“Happiness and wellbeing are not the same
thing, but we treat them as if they are.
They are a rhetorical coupling.”
This was the view presented by Cass
Business School professor Cliff Oswick at
the school’s event on happiness in the
workplace last year.
“We see them often used in combination
and I think we have to uncouple them
on occasions. I think happiness can be
more transitory and wellbeing is more of
an enduring life position and the danger
is that – if we mix them – we make
assumptions and associations that aren’t
necessarily there,” Oswick added.
Particularly since the start of the
recession, workplace wellbeing has been
high on the agenda for employers and
more recently government and policy
makers. As companies struggle to provide
pay rises for staff, HR departments are
seeking alternative ways of engaging with
employees and boosting productivity levels.
In last month’s issue of WSB, minister
for employment relations Jo Swinson MP
said she “strongly” supported workplace
wellbeing, explaining that it was not only
“morally right” to consider the self worth
and health of individuals, but also because
it made “good business sense”.
The word ‘wellbeing’, when used in the
context of a workplace, often conjures
up meanings linked both to mental and
physical wellbeing under the umbrella of
an employee’s overall health. University
of Sheffield occupational psychologist and
research fellow Dr Angela Carter believes
happiness should be viewed in the wider
context of wellbeing.
“Think of wellbeing as a big topic and
mental health as the bigger topic still, with
happiness a positive facet of wellbeing.