Happiness at Work
Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success
By: Jessica Pryce-Jones
Published: April 2010
Format: Trade Paperback, 254pp
ISBN-13: 9780470749463
ISBN-10: 0470749466
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
"The fundamental point of being happy at work is to enable you to achieve your full potential and to make the most of the highs and manage the lows on the way", writes happiness expert, educator, speaker, and Founder and CEO of the Oxford based consultancy iOpener, Jessica Pryce-Jones in her important and research based book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success. The author demonstrates, with real world examples, of how employees who are happier at work achieve their highest potential, earn more, are promoted more readily, and are much more productive than unhappy staff members.
Jessica Pryce-Jones recognizes that the very concept of workplace happiness has not been given the study and attention that it so richly deserves. The author undertook an enormous five year study of the concept and implications of happiness at both work and at home. The result of the intensive interviews underlined the critical importance of workplace happiness, and its correlation with a happier personal life. At the same time, the extensive research proved that companies benefit, as do the staff members, of building and maintaining a happier work environment. The author based the book on four principles:
* You are responsible for your own levels of happiness
* You have much more room to maneuver than you think
* There is always a choice
* Self-awareness is an essential first step
Jessica Pryce-Jones (photo left) understands that happiness in the workplace is a state of mind where people choose to increase their performance, while their companies boost their overall productivity. For the author, employee happiness is a win-win outcome that benefits both the staff member and the organization. To build personal workplace happiness, Jessica Pryce-Jones offers a five part outline to achieve success:
* Contribution
* Conviction
* Culture
* Commitment
* Confidence
Combined with the organizational values of Pride, Trust, and Recognition, the "5-Cs", form the foundation for each employee to maximize their happiness, while boosting their performance.
For me, the power of the book is how Jessica Pryce-Jones provides a comprehensive, research based case for the positive benefit of workplace happiness. Through her exhaustive study of both individuals and organizations, the author makes clear that happiness creates a better work and life experience for employees. At the same time, Jessica Pryce-Jones demonstrates that employers would be well served by building a happier workplace culture, as happier staff members are much more productive than those who dislike their jobs. The author dispels a number of myths that have grown up around and about happiness, and replaces the myths with research based evidence of the importance of happy employees to an organization. The author also describes a system for creating an organizational culture of happiness that benefits both the employer and the employee.
I highly recommend the landmark book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success by Jessica Pryce-Jones, to anyone seeking a research backed analysis of the often misunderstood topic of workplace happiness. This book breaks new ground in the overlooked, yet very critical area of the importance and development of employee happiness.
Read the fascinating and paradigm altering book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success by Jessica Pryce-Jones, and discover how happier workers are more productive, and how companies that encourage workplace happiness are more profitable and hold a competitive advantage over their rivals. Let the power of happier employees propel your business to leadership in your industry.
