Source: Jenn Lim, CEO and chief happiness officer of organizational development, Delivering Happiness
This, experts say, could be a number of things (Figure 1). In a situation like that, it comes down to understanding what makes people happy. “If an organization is in a place where they’re stuck in a rut and trying to change their culture, I could see a chief happiness officer almost being a chief change agent,” said Shimul Melwani, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. This can include internal event planning, measuring engagement, creating programs that promote health and wellness, establishing culture and acting as a conduit for employee comments and complaints. “We want to make sure customers are successful by doing stuff that helps them rather than just trying to be happy or upbeat,” he said.“As for the internal, feel-good initiatives, they’ve been spread out among employees rather than put under control of one leader.”Īt other organizations, however, chief happiness officers are in charge of employee satisfaction. When Ginni Chen left the company, the company changed the job title to “customer success engineer,” which Walter Chen said was more representative of the role’s actual responsibilities. At team performance management consultant iDoneThis, co-founder and CEO Walter Chen said the title was adopted by Ginni Chen, an employee in charge of getting clients the right support with a side job of organizing events for company employees. Some firms use it as a title for customer service leader. Inventive job titles might seem like a silly waste of time, but they can have a major impact on organizational culture and recruitment. A simple Internet search of the title elicits a common question: “What does a chief happiness officer actually do?” Unlike chief operations officer or chief human resources officer, experts say the term happiness doesn’t naturally denote a traditional business discipline or function but an emotion or state of being. Part of the debate stems from the fact the title of chief happiness officer is hard to define. “Everyone has their own opinions of what it means, but people get that they don’t have to be unhappy in the workplace.”
“Happiness is very subjective,” said Jenn Lim, CEO and chief happiness officer of organizational development firm Delivering Happiness. Critics, meanwhile, question if appointing an executive to make sure employees are “happy” is productive or work appropriate. Proponents of the position say it injects a healthy dose of levity in work environments that ultimately improves employee engagement, productivity and retention. Tech firms are especially in on the idea, as they aim to woo top talent with lavish perks extending from on-site martial arts classes to $10,000 “computer and desk-décor” allowances for each employee, the Journal reported.
And as The Wall Street Journal reported last November, the number of companies with designated positions serving employee happiness is on the rise. Specific role responsibilities for happiness executives vary, but most are rooted in either human resources or customer service.Ĭhief happiness officers work to improve the work environment for employees by creating programs that improve employees’ job satisfaction and overall well-being - or happiness. But many firms, namely technology companies and startups, appear keen on the position. The official number of chief happiness officers in corporate America is unclear. 1 hit it was arguably the most feel-good tune of the year, prompting “the world’s first 24-hour music video” and almost 500 million plays on YouTube.Ĭompanies have also busted out the happiness grooves recently, in the form of the C-suite title “chief happiness officer.” Not only did “Happy” grab attention as a Billboard No. With its bubbly lyrics, soulful vocals and peppy backbeat, it’s easy to understand why. Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” left its mark nearly everywhere in 2014.