Conservative leader David Cameron should be commended on his goal of promoting ’ethical work’ and flexible working as part of a broader strategy of improving national well being as well as national wealth.
ìMr Cameron’s sentiments chime with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s active support for flexible work practices and the development of high performance workplaces in the UK. However, there are costs as well as benefits in pursuing a ’happiness agenda’ ñ these must be taken into account if society is to fully understand the inevitable trade-offs and make an informed choice on policy options as part of a coherent Smart Work strategy,î says the CIPD’s Chief Economist John Philpott. John Philpott is the author of the recent CIPD publication Smart Work, which sets out an agenda for combining wealth generation and well being, with practical recommendations for policy makers.
Dr Philpott continued,
ìDavid Cameron is spot on when it comes to advocating the pursuit of happiness. And his comment that a future Conservative government would aim for the British public sector to be a world leader in progressive employment practice is extremely welcome.
ìHowever, while there are always some free lunches or cheap lunches to be enjoyed in economic policy, switching focus from boosting gross national product to greater well-being would inevitably mean trade-offs between competing objectives and the acceptance of some tough choices.
ìFor example, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working practices by highlighting the benefits to productivity and staff motivation is very different from requiring them to do so by regulation. Likewise, while recognising that society might be happier if people worked fewer hours it is also necessary to appreciate that in making this choice there would be implications for both national wealth and personal incomes. In both cases businesses and people may decide that the trade-off is socially worthwhile. But unless the costs and benefits are made clear talk of maximising happiness could simply turn out to be warm rhetoric with little practical meaning.î
Nice work Mr Cameron
Nice work Mr Cameron ñ but we still need a national debate on the costs and benefits of building a happier Britain
