Sustainable Design in Building and Urban Environment
Happiness is a word with two connotations. One is experimental and refers to the psychological condition in the present moment and a feeling of positive emotions, such as joy, enthusiasm, love, and hope. In this context, happiness lies in overcoming negative feelings with positive feelings. The second connotation is evaluative; people think about the happiest moments in their lives, as happiness is the aspiration of every human being. According to Mayer and Diner (1995), happiness can be defined as the experience of frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and an overall sense of satisfaction with life as a whole [1]. The British philosopher David Hume said, “People do not pursue professions, acquire antiques, invent inventions, or publish sciences, or contemplate the stars, except to reach happiness … either by toil and trouble, or money and wealth, or laughter and singing.” Happiness is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (Hawker and Waite, 2007) as “a state of mind or feeling comprising contentment, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.” It is further described as the state of a pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good. Satisfaction is another word that is frequently used interchangeably with happiness. The Oxford Dictionary defines satisfaction as “the feeling of pleasure that arises whenyouhavethe things you want or need or when the things you want to happen” [2]. Happiness is defined as the feeling of permanent and integral satisfaction with life as a whole [3] and is also seen as a positive feeling and a powerful motivator of human behavior [4]. The simple concept is that happiness describes the extent to which a person can measure and judge the quality of his or her life positively [5]. Aristotle defined happiness as life with meaning, purpose, and ends. Several books and studies have been published confirming that happiness helps us be more productive, as it helps us think creatively and work efficiently. Happiness in the workplace has become very important and is related to the present societal context, crucial to both employees and institutions. People will spend more of their adult life at their job than doing anything else. Work will take up more time than families, friends, and hobbies combined. It would be nicer if that time were spent at a job that actually makes them happy. Happy people and happy institutions can create many good things, such as increased productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, creativity, innovation, adaptation, and flexibility, and decreased loss, work stress, and occupational diseases [6]. Happy employees can quickly solve the problems they face constructively since happiness positively affects human behavior. Happiness is an internal feeling of joy and pleasure that is externally reflected in employees’ behavior and mood and appears in their reactions to colleagues. Happy people deal with everyone around them positively and accept what is going on. The efficiency of administrative institutions at universities generally depends on the efficiency of the people within them and their ability to work. The level of happiness of people at work affects their performance and success at the institution to which they belong. Job happiness is reflected in employees’ daily work by a feeling of comfort, calm, and positivity in participating in the work they are assigned to perform. Job happiness also helps employees face and overcome challenges [7]. A work environment is described as happy when employees often experience positive feelings there [8]. Happiness in the workplace is closely related to the development and innovation of today’s societies. It is not just a feel-good thing, it is really, according to Plato “for man to be happy” [6]. Workplace happiness refers to “an individual’s work and life satisfaction” or “subjective well-being” at the workplace [9,10]. Workplace happiness includes job satisfaction as well as individual measures of happiness involved in work [11]. Happiness at work is the feeling that employees enjoy what they do and are proud of themselves; they enjoy having other people around; thus, they give better performance. It is not an administrative luxury; thus, it is necessary to understand happy practices, which are one of the keys to institutional development and a factor of success for the beneficiaries. In addition, the institution can bring happiness to its employees by focusing on the interior design of the workplace along with the employees and those who deal with them, as all of these elements are linked and affect each other. Quality of life, or wellbeing, is a concept closely linked to happiness, but it is a selfcontained concept. In addition to happiness, it also has an empirical sense and refers to how people evaluate their lives and the source from which they derive their sense of purpose. Quality of life is not only about individuals’ feelings but also about their performance on the personal and social levels. Robert Levering, the founder of the Great Place to Work Institute, said that a great workplace is where you feel confident in the organization you work for, proud of what you do, and joy working with the people you work with [12]. The more people are satisfied with their work and life, the more it impacts their happiness at the workplace. Happiness is important and has an impact on the success of any institution, which always strives to maintain happiness within the work environment by knowing and studying the factors that affect employee happiness to enhance it because of its remarkable impact on increasing productivity [13]. Institutional happiness is not a new concept but rather an extension of the concept of internal communication in public relations focused on making employees happy in the work environment; the new concept is happiness in institutional work in which all sectors participate. A creative and innovative environment contributes to employees’ happiness, and they are more creative, focused, and able to lead and face challenges. Creative and innovative people are more productive. Research and practical experience have proven that employee happiness should be a priority. Happy employees mean higher productivity, better production quality, better reputation, competitive advantage, and sustainable success, which leads to happy customers. Accordingly, governments, private institutions, and civil society organizations play a role in creating a stimulating, appropriate, and happy environment for employees thus that they can provide services that exceed customers’ expectations and requirements.
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