While happiness works in the short term and in a very volatile way, well-being is based on lasting principles that are set in the medium to long term.
Happiness in the workplace is part of the defining characteristics of job well-being; alongside positive relationships, commitment, purpose and success
The measurement of occupational well-being, through technologies that allow an objective analysis, is key to understanding how to act accordingly by the organization, with concrete and personalized actions.
Well-being is not the same as happiness, and although they are often used interchangeably, the differences between the two concepts are noticeable. Applied to the workplace, happiness (laughing with co-workers or enjoying a party before the holidays, for example) says nothing about how committed employees are to the company, or how they are contributing to the achievement of the company’s objectives. Happiness is much more focused on the short term, being a very volatile feeling, able to change quickly.
As the founder of the technological consultancy specializing in occupational welfare APFtech, Xavi Escales, explains, “an employee may feel very happy temporarily due to an increase in salary, but after remembering that his job does not fill him and return to feel unhappy and unmotivated. “
At the same time, wellness analyzes all areas of an employee’s life, both inside and outside the office, to measure that person’s ability to manage stress, be productive in their work environment, contribute to society and feel fulfilled and satisfied according to their potential. In this sense, one of the main differences with happiness is the time frame, as well-being works more in the medium-long term, and correlates more appropriately with the variables that affect productivity, absenteeism, low medical, work failures, etc.
This is not to say that happiness at work and job well-being do not work together; on the contrary, happiness is part of well-being, and is one of the factors that determine the level of well-being. Thus, these axes are: positive emotions, positive relationships, commitment (in different areas, such as family, work or social causes), purpose (understanding the meaning and motivation of your actions and being agreement with them) and success (ambition and the achievement of personal goals and objectives).
Objective measurement of occupational well-being
The benefits of promoting job well-being among workers is something that more and more companies have realized. In this sense, it is essential that companies take action that works based on the particularities of each person. In response to this need, occupational well-being has evolved with innovative solutions that make it possible to analyze people’s well-being in a more precise and effective way, through artificial intelligence.
Among the most prominent technologies are wearables, personal devices that monitor different biometric variables, such as heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, etc., allowing an objective analysis of well-being. “Objective measurement and interpretation of variables that affect the well-being of people are essential to be able to make decisions that are really useful, both to take care of the well-being of the workforce and to achieve the goals of companies,” he explains. Xavi Escales.