Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness (sloanreview.mit.edu)

Article summary

A large-scale study of nearly 1 million US Army soldiers found that well-being and happiness predict outstanding job performance. The researchers measured happiness and optimism using a survey and tracked job performance awards over five years. The study suggests that initial happiness matters and can lead to better job performance. The findings have implications for business leaders who want to foster workforce happiness.

Main themes

• happiness and job performance
• employee well-being
• management motivations
• authenticity and faking happiness
• drive for change
• bidirectional relationships

What commenters say

• Measuring and developing employee happiness can be beneficial for job performance, but it can also be problematic if not done authentically.
• Some people believe that happy employees are more likely to maintain the status quo, while unhappy or unreasonable individuals are more likely to drive change.
• Others argue that happiness and unreasonableness are not mutually exclusive, and that happy people can still be driven to change the world.
• There is skepticism about whether managers truly care about employee happiness, with some suggesting that they are more motivated by performance and productivity.
• The relationship between happiness and job performance may be bidirectional, with high performers being happier and more optimistic, rather than happiness causing better performance.
• Some commenters think that faking happiness can still have positive effects, as people may start to feel happier as they try to appear happy.
• The concept of happiness and well-being is complex and multifaceted, and may not be fully captured by a single survey or metric.
• The study's findings may not be generalizable to all workplaces or industries, and more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between happiness and job performance.