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Time, Business and Money commented on recent research regarding happiness and performance in the workplace. Who is the happiest at work? It might not be who you thought.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard business school and the author of Evolve! Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow, says that the happiest people tend to be those facing the toughest, but most worthwhile, challenges.
In her research concerning what motivates people at highly innovative companies, Kanter found, “Money acted as a scorecard, but it did not get people up-and-at ‘em for the daily work, nor did it help people go home every day with a feeling of fulfillment.”
When people feel like their work can make a difference, they tend to be happier work such as teaching kids in inner city schools, working for solutions to homelessness, or improving health in developing countries.
However, a study by Leadership IQ found that in 42% of companies the lowest performing employees were more engaged and motivated in their work than their high performing colleagues. Many high performing employees are stressed out – they have to make up for the low performers and tend to feel undervalued often because they are.
To read more about which workers perform best read the entire article.