A happy, satisfied, worker is a productive worker.

How many times have we heard the saying that “a happy worker is a productive worker”? Is there any value to the statement? What does it actually mean?

In order to understand what is meant by the statement, let’s break it down to finer components. The three main components are worker, happiness and productivity.

Let’s now briefly discuss these components. Firstly, who qualifies as a worker? The assumption is that a worker is someone that takes instruction from someone or is told what to do and how. Being a sole proprietor or an owner of a business also makes you a worker and should therefore be included in the definition of a worker. We can then agree that broad definition of a worker is anyone who performs work for an external party (employer/client) in exchange for remuneration.

Secondly, how can one define happiness? One can define a happy worker as a worker that experiences a high sense of accomplishment derived from performing work. Naturally, the degree of this experience is dependent on job content and job context factors. Content factors refer to aspects such as the nature of the work, workload and remuneration. Job context on the other hand has reference to the broader environment and includes your colleagues, management, opportunities to grow and the overall organisational culture.

Lastly, how do we measure productivity? Productivity can be defined as the degree of efficiency in which inputs are converted into useful outputs. We can therefore measure it by dividing the average output, either products or services, by the total input such as material and salaries. The ultimate aim of productivity is to maximise output with least amount of input.

In light of above, it is clear that there is value to the claim – “a happy worker is a productive worker”. From an employer point of view it is imperative to ensure that a conducive environment (job context) is created and maintained in order to ensure happy workers. As an employee it is necessary to find an appropriate fit between your needs and the job content. We can therefore conclude that the closer the fit between individual needs, job content and job context – the more likely a worker will be a happy and productive.