Study finds the key to happiness at work, & it's not money...

Independence and being in control of our own destiny are natural human desires. But who knew how much they influenced us in the workplace?

Research has shown that “job autonomy has positive work outcomes: greater work satisfaction, and less intent to transfer and intentions to leave” according to the authors of a study conducted in Taiwan, that surveyed 1,380 staff across 230 community health centres.

Other studies have highlighted that employees with higher responsibility over their line of work correlated with reduced turnover rates, amongst nursing assistants. Another study found that autonomy helped to reduce negative emotions amongst customer service employees during stressful situations at work.

According to Quarts, Steve Maier, a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Boulder, found that stressors we don’t have control over are far more damaging to health than stressors we feel we have input in. This was supported by a study of British civil servants, which found less incidents of coronary heart disease amongst workers in higher ranks.