An Undefined Emotion
Hysterical crowds at a rock concert and the ones swaying to the chants
at a guru’s discourse have one thing in common. They all are in search of
happiness. In fact, human beings, even with
minimal aspirations, are all perpetually in pursuit of some sort of happiness. Happiness
is amongst the most extensively researched subjects related to human
well-being. Scholars have delved into innumerable aspects of happiness to declare
what they think were convincing proofs, means and methods of securing happiness.
Proven or not, we know beyond doubt that happiness is one of the most important
ingredients of well-being and consequently influences everything an individual
does. A universally accepted definition still eludes happiness despite
extensive research in everything connected to it. However, universally people believe
that happiness comes from within. Happiness
remains as subjective and vague an entity as it was, ever since it was first
humanly experienced. Aware, awakened or not, everyone persists in their efforts
to achieve happiness and pursue what they perceive would provide happiness.
Quantifiable Triggers and Subjective Experience
Happiness is generally associated with satiation of material needs
or change in condition towards a desired state. This assumption, partly
explains the fleeting and comparative nature of happiness. Purchase of a new car could trigger happiness, but it ebbs
away over time. It could also plummet instantaneously seeing a colleague with a
better car, newly purchased. One’s own
car, a source of happiness till then ceases to be so. Similarly, happiness
experienced getting a jump in career could vanish when one realises that a
colleague, considered less worthy, has secured an equal or better raise. While,
even a basic meal could flood the poverty stricken with happiness, connoisseurs
could remain stubbornly immune to happiness even at the most elaborately laid
out fare. Happiness, though visibly associated with material possession or
matching one’s expectations in each of these illustrations, is something intrinsically
beyond mere physical possessions, change in conditions or relative success.
Behavioural scientists have linked happiness to various aspects
like career, health, family, society, etc also. It has been seen that the intensity
and longevity of happiness experienced by an individual varied depending upon
the perceived level, achieved in relation to his expectations and aspirations. It
is also widely accepted that, given the same inputs, intensity of happiness
experienced and expressed varies from person to person. This is dictated by
one’s choice of how happy one should be. Even those culturally conditioned to
believe that being happy could invite unhappiness, do experience and express
happiness in various forms.
Irrespective of the source of happiness, clinical studies have
convincingly proved that happiness is associated with presence of biochemicals
like serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin in the body. While presence of these can
be ensured by chemical intervention, such drug induced stimuli have devastating
effects and produce euphoria that is momentary and drug dependent.
Despite being associated with and triggered
by quantifiable, measurable and comparable aspects like material possessions, career, health, family and society, happiness essentially
remains subjective, ambiguous and personal.
Path to
Sustainable Happiness
Happiness
associated with material acquisitions and changing conditions are proven to be
afflicted with short shelf life. As one gets accustomed to the changed
conditions or has flaunted enough the acquisitions of creature comforts, happiness
ebbs away. But happiness triggered by recognition, relevance and respect (Triple
R) are seen to be durably useful. Since this source of happiness ends up in
a reinforcing, reassuring positive cycle, individuals naturally tend to commit
themselves to perform better and contribute more where needs of ‘Triple R’ are continually
met. Though inherent to an individual’s
personal and social life, these are predominantly at play at his work place. Interestingly
‘Triple R’, enjoyed by an individual at his workplace easily spreads over to other
spheres of his personal life.
Monetising Happiness
An organisational
culture, where ‘Triple R’ is in abundance, can be crafted by human resource
experts with vision. Managements mistakenly equate ‘Triple R’ with remunerations,
designations and authority. Though these are essential to organisational
existence and individuals acquiring more of it derive happiness from it, there are
limits beyond which these can’t be granted and sustained. An organisation can have
only one CEO. It can create innumerable verticals and can have one head for each.
It can pay absurdly large compensation packages. It can assign tremendous
authority to various individuals. But going beyond a certain limit will be detrimental
to the very existence of the organisation.
Recognition
relevance and respect exist on a different plane from everything else. It touches
the very heart of dignified human existence. It doesn’t need heavy fiscal
outlays. It just needs understanding and deft handling that visibly manifests
itself in equality and objectivity.
The challenge
for those entrusted with creating and maintaining such an OC would be to find
ways to continually provide conditions where individuals experience incrementally
increasing relevance, periodically receive inputs of recognition and believe
that respect has been earned.
Way Forward
The fact that happiness comes along with a clutch of by-products, should
excite human resource experts, interested in organisational success and growth.
Happiness besides providing a sense of physical well-being, enhances
self-worth, creates a sense of purpose, encourages optimism and strengthens
commitment to the cause resulting in higher individual productivity. This can easily
be channelised to further organisational aims and harvest operational profits. Disengaged
from remunerations, designations and authority, organisations need to innovative
to provide ‘Triple R’
Since it is natural for an individual to pursue happiness, it is easier
to motivate him to pursue such activities than drive him for remunerations. If an individual’s pursuit of happiness and
organisational goals are coterminous or made even seemingly so, he would naturally
be aligned with the organisational path.
The resultant is a win-win situation both for the individual and
organisation.
