Adapted from a presentation at the launch of A Good Week – London, Monday 21st June

Here’s a little secret to discovering a very good life. Don’t worry – its not a desirable product with a slick marketing campaign, a new lottery promising millions in prizes, or a charity donation scheme. In fact you’re doing it every day.

It is work.

The majority of our waking day is spent working. Yet a recent Harris survey in the US points out that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. If we devote so much time to work, why is that figure not 100%?

We know that increased employee satisfaction = higher productivity = more profits. Yet most employers fail to devote the resource required to ensuring their people are content. Those companies that want to attract new employees flaunt their credentials via employee satisfaction awards, with brands vying to be the best place to work.

But is it really about satisfaction? Are we all really looking to just be satisfied? If work is such an important part of our lives, surely we can strive for more. What about happiness – or as we call it at Futerra – Joy?

We see joy as the missing link. A state that transcends satisfaction and uncovers potential and creativity. We believe it is so critical to Futerra’s mission and our delivery of client work that we have made it one of our key performance indicators. Our position on Joy is simple:

You are the creator of your own reality.

It’s a simple, but bold statement for an employer. However, it makes sense if you consider how the world of work has changed over the past century. The assembly lines of the industrial revolution placed workers as a cog in a wheel – easily replaceable. And although work shifted to include professional services in the 50′s, the typing pools, hierarchies and factories kept employees in their dispensable place.

And then something shifted.

The American Dream became a reality. A man went to the moon, allowing everyone to believe that they not only could have whatever their hearts desired, they could be anyone they wanted to be. If someone could be a super hero spaceman, then we all could be successful in whatever career we wanted.

Fast forward to the 90s and the arrival of the internet – and everything changed again. The web gave us the tools and the opportunity to make our own careers happen – entrepreneurs, musicians, writers, publishers – the choice was ours.

Seth Godin lays this out in Linchpin. The factory days are over – it’s time to be your own boss, unleash your creativity, be indispensable. And the role of employers must also change. To get the best of your workforce you must encourage everyone to be a linchpin.

At Futerra we believe this is achievable by enabling joy in everyone that works for us. Each employee takes responsibility for their own set of goals and objectives. They are coached through a process designed to realise their goals. We also hold annual joy meetings between each employee and the board to discuss what they value and what brings them joy.

Through implementing this at Futerra we have uncovered three critical factors to enabling joy:

Focus - allowing people to increase not only their skills, but their challenges

Responsibility – employees believe they are the creator of their own reality and take control

Feedback – encourages a sense of achievement and growth

It is not the role of the employer to make you happy, or satisfied. We all need to take responsibility for our own lives. Smart companies will enable joy in every employee to get the best out of them and increase creativity and innovation.  Imagine the power of a brand that is filled with joy.

You are the creator of your own reality.