Employee Engagement: Against Happiness

Employee Engagement: Think Different #2

The September 24th issue of The Economist had an article against happiness at work.

The article stated that “companies that try to turn happiness into a management tool are overstepping the mark.” The one-page article also concluded that companies do not have the right to “turn happiness into an instrument of corporate control.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I have maintained for years that engagement is an invitation not an imposition. It is not about control but connection. We don’t make someone else engaged. People are not machines and you can’t pull levers or push drivers to engage them.

If you want to engage, invite do not coerce. And by the way, if you invite rather than compel, that will go a long way to making me happier about work and engagement!

David Zinger is an employee engagement speaker and expert from Winnipeg Canada.