Happiness in Life and @ Work

Therefore, helping workers to feel that they are able to decide what to do, as well as feeling good at daily activities, and having meaningful and deep relationships with people who is important for them, are key nutrients for satisfying their psychological needs, making them more satisfied not only with their lives, but also with their jobs (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Van den Broeck et al., 2016). Thus, when companies help employees to satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, organizations might start a virtuous circle of flourishing both in employees’ lives and at work. However, a vicious circle is also possible. If employees feel low need satisfaction, or even worse, feel that their psychological needs are frustrated (Unanue et al., 2014; Van den Broeck et al., 2016), companies may start a dangerous circle of employees’ unhappiness.

Wenceslao Unanue