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we all differ in what makes us happy, and thus that any singular approach to hap-
piness is doomed to fail. We believe to be happy means to feel the way that you
wish to feel. And that will be different for dif ferent people. When companies
launch one-size-fits-all happiness initiatives, they are not necessarily delivering
the kinds of experiences to employees that will make them happy as individuals.
S+B: Happiness requires personalization.
MENGES: If you look into conversations among HR leaders about how to apply
artificial intelligence, it oftentimes goes in this direction of individualizing expe-
riences at work. What I’m arguing is that we have to do that not only with respect
to people’s skill sets and competencies, but also with respect to how people wish
to feel.
I ask the executives I work with, “What makes you happy at work?” Then I
ask them, “What happens if you’re happy?” They tend to realize that when they
feel that way, their performance is good. Then I say, “Let’s write down the names
of your three most important subordinates. What is it that makes them happy?”
It turns out what makes each of the three happy is different from one to another,
and it’s different from what the executives wrote down for them selves. Acknowl-
edging this distinc tion is the first step toward personal ization, toward treating
every employee with individual care that allows for differences in how they wish
to feel.
In practice, however, many leaders will only focus on what makes them
happy. They project their own way of feeling happy onto others, and then when
people aren’t coming along, the leaders complain about people’s attitude or their
lack of enthusiasm.
By making leaders realize that the source of happiness differs from person
to person, we provide those leaders with a powerful toolbox. Be cause emotion is
closely linked to behavior, if we were able to individ ualize emotional experi-
ences in or ganizations, we’d go a long way in facilitating innovation, productiv-
ity, and engagement.
S+B: What else gets in the way of companies’ happiness initiatives?
MENGES: The organizational struc ture at most companies is still pretty much the