Most HR professionals would agree that happy (or at least satisfied) employees generally make better employees overall.  They tend to complain less, show up more, and make for a better work all-around environment.  Most HR professionals would also likely agree that more satisfied employees are also generally are more engaged and better performers overall.  For these reasons alone, it's worth it to try to build and maintain a happy/satisfied workforce.

But assuming increased job satisfaction automatically leads to increased job performance is a false assumption.  Many HR professionals believe that if we can just increase job satisfaction/happiness, that this will increase job/organizational performance in the process, but this is where the relationship breaks down.  Just because more satisfied employees tend to be better performers, does not mean that increased satisfaction causes increased job performance.

In reality, the satisfaction = performance equation should be reversed. If employees are successful at work, they tend to be more happy.  They tend to feel better about themselves, their work, and are more engaged and invested in what they do.  As a manager, if you can teach and lead employees towards improved job performance, you will also end up with more satisfied and happy employees in the process, and fantastic "two-fer" to have as a manager (better performance and morale).

A recent discussion on the LinkedIn HR Executives Network and a great article on the the Street.com reminded me of this topic. I've wanted to write about it for some time, and these reminders finally got me going. 

The Street.com article started out by stating: "We've got a fundamental premise wrong. We believe that making employees satisfied will make them successful. That's not true. In fact, the relationship is reversed -- make people successful and they will be happy. Employees, at least those you want to keep, don't want to be indulged, they want to be successful." "Causality flows from success to satisfaction. We've got it backward." It then goes on to provide supporting studies and other evidence of this relationship.

So, if you want happy employees who are more engaged and less likely to become unwanted turnover, then help to make them successful, and you will be helping yourself, your organization, and your employees to be better off.

We need to stop trying to make people happy so they will perform better and/or turnover less.  Instead, help to make them successful in their jobs, and you'll get higher job performance, and several other beneficial outcomes in the process!