Selected Happiness-Increasing Interventions for Tourism and Hospitality Workers

Doing Meaningful Work-Tasks We Enjoy

One factor that contributes to people’s happiness is the engagement in meaningful activities which are experienced as pleasurable or enjoyable (Ehrlich, 2018; Ehrlich, 2019; Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). At first glance, this seems obvious and most people would probably agree with that. However, there is more to the notion of doing something fun that is worthwhile mentioning. According to the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2004), positive emotions not only make people feel good whilst performing the enjoyable activity, but also have positive spillover effects extending beyond finishing the activity. Fredrickson explains that these positive emotions can create an upward spiral as, once we are in a positive state of mind, we feel more resourceful, more optimistic, and more creative. This mindset then positively impacts the next thing we do. It is like falling in love where people see the whole world in a positive way. Thus, helping employees to modify their work-tasks in such a way as to make them more enjoyable and meaningful seems vital. However, the question that arises is: How can this be done? This chapter suggests that there is one concept that firmly satisfies this brief: Job crafting.