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Message of the week 06 - 10 April 2020

Week 15 | 2020
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Reintroducing the Happiness Principal

With so much bad and scary news going around at the moment, it’s hardly surprising that people are seeking out positive experiences. We see this increasingly in consumers’ drive to seek out stimulus that makes them happy. There’s even new emotion measurement technology that tracks a person’s facial expression when they browse the internet, if the software picks up that you are enjoying a particular website or experience, it will filter more of the same to you.

Tech has enabled a far greater ability to deliver personalised customer care, but this level of satisfaction (dare we call it happiness) is not being realised in other areas of society. And this includes the workplace where, as this article points out, there is growing concern with worker morale and mental health”.

As leaders, we need to encourage staff to make choices that will build happiness and contentment, which in turn builds productivity and success. By following the Kyocera philosophy “Choose a loving, sincere and harmonious heart as our basis,” we learn that it is through celebrating others and rejoicing in their happiness that we build this “loving, sincere and harmonious heart”, which is the foundation that leads a person to success.

By focusing on our inner lives as well as how other people feel, we are in effect choosing what has become known as the Happiness Principle, in which “we should aim to produce the greatest happiness that we can – and especially the least misery”.

Action for Happiness, a UK based charity which aims to increase happiness in the world, offers 10 Keys to Happier Living, which are divided into five “habits of mind” – “Giving (doing things for others); Relating (connecting with people); Exercising; Awareness (living mindfully); and Trying Out (learning new things)”.

The additional five “philosophical habits” are – “Direction (having goals to look forward to); Resilience (finding ways to bounce back); Emotions (looking for what’s good); Acceptance (being comfortable with who you are); and Meaning (being part of something bigger).”

By choosing happiness for ourselves and others, we can be part of a win-win revolution in which there is enough success for all.

Michelle Frenzel - Human Resources Manager - Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa

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