Business has changed – it started with the ‘war for talent’, and continued with the ongoing skills shortage and our younger generations’ new expectations. So as leaders we need to involve ourselves continuously in creating a company culture in which our people are happy and want to stay with us.

People who are happy at work are naturally more productive, which impacts positively on individual and company success.

I am a firm believer in a happy culture, and I have seen five main drivers, both at DAV and at many of our client companies:

1. Contribution

All people have a desire to know they contribute to their colleagues and leaders as well as to their company’s success. Let’s communicate on an ongoing basis about how our people contribute to larger company goals. When people see that what they do makes a difference, and that their views and opinions matter, they feel valued and appreciated. At DAV,
we create an environment where we consistently appreciate what our people bring to the table.

2. Conviction

When people keep going even when things get tough they develop a sense of resilience, efficiency and effectiveness. It’s challenging, however, to stay motivated which is how we can help: Let’s keep reminding our people of the ultimate goal and looking for different ways to motivate them. When we can convince people of the value of staying strong, believing in themselves (and their company) and working towards victory, their level of pride and resilience is amazing.

In 37 years DAV has seen difficult times and recessions. I believe what made the difference every time was our conviction we would not only get through it, but emerge better people and better professionals.

3. Culture

Happiness and performance at work are really high when we feel we fit within our company culture. Not fitting in a job is like wearing the wrong clothes to a party – all the time – and can be draining and de-energising. If we are in the wrong job the values mean little to us, the ethos feels unfair or political and we don’t have much in common with our colleagues. When we at DAV interview for our clients, we pay utmost attention to making sure the candidate is a good fit for our clients’ culture.

4. Commitment to a Purpose

As leaders we can help our people understand the bigger-picture reasons of why they do the work they do. Over and above the need to tangibly contribute through their daily work, people feel inspired by doing something worthwhile and when the vision of their company resonates with their own sense of purpose. People who feel committed to a purpose naturally make bigger efforts on behalf of their team and company. At DAV, we are lucky in that our purpose – placing the right people in the right positions – is meaningful and rewarding.

5. Confidence

I personally believe that if one of the strongly held values of a company is to ‘do your best every day,’ people grow in confidence. Going home each day knowing, ‘I have done a good day’s work, I did my very best’ builds self-belief, which is the backbone of confidence.

In addition to this, confidence is built through solid training that equips and empowers people to deliver coupled with finding ways of challenging our people and giving time for reflection, analysis and feedback. And, of course, showing them that we believe in them even if a task is not ‘perfectly’ completed.

Confidence is the gateway to the other four drivers… and we have confident companies when we have confident individuals inside them.

Final thoughts

People who are happy at work:

• Have twice as much self-belief, self confidence, resilience, motivation, goal achievement, engagement, pride and trust
• Believe they are achieving their potential twice as much
• Stay twice as long in their jobs
• Spend 80% of their working week focused on what they are paid to do, as opposed to the 40% their less happy colleagues spend. In practical terms this equates to 4 days versus 2, allowing for the usual interruptions.
• Take ten times less sick leave

And finally, understanding what makes us happy at work and how this affects our performance offers a whole new way of managing ourselves, our careers and our opportunities.

Call us, work with us, we understand good matches on a very deep level.

And by the way, I am very happy in my job!

Warm Regards

Ingrid Kast
CEO DAV

Jessica Pryce-Jones, CEO and founder of the iOpener Institute and author of ‘Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success’