ThaiHealth promotes “Happy Workplace” as a changing trend for post COVID-19 working environment. A secret to create happiness for employees
Phongsak Thongratana
Director, Health Promotion in Organizations Section
Thai Health Promotion Foundation
Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic situation has resulted in an economic standstill. Entrepreneurs are the hardest hit. Many organizations need to cope with the situation and seek ways to maintain employment status and minimize the impact on quality of life among their workers, while enhancing organizational capacity without downsizing or foreclosure. Adaptability is the key to strengthen organizational resilience and readiness to face any future change.
Interesting information about a group of countries having continuous economic growth, for example the United States, researched by Bankrate LLC, a consumer financial service company, showed the Great Resignation would be likely as 55% of labor workforce in the US tended to resign from their jobs by the end of 2022. Monster.com website found that the key to resignation is Burnout Syndrome, leading to unhappiness at work, stress, affecting health, boredom and eventually resignation.
Such information is also related to resignation among labor workforce in Thailand following the Social Security Office’s unemployment registration database. Of the total 88,119 registered unemployed cases, 77,143 are self resignation, accounting for 87.54%. Such rate has reflected that they are not happy with their employment. On the other hand, working with happiness is an important factor for these people.
The key to build a happy workplace is employee, a teamwork to help building working environment suitable for a “Happy Workplace”. Since 2015, ThaiHealth together with Labour Ministry, Industry Ministry, Public Health Ministry, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, has developed a “Happy Workplace” concept that adopted and implemented by 10,000 companies and organizations nationwide. The network is strong and enable employees to work happily and aware of health. ThaiHealth received the World Health Organization’s Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion in 2021partly because of the Happy Workplace concept.
The Happy Workplace concept comprises the so-called “Happy 8” dimensions as follow:
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- Happy Body: good health, body, mind
- Happy Heart: empathy to one another
- Happy Society: united community, society and environment
- Happy Relax: know how to relax when facing challenges in life.
- Happy Brain: being professional and career growth
- Happy Soul: living a life
- Happy Money: saving money and no debt
- Happy Family: love your family, be a good social citizen
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These eight dimensions prioritizes work-life integration and resilience following the Future of Workplace Well-being which enable the organization to survive while making employees happy.
The Great Resignation is expected to happen by this year end, due to stress, leading to mental health illness. ThaiHealth and our network of stakeholders have a work cut out to implement work following the eight dimensions of Happy Workplace. One of them is Happy Soul, brining happiness to mind, morality and mindfulness in life. ThaiHealth together with Mental Health Department initiated “Mindfulness at Organization” (MIO), a project aimed at bringing happiness, consciousness and mindfulness to employees by practicing, so they will be equipped with meta skills, for example, feeling empathy, being responsible, being positive, open-minded when listening, mindful communication, bringing creativity and ability to solve self, team, organizational and social problems.
MIO Training Programme comprises the following three topics: 1. Mindfulness and self-development including three subjects: concept and idols, meditation, and mindfulness 2. Mindfulness in team and teamwork relation including three subjects: communication mindfulness, interpersonal communication mindfulness, positive thinking and mindfulness 3. Mindfulness and organizational development including two subjects: mindful meeting and friendly communication and mindful meeting and creative discussion. This program is available for executives, lecturers and general public. Dr Yongyuth Wongpiromsant, as MIO project advisor, is the key lecturer. Those interested can register to participate in the e-learning course at www.thaimio.com/elearning/
I honestly hope that this article will enable readers to understand, determine and encourage themselves to develop their organizations, make your organizations become the second home, a true happy workplace for employees prior to the Great Resignation.
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