If you’ve ever been on a flight with Southwest Airlines, you’ve likely noticed something unusual about their pre-flight instructions. They’re funny. After telling you about the oxygen mask, an attendant might interject, “If you don't like our flight, there are eight emergency exits. Feel free to walk out any time.”
More than a quirk or accident of company culture, Southwest Airlines empowers flight attendants to be funny, knowing that it increases engagement (so I actually listen to the instructions), builds empathy, and drives customer loyalty. Humor, in some intangible way, serves the bottom line.
This makes me think about humor’s second cousin — joy — and its place in leadership and company culture. How important is the cultivation and maintenance of joy to your leadership and your employees’ success? Is it pleasant but unimportant? Or better than the alternative but immaterial in driving company results?
From a biblical perspective, joy is a first level priority for all followers of Christ. After all, it exists at the center of God’s trinitarian relationship. It’s why C.S. Lewis called joy “the serious business of heaven.” Because joy is rooted in God, it is a persistent longing of all people. It also has implications for your bottom line.
The Benefits and Need for Joy at Work
Research has indicated that joy is not merely something that’s nice to have for leaders and employees; it is a much needed component of company culture. Workers who self-describe as joyful at work are much more likely to indicate that they understand their role on the team and how it contributes to business success, that their strengths are being utilized, and that they have strong bonds with teammates.
Research has also indicated that most employees experience less joy at work than they would like. Several years ago, Kearney conducted a study of people’s expectations and experiences of joy at work. In the original 2018 study, 90 percent of employees expected to feel joy at work, but only 37 percent said they experienced a high level of joy at work — representing a “joy gap” of 53 percent. When Kearney conducted the study in 2021, that gap had grown to 61 percent. A lack of joy among employees is pervasive.
So how do we cultivate joy as leaders? How can we prioritize joy in the companies we lead?
What Is Joy, and How Can a Leader Cultivate It?
Biblical joy is neither naive nor fleeting. Rather, it is realistic and persistent, less like a manic high, and more like a sustained undercurrent. We may understand how a person might experience constant, low-level anxiety or persistent sorrow. Joy can have this same essence — lingering below the waterline of our lives, yet its aroma is undeniable in team meetings, client engagements, one-on-one meetings, and board interactions.
Its expression may differ by individual temperament, but is not ultimately stifled or amplified by personality. It is not as if the happy-go-lucky types are more joyful, while the serious-minded, risk-averse individuals lack joy. Rather, it’s something we can intentionally cultivate, no matter who we are.
Biblical joy is wonderfully multifaceted. A look at joy in the various genres of Scripture makes this clear.
In the Torah, joy is tied to seasonal rhythms and habits, centered around communal feasts that celebrate God’s provision and faithfulness in all of life.
In the Psalms, joy is tied to experiencing God’s presence, especially in celebratory worship — even the trees are brought into the experience of joy.
In the prophets and apocalyptic literature, joy is a hope in the coming renewal of all things, even amidst severe devastation. It is anchored in the assurance of God’s final deliverance and reward for faithfulness.
In the Gospels, joy is tied up with Jesus’ birth and his inbreaking kingdom, as well as Jesus’ return at the end of the age.
In the epistles, joy is relational — the experience of being with or reunited with close friends, and seeing the fruit of the gospel multiply in others.
Because companies are not churches, some of the biblical insights on joy must be translated. But the biblical pattern can inform corporate practices that cultivate joy. Three ways:
1. Make joy a regular practice through celebration and affirmation of team members’ success.Affirmation for contribution is a major driver of people’s experience of purpose, leading to joy. Having set times and rituals to do so ingrains celebration in a culture.
2. Prioritize relational connection among team members to build trust and friendship. People join organizations, but they often stick around because of relational bonds with team members that bring joy. Relational investment can be an investment in the company’s success.
3. Maintain hope that with hard work and perseverance, the team will succeed. All companies experience hard times — when sales are hard to come by, competitors gain market share, or innovation is needed. Leaders can promote joy, not through toxic optimism, but through a buoyant belief that the team’s hard work and focus on the mission will drive results.
Is joy at work possible? We might be inclined to say that possible is not the same as probable. But if we claim to follow Jesus, we must reckon with the commands of Scripture. “Rejoice in the Lord always” comes as an imperative. Here, I am reminded of Augustine’s prayer, “Give what you command.” God, as the source of all joy, is also the giver of joy. His command comes as a gift, for his joy is also an invitation.
About the author
Matt Rusten, President of Made to Flourish
Matt Rusten is the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit equipping pastors and Christians around the United States. He has pastored churches in North Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicagoland, and he earned degrees at North Dakota State University, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Fuller Theological Seminary.