From Ros Groves, Watford, UK
Employers' attempts to imbue a sense of happiness in their staff lack an utterly vital ingredient: community spirit (10 December 2016, p 40). Employees are becoming increasingly isolated from their coworkers through practices such as working from home, reliance on email rather than face-to-face communication and a general frowning upon a reasonable amount of chat in the misguided belief that it is symptomatic of non-productivity.
Schemes such as awarding free gym membership merely condemn employees to lonely pounding on a treadmill. A constant focus on monitoring their own happiness simply adds to a depressing sense of introspection.
Regular, simple and affordable work-group outings and activities, enabling all employees and their partners to meet socially, would contribute more to employee contentment and self-worth – and in turn, better productivity – than a working life of pressure and isolation interrupted solely by the stereotypical annual drunken Christmas bash.
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