Happiness survey template

No one shows up to work in a crummy mood thinking, “I’m really going to have a positive impact on my coworkers and company today.” Worker happiness isn’t just about emotional well-being, it’s key to more productive and effective teams. So where do you start?

Peter Drucker, the godfather of management thinking, put it like this: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This applies to assembly line efficiency, and it goes for people’s happiness.

So if you want to nurture a happy work environment, the first thing you need to do is to take your team’s happiness pulse. All it takes is a mix of periodic surveys and good ol’ conversation.

What should you measure? Studies show time and time again that employee happiness isn’t about perks and fridges full of fresh beverages. What really matters is that people feel they’re contributing to something meaningful, alongside teammates they enjoy working with. The keys to workplace happiness: purpose, autonomy, mastery, and relationships (more on these below).

Once you’ve got a gauge on these things, you’ll learn which levers you need to tweak to boost happiness in your teams.

‘How happy are you at work?’ is a good place to start. But to improve team well-being, you need to probe the real motivators of happiness. Here are a few of the main areas you’ll want to explore in your happiness survey:

Purpose. Happiness starts with an answer to why. Do people understand your team goals? Do they believe in what you’re trying to achieve? How do they contribute to the journey?

Autonomy. Happiness continues when people feel trusted to execute on their own, and have the tools to make it happen. Do teams feel a sense of trust? Do people have the resources they need?

Mastery. People want to know they’re making a difference, and making progress along the way. Do people have the skills they need to do what’s required? Are they improving their knowledge and aptitudes over time?

Teams. Good colleagues make all the difference. Do coworkers have a shared vision? Do they support each other along the way? Do they start from empathy in their interactions?

Of course you’ll need to sharpen these questions to your specific space. Let someone know you care today, and put a smile upon their face.