Prescription: Improve Happiness at Work Through Helping Others, Tangibility & Sensory Stimulation
Status: Occurring
“ Digital desk jobs feel empty because they are empty. They deprive us of the very things that make us human: our five senses and the satisfaction of tangible output”
Happiness Will Not Be Downloaded, Jun 2012
there’s plenty of evidence that people who make a tangible product, use their senses, and help others are happier than mere office dwellers. But let’s face it, Microsoft won’t pay you to conquer the Amazon or extract salmon roe. Offices are where the work is. “
How To Turn Office Dwellers Into Doers, Jul 2012
What Happened
Empty Jobs
- Why most of our jobs are meaningless, May 2018
- The Bullshit-Job Boom, Jun 2018
- Most unhappy people are unhappy for the exact same reason, Jan 2018
- 37% of British workers think their jobs are meaningless Aug 2018
- We’re living in the age of the zero-sum economy
But available figures suggest that zero-sum activities have grown significantly. As Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini point out in a recent Harvard Business Review article, some 17.6% of all US jobs, receiving 30% of all compensation, are in “management and administrative” functions likely to involve significant zero-sum activity. Meanwhile employment in financial and “business services” firms has grown from 15% to 18% of all US jobs in the last 20 years, and from 20% to 24% of measured output.
Importance of sensory stimulation
TOUCH THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH (NOT IN A CREEPY WAY), Mar 2015
Forget Beanbag Chairs. Amazon Is Giving Its Workers Treehouses. Jul 2016
Does a workspace really need ‘fun’ fixtures to inspire creativity? , May 2017
A growing number of design firms worldwide are helping to re-shape offices as creative playpens
Importance of Helping Others
How to Succeed Professionally by Helping Others Mar 2013
Research shows that even if the rewards aren’t immediately apparent, contributing to the success of others pays off in the long run.