INTHEBLACK April/May 2024 - Magazine - Page 36
F E AT U R E
TEDxTalk with Aurélie Litynski: How to be truly happy at work
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“What I see, and what the research is
telling us, is when we focus on people’s
experience of work, we improve wellbeing
outcomes, and we improve performance
and productivity as well,” he says.
“That’s not your big awareness day
campaigns – that’s focusing on things
like job design, risk mitigation and
ensuring we’ve got the right workplace
and leadership behaviour.”
WHAT MAKES EMPLOYEES HAPPY
“There is no magic formula to creating
a happy workplace,” says Litynski,
a French national based in Switzerland.
However, Litynski has identified two core
components of employee happiness – a sense
of achievement and healthy relationships
at work.
In a positive workplace culture, employees
receive praise and recognition for their
accomplishments. They also have a sense
of purpose.
“Learning new things, knowing your
job is important, being proud of what you
do and understanding the meaning
36 INTHEBLACK April/May 2024
and the impact of your job will boost your
feeling of achievement,” Litynski says.
The sense of connection and belonging
engendered by strong interpersonal
relationships in the workplace is another
critical factor.
“We need employees to get along with
each other, to have good relationships with
their managers, to have good communication,
to be authentic at work, to trust each other
and to have fun,” she says.
Litynski’s advice for organisations trying
to create a positive workplace culture is to
start with the twin pillars of achievement and
relationships. This could mean introducing
a regular award to recognise discretionary
effort or implementing weekly one-on-ones
between managers and their direct reports.
The authors of the Department
of Defense happiness study devised their
own recommendations for creating happy
workplaces based on their research –
measure happiness in both employees
and job candidates, develop happiness in
the workplace through wellbeing training
initiatives and retain employees who are happy.
