Introduction

"When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute." Simon Sinek”

Performance and happiness are like the bridges and tunnels that help you steer your way towards achievement and success. In an organization, they go hand in hand. Talking of organizational success, there are plenty of factors that determine how successful your business venture will turn out to be. Not just this, but there are tons of critical results or metrics that measure achievements. Is employee satisfaction the most vital metric to quantify success? Honestly, we can't know that it is the only metric; high employee satisfaction does not necessarily equate to productivity. Even bankrupt businesses have high employee satisfaction! What do we deduce from that? Is "satisfaction" not the correct metric to target? If not, then which one is? It's not as if employee satisfaction is unimportant! It is extremely crucial and one of the noticeable indicators for a high-performance organization. However, there is an overriding factor to it - "Employee Engagement." There is a massive difference between both of them!
Employee engagement goes beyond activities, games, or events - It drives performance . Employee engagement ranks a scale higher than mere "satisfaction" when it comes down to quantifying the actual business performance. However, both satisfaction and engagement are essential, but there is an even higher motivating factor - Joy!
It is no secret that the global pandemic wreaked havoc on organizations across each and every industry. The retail industry was no exception to this, as it was this industry specifically where the consumer behavior changed multiple times during and after the pandemic. One of the primary transitions the world has seen in the retail and e-commerce business has been the huge shift to online shopping.
Engagement and effort is maximised when the employee’s work feels meaningful and brings them joy. With growing workloads and operations standards, businesses need defined systems that establish a precise roadmap for prioritizing work, increasing productivity, and driving happiness.
Now the question that remains- How does one keep the employees more engaged at the workplace? A study by the University of Warwickreveals that employees who are happy are 12% more productive, whereas unhappy employees show 10% 'less' productivity. This study also shows that employees at Google were able to achieve 37% more satisfaction when they were happier at work. Joy can be triggered by creating an immersive work culture through stimulus and nudges. It also includes creating a holistic environment that promotes role clarity, skill development, recognition, and mental health.