You may bitch and moan about your job, but the truth is you’re likely to be happy with it.
Over the past decade, the Society of Human Resource Management has asked workers annually if they’re satisfied with their jobs, and about 80 percent say they are, a statistic that’s remained fairly consistent no matter the state of the economy.
But just what makes people happy on the job? At a time when happiness is a growing field of research, it’s a subject that’s getting increased attention.
To get up to speed, @work interviewed experts on workplace happiness to create this quiz covering a slew of factors relating to employee ecstasy. It’ll help you understand why you’re among eight of 10 workers who dig their jobs, or why you’re part of the rest who spend eight hours a day gnashing their teeth.
You have two co-workers, Goofus and Gallant. Goofus has a whopping sense of entitlement (think: Goldman Sachs exec). Gallant has lower expectations. Who’s happier?
A. Goofus, because he’s confident and has a strong sense of self-worth.
B. Gallant, because he demands less.
C. Both about the same.
* ANSWER: B. Research shows that the Gallants of the world tend to fare better. Unjustifiable self-esteem combined with inflated expectations is a common route to workplace misery, says Paul Harvey, an assistant professor of management at the University of New Hampshire who’s studied the issue.
Workers with an outsized sense of entitlement are more likely to get into a conflict with the boss. They’re also more likely to quit — and to lather, rinse and repeat this process when they get a new job.
If you carry such entitlement like Thor’s hammer, it’ll be tough for you to put it down, says Harvey.
“It seems to come from some early life experiences that create an inflated sense of self,” says Harvey.
True or false: Those YouTube videos of cats being cute that your co-worker just e-mailed you make you happier.
* ANSWER: True. Any stimuli that release dopamine in your brain — those cat videos, a smile from a co-worker — not only increase happiness, but also “turn on” the learning center of your brain, causing you to become more adaptive and thus a better worker, says Shawn Achor, a former researcher at Harvard University and author of the forthcoming book “The Happiness Advantage.”
“Our brains actually have higher success rates when we’re positive, which means if we can find a way to be positive at work, we can actually raise the level of success and performance,” says Achor.
Of course if you can’t stand cats, the equation changes.
Can you force yourself to be happy at work?
A. Yes, if I treat myself like one of Pavlov’s dogs.
B. No, I’m not an automaton.
* ANSWER: A. Toughness and enthusiasm characterize the happy employee, and those qualities must be “ignited from within,” says Srikumar Rao, author of the newly published “Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated and Successful — No Matter What.”
“Would Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi have worked any harder if you gave them a nice 401(k)?” asks Rao.
Workers must regularly remind themselves that they can take control of their fortunes, he says. And “the only way to do that is to be constantly thinking about it so that it becomes second nature. This requires constant, dedicated effort.”
You’re in a bad romantic relationship. Does that make you:
A. Happier at work, because you’re away from the miserable she-changeling who makes you wanna party with your buddies 24/7?
B. Miserable at work, because all you ever think about is him partying with his imbecilic friends?
* ANSWER: B. While some lost lovers may find work a refuge from the stress of a stormy relationship, most don’t, says Terri Orbuch, a research professor with the University of Michigan who’s conducting a decades-long study of married couples.
“We tend to take our stress regarding that relationship with us, so when we go to work, that unhappiness spills over,” she says.
True or false: The promise of a promotion makes you happier.
* ANSWER: False. “When I’ve gotten a promotion, then I’ll be happy” is a typical rationalization for a bummed-out employee, notes Jessica Pryce-Jones, whose research on workplace happiness has yielded “Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success.”
Wrong. Happiness at work hinges on what you’re experiencing in the here and now, she says, not on some amorphous future.
All you achieve by fantasizing about future glory is “shifting something to the future that should be happening right now,” she says.
True or false: There’s a correlation between being happy with your life and being happy at work.
* ANSWER: True. There’s a “moderate, positive relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction,” says Nathan Bowling, an assistant professor of management at Wayne State University who’s studied the issue. “People who tend to be satisfied with their jobs also tend to be satisfied with their lives in general.”
Which comes first is an open question, though.
“We can say that they’re related,” he says. “But just because two things are related doesn’t necessarily tell us a whole lot about which causes which.”
OK, you’re happy. Does that mean you’ll do your job better?
A. Of course it does. If I’m happy I’m going to work harder.
B. No. Being happy doesn’t mean I get any more done.
* ANSWER: B. The irony of all this interest in what makes workers happy is that studies over the past few decades have shown that a happy worker doesn’t necessarily perform better than an unhappy one, notes Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at the Wharton School.
“The research hasn’t been so positive about it,” he says. “Miserable workers can work well, too.”
This is your boss speaking. I just found out that being happy probably doesn’t affect your job performance that much. So why should I care if you’re happy?
A. As your ward, I’m deserving of your concern.
B. There’s more to my job than “job performance.”
C. My constant weeping is a distraction to my co-workers.
* ANSWER: B. While job performance — defined as your ability to handle your job description — is obviously important, there are activities outside this definition that can greatly help or hinder a company, says management professor Bowling. Studies show happy employees are more likely to show “citizenship behavior,” like staying late, mentoring co-workers and otherwise “going above and beyond,” says Bowling.
Unhappy employees, on the other hand, are more likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors like theft, sexual harrassment and leaving early without permission. Take your pick, boss.
Who’s happier?
A. The uptight neatfreak who’s always spraying her desk with Lysol
B. The laid-back dude who’s content to loll in a cube resembling a mini Fresh Kills landfill.
* ANSWER: A. There’s a reason your mom wanted you to clean your room! Maintaining a neat work space creates a positive mindset, according to “Happiness Advantage” author and former Harvard researcher Shawn Achor.
“Some people say they work better with clutter, but we find if individuals feel that their desk or their inbox is out of control, those individuals overlearn that in their brain,” he says, which leads to them “being overwhelmed across the board.”
Once you clean your desk, “your brain actually devotes more energy to making positive momentum,” says Achor.
What type of work makes people happy?
A. Busy work
B. Challenging work
C. Varied work
D. Minimal work
* ANSWER: B. All those wannabe-slackers who picked D are barking up the wrong tree, according to Theresa Welbourne, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Center for Effective Organizations. Above all, employees want to be challenged in their work, she says.
In an extensive review of various worker surveys, Welbourne found that 70 percent of the comments indicated workers are “looking for a sense of direction.” Her conclusion: “People like to be moving forward.”
What’s more important, getting recognized for your efforts or getting paid well?
A. Recognition. Everyone craves approval.
B. Cold cash. So just pay me and save the back-slapping for the mail room.
* ANSWER: A. Almost everyone thinks they’re underpaid, and many might assume getting what they think they’re worth is the key to job satisfaction. But they’re wrong, say experts, who generally agree that as long as no glaring inequity exists, salary isn’t as important as other factors. Chief among them: recognition by management.
The odd “’atta’ boy” won’t cut it though, says Roy Saunderson of Recognition Management Institute. Recognition that counts is face-to-face, timely, meaningful and delivered properly, he says.
“When it’s done in a half-hearted fashion,” says Saunderson, “it loses all meaning and loses impact.”