HAPPINESS AT WORK

Employees make difference to companies and they are gaining recognition for their contribution. More and more employees are realizing that there is a real correlation between happy staff and a strong bottom line. But what makes us happy at work?

According to the HR Consultants Chiumento’s ‘Happiness at work’ index, employees have interests that rank higher than a big pay cheque, which comes in at a lowly tenth place. Instead, it’s people first – feeling part of a friendly, supportive atmosphere, where you have a say in what happens, and where people take care of each other. At Google, for example, they take pride in the fact that employees enjoy a ‘fun workplace’.

Second in line on the ‘Happiness at work’ index comes enjoyable work, where employees derive satisfaction from their achievements. It also helps if you can relate to the values of the company where you work. According to a recent newspaper survey, Innocent, a young fast-growing fruit drinks company, attracts employees who see a future for themselves in a company with clear values. Innocent ‘innocently’ claims they want to ‘leave things a little better than we find them’. At Google, where they receive 100,000 job applications a month, their philosophy is to make money ‘without doing evil’. Employees are clearly keen to make the most of their opportunities, especially if they feel they are making a worldwide contribution to their company while helping to improve the world they live in.

Task II. Work in small groups. How would you feel in the following situations during an interview for a job you really wanted to get? What exactly would you say or do in each situation?

1. You are still waiting for the interview to begin half an hour after your appointment.

2. Unexpectedly, you find that you’re going to be interviewed in a group with several other candidates.

3. You have to sit in an uncomfortable, low chair.

4. The interviewer hasn’t prepared for an interview: he/she doesn’t seem to have read your CV and application letter.

5. You take an instant dislike to the interviewer.

6. The interviewer never looks you straight in the eye.

7. You have a terrible headache. The room is very hot and stuffy and the windows are closed.

8. You are asked about your political and religious beliefs.

9. The interviewer receives a phone call which seems to be going on too long.

10. The interviewer talks too much and keeps interrupting you.

11. The interviewer keeps asking questions you can answer with Yes or No.

12. At the end of the interview you still do not have a clear picture of the nature of the job.

13. The interviewer doesn’t tell you when you may expect to hear his/her decision.

Task III. Work in pairs and discuss the situations below. Then present your views to the rest of the class, giving examples from your own experience as appropriate.

1.When choosing candidates for any particular job, the Americans say: “What can this person do?”; the French say: “ What qualifications has she/he got?”; the British say: “What kind of background has this person got?”. Which question would you ask, when you are to choose an applicant? Why?

2.A study in one of the largest American corporation indicates that the two criteria “quality of the college attended” and “a rank in class” were the best predictors of future managerial success in that firm. If you were a recruiter for a large company, would you utilize these criteria? Why or why not?

TEXT 6

Read the text and dwell on each factor of ability and motivation. Prove their importance. Do you find these factors equally significant? Why, why not?

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