With the increase in population that separates ‘work’ from ‘life’, as if work is absence of life, it becomes increasingly important to study about what happiness means to people at work, so that they can be made to feel alive in their offices too. This session is aimed at introducing two interesting research studies that aimed to do just that. This session does not just explain these two research works but also will find the commonalities between these and will engage the audience with discussions using leading questions, thereby bringing out personal examples that they can relate to. This session will also help us understand if Business Agility keeps us happy in the true sense.

1. WORKPLACE HAPPINESS
Is Business Agility Taking Us
Towards Happy Workplaces?
Vivek Ganesan
Gainsight

2. What have we become?

3. Is the
Work - Life
Balance
narrative fair?

4. What do people
mean when they
say Work-Life
Balance?
WORK LIFE
There is NO
life in work

5. Is there a better
way to look at it?

6. Is there a better
way to look at it? WORK
LIFE
People experience life
while they work

7. Can work, by itself,
bring happiness?
Happiness at
Work

8. If everyone’s definition
of happiness differs…
How can we
effectively measure /
improve it ?

9. If you want to
measure happiness,
just ask people if
they are happy or
not

10. What if you
want to measure
improve
happiness levels?

11. Correlation is
the key

12. Good News
Correlation
studies already
exist

13. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Experience Sampling
Method

14. What is common among these three?

15. What is common among these three?
● We don’t consciously realize the passage of time
● We have a good time engaging in these activities - We feel good while
we do them.
● We experience a state of FLOW

16. Will we be
happy at work
if our work is
FLOW
inducing?

17. What are the conditions necessary to induce a
state of FLOW?
Interesting & Clear Goals Frequent Feedback Manageable Challenges
Finished Task with Visible
Progress
Increase in Skill
Level
Satisfaction

18. Daniel Pink
Commentary on Self
Determination Theory
of Edward L . Deci and
Richard Ryan

19. What is common among these logos?

20. What is common among these logos?
● Voluntary contribution without remuneration (Not salaried employees)
● Why do people contribute their expertise and time without any
benefit?
● If they don’t derive happiness from this activity, why would they do it?

21. What motivates people?
Extrinsic
Motivation
Rewards & Punishments

22. What motivates people?
Extrinsic
Motivation
Rewards & Punishments
Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation from within

23. What motivates people?
Extrinsic
Motivation
Rewards & Punishments
Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation from within
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose

24. What motivates people?
Extrinsic
Motivation
Rewards & Punishments
Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation from within
PERSONAL
SATISFACTION
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose

25. Does Agility Make us Happy?
Factor Agile Product
Development
Conditions for Flow
Clear Goals
Frequent Feedback
Manageable Challenges
Drive - Personal Satisfaction
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose

26. Does Business Agility Make us Happy?
Factor Agile Product
Development / IT
Business Agility
Conditions for Flow
Clear Goals
Frequent Feedback
Manageable Challenges
Drive - Personal Satisfaction
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose

27. What did we learn?
● Work-life balance
○ Bad narrative - Life at Work matters!
● Flow - Happiness as +ve
Engagement
○ Flow as a state of happiness
○ Pre-conditions of Flow
● Drive - Happiness as Personal
Satisfaction
○ Extrinsic Motivation - Carrots & Sticks
○ Intrinsic Motivation - Autonomy,
Mastery & Purpose
● Does Agility make us happy?
○ More happiness if entire business is
agile not just IT / Product Development
Happiness as positive
engagement
Happiness as personal
satisfaction

28. Questions?