The four drivers of sustainable happiness at work

It’s Monday morning, and your schedule is already overwhelming. Back-to-back meetings extend into the afternoon. A backlog of emails awaits clearance. Two urgent presentations need to be finalized by tomorrow. By the end of the day, the to-do list has grown, not shrunk. This is not a case of laziness or incompetence. It is a typical pattern in many organizations: constant activity without real progress. Leaders call it being “busy.”

Researchers, however, have another term: pseudo-productivity. Pseudo-productivity is the illusion of accomplishment. It is the feeling of running hard but not moving forward, a hamster wheel powered by high task-switching, reactive agendas, and an overload of operational demands. It is one of the most corrosive features of contemporary management because it erodes the foundation of sustainable performance: happiness at work. Leadership requires a source of strength and motivation from which one can lead effectively in the long term without inner erosion. Success can be a great motivator. However, if we become dependent on success – whether our own or that of the company – we become dependent on many factors over which we have limited or no control. Especially since the joy of the “deal of the year” or the record share price fizzles out faster than we’d like.

Leadership requires a happiness that comes from within; one that provides long-term fulfillment and strengthens resilience independent of external factors. As Buddha said: “There is no way to happiness – happiness is the way.” If we were climbing a hill and thought that we would be happy only if we arrived at the top, we would miss dozens of opportunities to enjoy the walk, the view, nature, the break at the alpine hut, and inspiring conversations with other hikers.

Four dimensions of workplace happiness

Research across psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and leadership studies highlights four drivers of sustainable happiness at work: progress, purpose, people, and pleasure. These elements together create a framework that helps leaders shift from pseudo-productivity to meaningful performance.

Progress: the antidote to the hamster wheel

“Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing,” said Shakespeare. Progress is the experience of moving forward, characterized by solving problems, acquiring new skills, and reaching milestones. It is one of the most powerful motivators in working life. Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer’s The Progress Principle research, based on 12,000 diary entries from 238 employees, found that small wins had a greater impact on people’s emotions, motivation, and perceptions of the workday than any other single factor. Yet in many organizations, the sense of progress is constantly undermined. High task-switching disrupts focus. Overloaded agendas turn leaders into reactive managers. Strategic goals are crowded out by the urgent demands of the day. The result is a lingering sense of being busy but not effective. One structural reason is that leaders and their teams, eaten up by daily to-do lists, rarely find the time to formulate two- or three-year purpose statements. Without a defined direction, however, even intense effort can feel aimless.

Leadership takeaway: Protect time for deep work, set fewer but more meaningful goals, and celebrate small milestones. Ask: What will we be proud to have achieved two years from now? Then connect today’s tasks to that future.

Purpose: from jobs to callings

The advantages of progress increase when work is tied to a clear purpose. Psychologist Amy Wrzesniewski’s research highlights three ways people view work: as a job (a means to earn a living), a career (a path to advancement), or a calling (a source of personal fulfillment and societal impact). Those who view their work as a calling report the highest levels of job and life satisfaction. But the most stunning finding is that the same job can be experienced in any of these three ways. There were employees in a hospital responsible for cleaning who considered themselves part of the healing team. While still doing their job, they would console patients or attend to visitors. When I ask my program participants which of the three perspectives they would like to experience more – job, career, or calling – most of them answer “calling.” If people with less sophisticated tasks can view their jobs as a calling, what prevents people with more sophisticated jobs from experiencing higher levels of fulfillment?

Leaders can help shift the frame by clarifying organizational purpose, showing how individual roles contribute, and encouraging job crafting – allowing people to shape their tasks, relationships, and thinking about their work. The absence of purpose is one of the drivers of pseudo-productivity; without a “why”, activity becomes mechanical. In contrast, purpose acts as a filter, guiding decision-making, prioritization, and resilience during setbacks.

Leadership takeaway: Create regular space for team members to reflect on the meaning of their work. Ask: If you could reallocate 20% of your time to what matters most to you and the organization, what would you do?

People: the X-factor of happiness

One of the longest-running studies on human well-being, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, offers a simple but profound conclusion: good relationships are the strongest predictor of health and well-being over a lifetime. Participants who were the most satisfied in their relationships at 50 were the healthiest at 80. In the workplace, strong relationships are both a source and an outcome of happiness. Altruistic goals, those that prioritize helping others to learn, grow, and succeed, are linked to higher life satisfaction than goals focused solely on career advancement or material success. This X-factor is two-way: supporting others increases our happiness, and happier people are more likely to support others in return. However, giving must be voluntary and meaningful, not a burdensome obligation.

Leadership takeaway: Invest in trust-building, encourage peer support, and model generosity. Keep Clayton Christensen’s insight in mind: “Management is the most noble of professions if it is practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow.” This approach requires that we set aside our egos and pay closer attention to the people around us. It requires that we think less about ourselves and more about others. How can we contribute to their satisfaction and fulfillment? Life becomes rich and inspiring the moment we open up to others.

Pleasure: joy as a performance enhancer

Pleasure or purpose? Research by Veronika Huta and Richard Ryan shows that individuals who integrate both hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (purpose) motives experience greater vitality and overall happiness. As Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant put it: “A life chasing pleasure without meaning is an aimless existence. Yet a meaningful life without joy is a depressing one.” Pleasure does not have to mean grand perks or elaborate events; it can be micro-moments of levity and connection: a shared joke, a celebratory lunch, or a creative ritual. One IT team, for example, assigns a unique cat meme to every project; a small tradition that brings smiles even in stressful phases.

Leadership takeaway: Look for opportunities to combine serious work with moments of play. Ask: When was the last time our team laughed together?