Study finds that happy workers are more productive workers

Does it matter if workers are happy? Only if an organization wants to do well. • One academic study found that managers with average salaries of about $65,000 cost their organizations roughly $75 a week per person in lost productivity if they are "psychologically distressed." • Multiply that at large businesses, and the financial whammy is big.

Research shows that employee well-being is inextricably tied to higher performance, which is inextricably tied to the bottom line, says Thomas Wright, the Jon Wefald Leadership Chair in business administration at Kansas State University.

After controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, job tenure and educational attainment, Wright has found that an employee's psychological well-being is a significant indicator of job performance.

Maybe you didn't need a study to tell you that psychologically healthy people make better decisions and have better interpersonal behavior. What's not so universally accepted is what employers and employees can do about maintaining or encouraging such health.

Employee wellness talks are mostly focused on physical health — on providing incentives to employees to stop smoking, lose weight, exercise and manage their health care expenses.

Meanwhile, the American Psychological Association's "Stress in America" survey said that about half of adults surveyed feel stressed, fatigued, irritable or angry or lie awake at night because of stress.

The psychological malaise translates into lack of interest or motivation, sadness, depression, headaches and muscle tension.

In one recent survey of 1,000 adult workers, Lynn Taylor Consulting found that "the average employee spends 2.8 hours a day worrying about job concerns," such as company layoffs or losing his or her job.

From the employers' side, according to Quantum Workplace: Ask your employees how they're doing.

Leigh Branham, founder of Keeping the People Inc. in Kansas, counsels organizations about employees' psychological well-being. He says that you — or a third party — have to ask.

That means finding out, through questionnaires, if employees have confidence in management, if they see how their individual roles fit in, if they see opportunities for growth, and if they feel fairly compensated.

This is essential: Follow that up with one-on-one "How am I doing?" discussions between managers and employees.

From the employees' side, according to psychiatrist, professor and author Judith Orloff: "Flip the switch" on negative thoughts.

Orloff's tips include trying not to hypothesize about worst-case scenarios and avoiding contact with people or situations that rev up stress responses in your body.