July 2, 2016

Most organisations aim to ensure that their employees are happy because unhappiness among workers is associated with lower productivity. As organisations strive to drive production and profits higher, they need to ensure that their employees are content and engaged in their work so they can deliver a satisfying customer experience. Ability4 offers a programme that helps to place employees first with the objective of enhancing business and improving products.

Performance-happiness matrix

The performance-happiness matrix consists of four quadrants, each of which represents the high and low performance levels of happy and unhappy employees.

First Quadrant: This represents happy employees who are low performers. Such employees are content, but their performance is poor because they are either too optimistic, need more training, or there is a mismatch in the roles assigned.

Second Quadrant: This represents unhappy employees who are also low performers. This situation could be caused by many factors, such as a lack of employee recognition and poor hiring practices, both of which could lead to under-performance.

Third Quadrant: This is the quadrant for the unhappy high performer. Although some employees may be high-performing, they might also be unhappy due to a lack of engagement. This means their high performance might not be sustained over time.

Fourth Quadrant: The final quadrant comprises the happy high performer. These are the employees who are happy about their work and are likely to sustain high performance over time while delivering in accordance with the organisation’s expectations.

What can organisations do to drive happiness in the workplace?

First of all, having well-defined goals will allow each employee to connect with the organisation’s objectives. When employees understand what needs to be accomplished, they are happy to go to work each day because they know what they represent in the company.

Creating a sense of ownership can also be useful. Engaging all employees gives them an opportunity to be part and parcel of the organisation. A team leader should be assigned for each project, thereby blurring the lines between boss and employee and creating a happy workplace.

Finally, feedback can play a vital role. It is necessary for organisations to praise employees when things are done as expected, and constructive criticism should be offered when performances fall short. This will lead to more confident and happier employees, which can ultimately result in higher productivity.

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