The science behind happiness

Let’s consider the science. Happiness researchers distinguish between two types of well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic well-being emphasises pleasure, life satisfaction and comfort which are externally derived (think Netflix, your favourite drink, long lunches), while eudaimonic well-being is internally fostered, rooted in personal growth, achieving purpose and alignment of values.

At work, this translates to finding meaning in what we do and feeling that our efforts are both valued and aligned with who we are. It matters because happy workers don’t just feel better, they perform better. An Oxford University study with British telecommunications firm BT found that happy employees were 13% more productive, not by clocking in extra hours, but by being more effective with the same time⁴. More recently, a 2023 Harvard Business Review article also confirmed that investing in workplace happiness leads to measurable performance gains, showing a link between happier workers and increased productivity across sectors⁵.

Bottom-up Change

A systematic review and meta-analysis covering 6,708 workers across 31 studies provides evidence of bottom-up interventions that successfully promote work engagement⁶. Bottom-up interventions refers to changes initiated by employees themselves rather than relying on organisational strategies pushed by HR and change consultants. The results of the analysis show that there are two effective types of interventions, which are:

• Strengths-based: Employees identifying, developing and using their inner strengths and talents with the intention of enabling them to function optimally and engage in their work. This intervention saw the biggest gains in well-being.
• Mobilising ‘ego resources’⁷: Strategies like mind fitness training, stress management, and empowerment programmes also produced some improvements in work engagement. These approaches help people develop their inherent energetic, affective, and cognitive resources.

Such bottom-up strategies can be directly applied in Malaysian work culture. Simply put, we could potentially increase workplace happiness by:

1. Knowing Your Strengths & Talents – And applying them. It will be much more effective than pretending you love spreadsheets.
2. Practicing Mindfulness – Just five minutes of mindfulness techniques can calm the storm in your inbox and in your head.
3. Growing Your Psychological Capital – Work on developing optimism, resilience, self-efficacy and hope. Do things like set small goals, celebrate wins, journaling… it’ll build those mental muscles for Monday mornings.
4. Creating Micro-Cultures – Don’t wait for HR or the organisational change strategy to trickle down. Start with your own team. Be the good vibe you want to see.

It’s Not Just About the Pay Cheque

We often read that many people in the twilight of their lives wish they’d spent less time at work and more time with loved ones. But here’s a contrarian view: maybe a big part of the regret is spending all that time at work miserable.

Because when you’re happy and energised at work, you don’t just perform better, you actually become someone your loved ones enjoy being with even more. Most of us spend the majority of our productive adult hours at work. The energy and positivity that come from enjoying your work make you more interesting, more inspiring, and ultimately, more loving.

Research from Harvard⁸ backs this up: employees in positive work cultures are healthier, more productive, and less likely to leave. Plus, there’s a certain energy that comes from people who are genuinely engaged in what they do. It’s noticeable, and it draws others in. Work-life balance isn’t just about hours, it’s about energy flow. If your job fuels you instead of drains you, your relationships benefit too.

Putting it in Practice: A Small (and Tasty) Step

Now, it’s one thing to read about all this, and another thing to consider how to actually do something. If I were to offer a small, personal example based on my own traits, it would be this: Starting up a group activity at ICMR called “Walk & Run with Cookies”. Why? To apply what I love at work. Because movement lifts energy, shared strife builds connection, and really, nothing brings tired people together like endorphins and cookies. It’s uncomplicated, low-cost and might be enough to shift the mood, and maybe even the culture, a little at a time.

ICMR’s Work-Culture-In-Progress

While we’re here, let me pull back the curtain a little bit on ICMR’s culture. It’s a place where curiosity is encouraged, and independent and innovative thinking are rewarded.

Work at ICMR is structured to be reasonably flexible and well-being isn’t treated as an after-thought, it’s part of how we design our work-flows to look like. Whether it’s taking a walk to brainstorm or blocking out thinking time, we aim to build a place where balance fuels performance, not the other way around. (Here’s a bit of ICMR trivia: Let’s just say there’s a curious pattern, and an intriguing number of staff, who made the move to get married to their partners not long after joining ICMR!)

And lately, there’s a shared sense that we’re future-proofing not just our research, but our culture. We’re learning how to leverage AI to amplify the human insights that we inject into all our research. We’re evolving how we communicate and give feedback, we have continuous, open-ended conversations that encourage reflection, growth, and a culture of psychological safety.

Still, we’re not perfect. (Still working on gender balance, because where are all the guys in research?) But we care. We grow. And I think that’s a pretty good recipe for happiness.