Is it your moral responsibility to be happy at work?

What is moral responsibility?

In philosophical terms, moral responsibility refers to a call to action, where the opposite (inaction) would result in moral failure. This could include helping someone on the street who is choking. It could be considered your moral responsibility to help that person by performing the Heimlich manoeuvre. Inaction in this context could be considered morally irresponsible. Another way to look at it is treating people the way you expect to be treated.

Why do we do this?

If we all go around being selfish a — holes, our community will not function. If we don’t see the community’s triumph as our own, we wouldn’t have healthcare workers, drivable roads or even a functioning society; remember the movie Mad Max — like that!

Research tells us that one of the fundamental reasons homo sapiens evolved further than any other species was due to the fact that we were able to build societies that worked cohesively for the greater good — which in turn, benefitted all of its members. Therefore, moral responsibility exists as an ‘unwritten rule’ to keep everyone happy, educated and safe so that we can all thrive.

Do you, as a member of your community, hold a moral responsibility to maintain a standard of happiness at your place of work?

In other words, does the level of your personal satisfaction at work actually go beyond you as an individual, and serve the greater community?

We think it does. Personal satisfaction leads to communal satisfaction.

Why does it go beyond the individual?

Reason One: Personal satisfaction makes you a more valuable employee.

According to a study of 12,000 working professionals, by recruitment firm Robert Half, happier employees are more valuable than unhappy ones. They were shown to be better performers and took pride in their work. They were also shown to have better relationships with their colleagues. These people were more efficient and able to think more creatively. This then led to a feeling of self-accomplishment — a key driver for fulfilment amongst workers under 35 years old. To an employer, this essentially means that not only are you easier to work with and cause less drama, but you’re more efficient, productive and creative.

Reason Two: You’re not a burden on the healthcare system.

Psychology studies show that happy workers have better health compared to workers who are stressed and potentially depressed. It also has a positive correlation to better mental health and healthy behaviour — namely how you deal with stress and how you overcome challenges. This directly links to your immune system, as the more stressed you are, the harder it is for your body to fight off infections. It can also have an effect on your coping mechanisms — whilst happy people are more likely to deal with stress in healthy ways, such as exercise, unhappy people are more likely to consume alcohol and smoke, leading to worse health overall. This in turn effects your mood, as healthy coping mechanisms increase your endorphin levels and unhealthy ones make you tired and irritable. Essentially, unhappy workers seek more medical attention — whether it’s psychological or physiological.

Reason Three: You make your friends and family happier.

If you spend five days a week at a job that’s a ‘drainer’, most likely, you’ll bring that negative energy home to your loved ones. In addition, with working-from-home and flexible working arrangements being more prevalent, the line between work and non-work time is becoming blurred. You can just as easily associate your unhappiness at work with your kitchen table — the one you sit at for both frustrating zoom calls and dinners with your spouse. In a study of couples conducted over nearly 25 years, a strong correlation between work satisfaction and happiness in a marriage was identified. Those who enjoyed their jobs often reported being happy spouses and had better relationships. This was due to the fact that these people were bringing the joy they experienced at work into other areas of the lives, whilst those on the opposite end of the spectrum where allowing negativity to dominate their relationships.

Reason Four: You become more altruistic.

You might be thinking — how can I be so selfish? How can I be so ungrateful for what I have, when others have it so much worse? By thinking that way, you’re actually being selfish! The hate that you have for your job will spill into other areas of your life and, in turn, effect your community. Research now links happiness to acts of altruism. The happier you are, the more likely you are to help people and perform acts of kindness. This also generates a positive feedback loop, whereby performing one act of kindness rewards you with happy emotions and encourages you to perform a similar act again!

So what does it look like when you’re not happy at work? You’re disrupting projects for no good reason, creating drama with work colleagues and dragging everyone in your workplace down. At home, you could be letting the smallest inconveniences set you off, hurting your partner. At catch-ups with friends, you could be saying things that offend or make people uncomfortable.

How does this interfere with the success of our community?

We like to assume our problems are bigger than others. However, when you yell at that retail worker for not giving you a refund, you might be oblivious to the fact that they’ve had five people before you doing the same thing. But when you come from a place of patience (because you’re a happy person), you positively affect that retail worker’s life — as maybe they were on the verge of quitting after the five difficult customers before you. You just never know and it’s unsafe to assume.

I am not saying it’s easy to be happy all the time, nor do I think it’s possible! But if we look at the places we spend the most time in life, our workplace is high on the list. Every change makes a difference, and the bigger the change, the better. If you actually lived a life where you didn’t hit snooze every morning, you were excited to see your coworkers everyday, you felt inspired after every meeting, and you produced your best work every single day, don’t you think you’d feel those same positive emotions in other areas of your life?

When we help ourselves, we are better equiped to help others. If we look at it as our moral responsibility, rather than selfishness, we’d all get on with what we were put on this earth to do — enjoy our lives.