SFE YP Blog | Reflections on International Day of Happiness

Lorna Stephen, Financial Services Regulatory Solicitor, Burness Paull

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which decreed that the International Day of Happiness would be observed every year on 20 March, so we got together with Young Professionals to talk about happiness in the workplace. 

The theme this year was Be Mindful, Be Grateful, Be Kind.  It was wonderful to hear from members of our network about the ways in which happiness is promoted in each of our organisations.  Whilst we could have kept talking for the rest of the day, we’ve pulled together some key insights coming out of the discussion.

Why is this relevant to SFE Member Firms?

A recent survey found 34% of respondents would rather be unemployed than unhappy in their job.[1]  Given how much time each of us spends in the workplace, it’s no wonder that we are prioritising the way we feel at work. 

Having engaged and happy employees within a workplace drives productivity which, in turn, promotes economic growth within Scotland and beyond.  Young people, in particular, make up a significant proportion of organisations, and because of this, can have a significant impact on the overall culture of an organisation. 

Key Insights

So what’s the key to happiness in the workplace?  There isn’t one single answer to this and it will depend on lots of factors such as the existing culture within an organisation, business and people strategy, work life balance, alignment to person values and interests to name a few, but our discussion broadly split into five topics.

‘No meeting’ times

Perhaps this is something which has become more prominent since the Covid-19 pandemic, but some organisations instigate specific ‘no meeting’ times, either at a notional lunch hour or on Friday afternoons.  This has been helpful in delineating when was ‘meeting time’ and when was ‘working time’.  This approach works particularly well when adhered to by everyone across the organisation, from the top down.  The benefit of having some specified ‘no meeting’ times encourages colleagues to be conscious about deciding whether something should be a meeting or an email, and helping to avoid the dreaded Zoom fatigue.

Socialising

Socialising also came up in the discussions, with coffee mornings where colleagues are encouraged not to talk about work being a new initiative people have seen since the pandemic.  Some of the old classics have made a comeback, such as drinks, team lunches and some table tennis.  Socialising in the workplace helps foster a collegiate atmosphere and brings people together, which is particularly important in the hybrid working era. 

Relationships at work

Being able to make friendships at work and being able to talk about personal and professional challenges you encounter in daily life.  Do you have a manager with whom you simply talk about your to-do list, or are they someone you could have a real-life conversation with?  We spend so much time at work, and its often stressful, so good to be in a place with a real team environment, members of the team checking in on each other.

Recognition

It’s clear that a lot of organisations do things differently in this space – the examples ranged from old school postcards which could be sent to colleagues to digital platforms to allow people to give their colleagues a shoutout for something they’ve done.  One of the key points on recognition was that it worked best where there was some level of engagement from senior stakeholders as this gave a greater sense that the whole organisation was taking it seriously. 

Dedicated spaces

Not constrained to physical spaces, we discussed making space in organisations for employees to feel seen and heard, such as a Teams channel dedicated to solely Mindfulness.  Another example of this is diversity and interest networks within organisations, to bring colleagues together from different areas of the business to promote inclusivity or simply share hobbies.  Feeling seen in the workplace and being able to bring your whole self to work contributes to feeling comfortable and happy at work.

Conclusion

Happiness at work is clearly a very important but complex issue to which there is no one size fits all solution.  If there were, we would have done it years ago.  So what should employers do instead?  Consider the key takeaways above and consider how they can best make employee happiness and wellbeing a core part of their business strategy. 

Ultimately, organisations should continue to work hard for the welfare of their employees to enable them to perform at their best and help to deliver fulfilling careers within the financial services sector.

[1] International poll undertaken by recruiter Randstad UK