Arbedjsglæde. Arbedjsglæde. Arbedjsglæde. No, I don’t know how to pronounce it correctly, but I repeat as it is a fascinating word.
Arbedjsglæde is a Danish term for the happiness we get from doing something, a state of well-being that occurs when we are satisfied with the work we do and when we feel involved in a team.
(Disclaimer: I know that in our culture such terms can evoke discomfort from an age of “work as a gold bracelet” or, for the youngest, the discomfort associated with the crazy race of capitalism (rat race). It’s not about that, it’s about a sense of personal competence and meaning. You must have experienced this!)
Data tells us that employee well-being translates into benefits for both parties: happy people earn better and get more promotions, and organizations can see a 30% increase in productivity and of almost 40% in sales. No, it’s not just about salaries and benefits (they matter, don’t get me wrong!), these don’t determine employee commitment and engagement.
More important are the relationships between people (employees, management, etc.) and the results people get: in a word, Arbedjsglæde. Happiness and job performance are linked in a two-way relationship: happy people do a better job, and people who do a better job are more likely to be happy.
When are we happy at work? It happens when:
- We feel appreciated and respected by our colleagues and the company
- We like our tasks
- We feel financially satisfied (we consider the ratio between what we offer to the company and what we get back to be an honest one)
- We notice that we are growing, that we have space to learn and from whom to learn (ah, how important it is to have a professional mentor and how often is this ignored!)
- We like the people we work with
- We receive feedback and recognition
- We feel we are part of a team, and we have a common bigger goal than the individual one
- We have space for free expression
- We have a leader we truly respect (that is, a leader who has earned our respect)
- We work in a psychologically safe environment
The challenges for you are:
- Taking this list as a starting point, try to identify the first 3 things that are very important to you for well-being at work.
- Next, think and answer honestly: what do you offer to those you interact with at work? Which of the bullet points can you check?
