Researchers at Rice University say that the long-held assumption that happy employees are more productive employees may not be true. They say there is no evidence that managers who focus on making their employees happy get better financial and operational results. In fact, they say improved financial and operating results are what makes employees happy.
“Workers' sense of job security and overall job satisfaction were the result — not the cause — of a company's performance. Workers' satisfaction with pay, however, had a more reciprocal relationship with the organization's financial and market performance over time.”