Pursuit of happiness — Pocket FM goes for a reality check

The audio series company undertakes a Happiness Survey to understand the state of affairs, find flaws, learn and fix them to increase happiness quotient across levels

Remember Will Smith-starrer biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness? The 2006 movie was based on the best-selling mémoire of the same name by Chris Gardner detailing his struggle of being homeless for about a year. The movie received universal acclaim for Smith’s performance and emotional weight.

Gardner had his reasons to choose that title. He believed happiness is something that we can only pursue. Besides the fact that his struggle during the period was to be in a better state, be happy.

True, happiness is a state of mind that we seek to be in, always. In today’s world, when people spend more than a third of their time (including sleep time) at work, happiness at workplace is very important.

Going for a reality check

A simple search on Google on “How to build a happy workplace?” throws 264 million results in about half a second. Experts, observers, companies, critics — everyone is talking about it. And there are well-researched guidelines that could help a company to transform itself into a Happy Workplace.

We, at Pocket FM, have always wanted our people to be happy, we want them to love what they do. So, we did everything that we felt necessary, everything by and off the rulebooks. But the question remained: Are people at Pocket FM happy across levels? We could not trust our assumptions. More because it is nearly impossible to gauge people’s state of mind at a company that has adopted a 100% remote work culture.

As we gear up to celebrate our fifth anniversary, we decided to conduct an anonymous survey to check the reality. The survey was conducted anonymously with 900+ Pocket FM employees, freelancers and contractors across India and US on a third-party online survey platform in April 2023.

Metrics matter

To conduct the survey, we had to determine the metrics with rationale. We did not want to float a set of ready-made questions that, we knew, would only give us predictive outcomes. So questions were customised based on functionalities and known work culture of Pocket FM.

The Pocket FM Happiness Survey identified metrics determining workplace happiness while assessing various aspects, including fair and equal workplace culture, organisational structure and hierarchy, goals and purpose at the workplace, and interpersonal relationships.

For us, the survey was like a bug bounty. We wanted to find the hard truth pointing us to the loopholes so that we can fix them.

Finding the truth

The results of Pocket FM Happiness Survey indicate that remote work is a significant driver of peace of mind and happiness among employees, leading to increased productivity, innovation, and efficiency.

Times have changed when people did work to ensure livelihood. These days, everyone wants to love what they do. Everyone wants to be happy at work. We found three key factors that drive happiness at work:

(a) relationships in the workplace

(b) work-life balance

(c) employee purpose and well-being

The survey findings indicate that employees who feel supported and inspired by their colleagues and managers are likely to experience a greater work-life balance and a stronger sense of purpose.

Formula of a happy workplace

Ninety eight percent of respondents said they believe staying true to themselves helps them bring better focus. Thus, embracing authenticity and individuality enhances focus toward goal attainment inducing professional success. On the other hand, 94% of participants emphasised the significance of having a compassionate manager, as it brings better clarity and direction to their work.

While 96% of respondents associate their passion toward the workplace with their pride in the organisation, 93% voted for an approachable manager that they believed eases their work life, inducing a positive and supportive atmosphere.

To add to that, according to the survey, 92% of the respondents said they would like to understand organisational goals. That, they believe, would improve efficiency imbibing objective achievement. Similarly, 92% acknowledged the positive impact of coworkers being an inspiration and motivation towards creating a happy work environment. Thus, a collaborative atmosphere is of utmost necessity.

Culture, Values and Principles

In the Pocket FM Happiness Survey, several other significant indices were identified. While 86% of participants said understanding organisational goals enables them to evolve in their workplace roles, 83% believed that comprehending how their work contributes to the organisation reduces workplace stress. Additionally, 93% of respondents agreed that a cohesive work environment is instrumental for a happy workplace.

The survey results also highlighted the importance of fair promotions, workplace equality, and freedom in decision-making. While 80% of participants identified fair promotions as a motivating factor, 95% recognised workplace equality as crucial for breaking the clutter and enabling a harmonious atmosphere. And 95% voiced in favour of freedom of independent decision making that brings a sense of ownership leading to better performance.

Growth opportunities, without a doubt, came up on the list that instils motivation with 85% of respondents voting in favour. This culminates with brand affinity being identified as a crucible of productivity, where 98% recognised its influence.

The way forward

Findings of the Pocket FM Happiness Survey did make us happy. At the same time, it did highlight the areas that needed improvement. Now, it’s on us how we take these learnings and move forward to improve the happiness quotient in the days to come.

“By understanding what truly makes our people thrive, we can create a better workplace environment. We firmly believe that cultivating a happier workplace is not a mere indulgence but an essential ingredient for organisational success,” said our co-founder and chief executive officer Rohan Nayak.

When employees find satisfaction and joy in their productivity, they become deeply engaged, motivated, and truly invested in the company’s growth. “By fostering a culture of happiness, we need to unlock a powerful driver of productivity and efficiency, leading to superior outcomes for both the employees and the organisation as a whole,” Nayak added.

With inputs from Pocket FM Talent