Work Colorful, if not Happy

While browsing Pinterest, I saw a pin of an office space with #workhappy in the caption. Because I hypothesize that the meaning and happiness that derives from social action at work motivates employees to participate and serves as a mediating mechanism for outcomes such as commitment, reduced turnover, and citizenship behaviors, I decided to see where #workhappy originated and how it was being used in social media. As I was expecting, a few twitter posts pertained to job satisfaction and happiness in the workplace, linking to articles such as, "Is There One Simple Formula to Career Happiness?" by Pete Cashmore or "Five Simple Ways to Harness the Power of Happiness at Work" by Harvey Detuschenforf. However, many of the posts tagged with #workhappy related to products made by the office supply company Poppin which launched in 2012.
The founders of the company conceived of it as a low-cost, high variety option for office supplies which are so often dull, lacking in personality and color. They cite research noting that employees who choose their work environment tend to be more productive. The online website offers a tool that helps customers customize their desks and provides options for bulk orders of personalized products for business customers. If you thought the staplers, rulers, and pens weren't fun enough as is, Poppin provides free downloads for accessorizing the supplies.

On their Pinterest board, Poppin posted a photo of the pens and cups personalized for LinkedIn. I was particularly struck with the caption that promotes branded products for providing cohesion. When I first saw it, I thought it referred to group cohesion, although now it seems like it might mean cohesion of decor. I actually think it could provide both, but somehow I find it a little sad that a pen cup with a company logo could make employees happier and more connected.

All of these products and accessories are, no question, fun and amusing. I myself would love to obtain a purple stapler and personalize it with a pirate hat and mustache. But does all this fun make us happy? If we consider a solid explanation of happiness such as the one provided by Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want: happiness is “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” I fear that #workhappy will make employees think that cool office supplies will lead to satisfaction or even worse that supervisors will substitute branded objects for the hard work of leadership.

I don't want to suggest that a fun and personal work environment is unimportant. I only want to caution organizations and remind them that one of the greatest sources of happiness is social connection. As much as I would love a purple stapler, I know that relationships are more important. What do you think? Please weigh in in the comment section.

You might also be interested in reading Poppin's core values which have some resemblance to Zappos' core values, perhaps not so surprising since the two companies likely are targeting the same customers. Happiness didn't make the list.