A happier workforce for higher productivity

FOR Singapore, a city state with limited natural resources and a small local labour force, improving productivity has been key to its economic success and continued prosperity.

The government has clearly emphasised that raising productivity is at the centre of the country's economic agenda. "It is the only way we can raise our living standards in the years to come," according to the 2014 Budget Statement.

So far, Singapore has used conventional ways to raise productivity: capital investment, importing foreign labour, skills training, and technological and business innovation. However, it has overlooked and underestimated one less conventional factor: the power of happiness.

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of wellbeing defined by joy, satisfaction, contentment, enthusiasm, and interest. Many psychologists have pointed out that happiness promotes the capacity of innovation, improves memory, and leads …