine, chronic pain and health behaviors. He also has expertise as a leader and consultant on strategies for managing workplace absence. Currently chief medical officer in the Group Protection area of Lincoln Financial Group, his experience includes 12 years in executive leadership positions in the medical and vocational areas of the disability insurance industry. Dr. Kertay has presented at national and international conferences on topics related to the psychological aspects of work and disability, practical approaches to managing psychosocial issues in medical practice, pain management, somatoform and personality disorders and professional ethics. He is also a contributing author in three texts related to complex disability claims.