1. Life Evaluation (overall view of life in the present and future)
2. Emotional Health (happiness, stress, and depression)
3. Physical Health (pain and sick days in the past month)
4. Healthy Behavior (smoking, a healthy diet, and exercise)
5. Work Environment (job satisfaction, using strengths, culture of trust, partnership)
6. Basic Access (safety, healthcare, food, and shelter)
So how are we doing America? Well, surprisingly the only factor that went down between 2009 and 2010 was “work environment”. This is not surprising given the state of the economy. However, even with widespread home financing problems and high unemployment, the overall index of well-being went up. Why are we behaving this way in managing our workforces? Is it inevitable to “expect more and pay less” or “get as much from your people” no matter the cost?
In response to a request by the New York Times, Gallup used the survey to come up with a composite of the happiest person in America: he’s a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year. What’s astounding to me is that they found a person who fits this description living and quite happy in Honolulu! Hilarious! Wouldn’t you just love to meet this guy?
I must admit though that I have my doubts about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index data. Survey respondents are asked to remember their behavior from the previous day. While that might seem like a simple task, human beings are notoriously unreliable when it comes to self-report of emotional and physical health, especially to a stranger on the phone. Furthermore, surveying different people each time is different from surveying the same people each time. On the other hand, the survey probably does provide a useful look at America's general sense of well-being over time. It's a barometer of life in America that should stimulate many interesting questions.
Here’s the bottom line. Our work-life impacts life in general. If you are miserable at work, you are likely to be miserable outside of work. The flipside is obviously that if you are happy at work, you are likely to have more happiness in general.
I know times are tough for many Americans. My challenge to bosses, supervisors, managers, and company owners is to provide a work environment where your people can thrive and where they can be happy. Both your employees and your company will benefit from your goodness!
2. Emotional Health (happiness, stress, and depression)
3. Physical Health (pain and sick days in the past month)
4. Healthy Behavior (smoking, a healthy diet, and exercise)
5. Work Environment (job satisfaction, using strengths, culture of trust, partnership)
6. Basic Access (safety, healthcare, food, and shelter)
So how are we doing America? Well, surprisingly the only factor that went down between 2009 and 2010 was “work environment”. This is not surprising given the state of the economy. However, even with widespread home financing problems and high unemployment, the overall index of well-being went up. Why are we behaving this way in managing our workforces? Is it inevitable to “expect more and pay less” or “get as much from your people” no matter the cost?
In response to a request by the New York Times, Gallup used the survey to come up with a composite of the happiest person in America: he’s a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year. What’s astounding to me is that they found a person who fits this description living and quite happy in Honolulu! Hilarious! Wouldn’t you just love to meet this guy?
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| Alvin Wong |
I must admit though that I have my doubts about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index data. Survey respondents are asked to remember their behavior from the previous day. While that might seem like a simple task, human beings are notoriously unreliable when it comes to self-report of emotional and physical health, especially to a stranger on the phone. Furthermore, surveying different people each time is different from surveying the same people each time. On the other hand, the survey probably does provide a useful look at America's general sense of well-being over time. It's a barometer of life in America that should stimulate many interesting questions.
Here’s the bottom line. Our work-life impacts life in general. If you are miserable at work, you are likely to be miserable outside of work. The flipside is obviously that if you are happy at work, you are likely to have more happiness in general.
I know times are tough for many Americans. My challenge to bosses, supervisors, managers, and company owners is to provide a work environment where your people can thrive and where they can be happy. Both your employees and your company will benefit from your goodness!
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