“Bhutan, a small country of just over two million inhabitants, located at the foot of the Himalayas and with a Buddhist culture, decided, at the end of the 1970s, to no longer use the traditional index gross national product (GNP), but that of gross national happiness (GNB)”, (Michel Guillemin, Happiness at work: what do scientists say?ERS, 2018). A little alone on this concept, Bhutan has nevertheless perhaps inspired since 2012 the United Nations (UN) which publishes each year a dedicated report to measure this subjective well-being, entitled World Happiness Report. Utopia, happiness at work? The first research on this theme dates back to the 1930s under the aegis of Australian psychologist and sociologist Elton Mayo (The human problems of an industrialized civilization). They were continued in the 1950s by psychologists Fred Emery and Eric Trist, at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London (From socio-technical systems to the social ecology of organizations). In France, in 2013, the notion of quality of life at work QVT – then in 2020 QVCT (quality of life and working conditions) – established itself as the benchmark aimed at building a work organization favorable to both people’s health and the overall performance of the company.
However, a study carried out in 2017 by the firm Robert Half on happiness at work, carried out in eight countries, placed France in last position while in 2023, one in two executives declared feeling professional burnout (Apec). Paradoxically, 81% of French executives consider their professional situation satisfactory (Apec/Datagora, “Statistical portrait of executives in the private sector, 2023). How can this hiatus be explained? Is the unhappiness of structural or cyclical origin?
To begin with, the focus on unhappiness is based on different factors that can lead to an overinterpretation of the phenomenon. Organizational changes, for example, are often associated with working conditions perceived as generating uncertainty and anxiety. “These situations can both cause stress and have a negative impact on the physical and psychological well-being of employees” (The impact of the perception of organizational changes on the well-being of executivesEMS, 2017). This is the case for mergers and acquisitions, which are clearly increasing: in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), they reached $883 billion in 2024, up 15% compared to 2023 (Megermarket) .
In addition, in recent years, geopolitical, political and health crises have been factors of anxiety. So, is the health crisis linked to Covid-19, which has disrupted the world of work and human relationships: in September 2022, 25% of executives indicated that they had seen their mental health deteriorate over the two recent years (Apec) when 42% of employees were in a situation of psychological distress. Among them, 8 out of 10 believed that their work environment was a partial or total cause (13th Human Footprint/OpinionWay barometer, September 2024). Result: in 2023, 66% of executives said they felt good at work, compared to 77% in 2019. Among those dissatisfied with their professional life, 60% say they are subject to an excessive workload (Robert Walters, July 2023): 63 % say they work more than 40 hours per week, 25% more than 45 hours (2024 executive barometer, Secafi/ViaVoice/Ugict-CGT).
Reversible discomfort
Whatever the causes, unhappiness at work encourages turnover and the labor shortage forces recruiters to compete to attract and retain talent. If salary remains a major criterion, it is well-being that makes people stay. Thus, 42% of executives consider that the most important professional issue over the next five years is “fulfilment at work”, closely followed by the balance between professional and private life (41%). Concerns such as the use of artificial intelligence interest only 26% of respondents (Freelance/Ifop, 2024).
Another indicator that puts the somewhat worrying figures into perspective: if 42% of executives say they have considered resigning in 2024 (compared to 51% in 2022), only 8% have actually taken the plunge (Ibid). Moreover, “in this fall of 2024, executives display a record level of professional satisfaction (87%), while remaining particularly receptive to external opportunities (53%),” indicated last October Frédéric Dabi, general director of the Ifop (Cadremploi/Ifop Barometer). A trend that is even more pronounced among younger generations, “who express less attachment to their company and an increased requirement in terms of organizational flexibility”. Despite the ambient spleen, the discomfort of executives is therefore rather cyclical and reversible: it is up to companies to act.
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