black keys

6 ways to reboot happiness

The Happiness Advantage report argues that the concept of ‘people first’ must become more than a slogan to combat the darker side of digital life coming to the fore.

I’ve recently been working on a new report alongside two colleagues at Sogeti’s trends lab VINT. It’s topic? Happiness. Or rather the role that digital plays in keeping customers and employees happy.

The new research report, The Happiness Advantage has just been published and covers what we describe as ‘the new frontier of competition’ that no company can afford to ignore.

Fake news disrupts the view of reality, smartphone addiction leads to depression among youth, and the digital manipulation of our behavior poses a potential danger to democracy. This is scary stuff. Even Tim Berners-Lee, spiritual father of the internet, speaks of the Web being weaponized.

Happiness by design

But, of course, correctly used, digital is a huge asset as you pursue ways to keep your customers and employees happy. As the report points out, the key is to make it work for you and to design happiness into your thinking and approach to what you do, how you do it, and who you do it for.

The Happiness Advantage provides insight into the influence of digital happiness on our lives and what organizations can learn from this to be successful. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg knows only too well what happens when the happiness of your customers is undermined. To avoid ending up in a similar position to Zuckerberg, organizations should take the report’s digital principles of happiness to heart.

Rebooting happiness

From how to deal with the paradoxes of digital happiness, to the best ways to become your organization’s digital guardian and quantify happiness, the report offers valuable insight and pragmatic advice. The following ‘6 priorities for rebooting happiness’ are paraphrased from the report:

  1. Close the gap between what is technologi­cally possible and socially desirable to bring your organization a happiness advantage. It is a huge gap, given the current state of tech­nology and the historical lack of focus on digital happiness.
  2. Never forget that happiness counts. Happy customers spend more, while happy employees outperform.
  3. Make happiness a strategic priority. How to create a smile on the face of custom­ers every day, or how to get employees into a good groove so they can flourish, should be high on the digital agenda.
  4. Find a purpose. With both a purpose and meaning in organizations, in work and in the products you buy, happiness will always be close by. Organizations that are able to add meaning to what they do and produce are profiting more from the happiness advantage.
  5. Stay in the race. It is a rat race and competition for happiness will be fierce, so do not ignore the fact that your customers’ desires can be fulfilled by any competitor.
  6. Be human. Those who disregard the essential human elements of pleasure, flow and meaning, are sailing against the wind. Happiness, the human project, is what will drive change in the 21st century.
 the happiness advantage  

More tips can be found in the NEW research report: ‘The Happiness Advantage’

Menno van Doorn
Menno van Doorn
Director of VINT
+31 6 51 27 09 85