There's More to Work Than Work

Yesterday’s column by David Brooks of the New York Times deals in part with policy makers' misunderstanding of what drives prosperity and happiness in America. Mr. Brooks got me thinking the same might be true of businesses when they fail to see what keeps employees happy and productive: it’s about so much more than money.

The good relationships employees build at work will do more to create and sustain corporate loyalty than any benefits package. The same is true in the opposite: no matter how golden the handcuffs, employees will walk away the moment the opportunity presents itself if they feel unappreciated or isolated.

Says Brooks: “Over the past few decades, teams of researchers have been studying happiness. Their work, which seemed flimsy at first, has developed an impressive rigor, and one of the key findings is that, just as the old sages predicted, worldly success has shallow roots while interpersonal bonds permeate through and through… The overall impression from this research is that economic and professional success exists on the surface of life, and that they emerge out of interpersonal relationships, which are much deeper and more important.”

Relationships are innate to our survival and essential to happiness. Knowing this makes me wonder why leaders who want a stable, productive, profitable workforce don’t pay more attention to relationships. Maybe it’s because quantifiable things like efficiency, rate, and budgeting are easier to tackle with the IQ; no emotional intelligence is required. Ultimately, though, efficiency, rate and budgeting are not what create great companies. Relationships are.