This is a great sign that more of this country's corporations are catching on...a happy employee makes for a more productive employee.  Job flexibility, personal care services and social activities are key to boosting employee morale when you consider that the average person spends a huge percentage of their lives at work.

I was fortunate to be working years ago as a Verizon employee at Discovery Communications, an awesome client site in Maryland.  With great pay, benefits, company events and parties, I didn't mind working the night shift.  Not exactly the best thing for my health working nights, but that's another story...

America's Happiest Companies

Jenna Goudreau 
Friday, October 29, 2010

More from

• America's Happiest Companies
  at Forbes.com
• The Happiest Occupations
  at Forbes.com
• 10 Tips To Find Happiness At Work
  at Forbes.com

Do you work for one of America's happiest companies?

Studies show that positive employees outperform negative employees in terms of productivity, sales, energy levels, turnover rates and healthcare costs. According to Shawn Achor, Harvard researcher and author of "The Happiness Advantage," optimistic sales people outperform their pessimistic counterparts by up to 37%. In fact, the benefits can be seen across industries and job functions. Doctors with a positive mindset are 50% more accurate when making diagnoses than those that are negative.

Today, a few forward-thinking companies are investing in the happiness of their employees to drive innovation and boost productivity.

"If you infuse fun into the work environment, you will have more engaged employees, greater job satisfaction, increased productivity and a brighter place to be," says Stacy Sullivan, the chief culture officer of Google, who has a telling and rare title at a company often celebrated for its campus and perks.

The tech giant offers its 23,000 employees perks like onsite daycare, dry-cleaning, oil changes and free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Google also hosts "TGIF" weekly staff meetings in which staffers can ask questions of the CEO. Perhaps most creative, Google's encouragement of the "20% project" -- employees use 20% of their work time on a project outside the scope of their jobs -- led to the creation of Gmail and Google Talk.

Other companies are also finding creative ways to increase workplace happiness. Financial firm UBS offers employees a nap room and a Friday beer cart. Beverage company PepsiCo encourages associates to get outside by offering them plots of land to start organic gardens.

Here's a look at some of the happiest companies in the U.S.:

©Paul Sakuma/AP

Adobe

Offers employees positive psychology training; onsite cafeterias, fitness facilities and bocce courts; and 80 associations like knitting and book clubs bring employees together based on personal interests.

©Ross Franklin/AP

American Express

Encourages flexible schedules like telecommuting, job-sharing and compressed workweeks; employees are offered paid sabbaticals; gay partners receive health benefits.

©Courtesy Google

Google

Offers onsite childcare and encourages employees to visit children during the day; famously provides free meals and snacks; supplies ping pong tables and videogame stations where employees can break from work.

©Joern Pollex/Getty Images

IBM

According to happiness expert Shawn Achor, MIT researchers studied thousands of IBM employees for a year and found the more social they were the better they performed. Each additional e-mail contact added $948 in revenue. IBM since launched a program to facilitate employee introductions to increase overall happiness.

©Newscom

KPMG

Invests in happiness training; allows employees to take partially paid leaves for up to 12 weeks; encourages flexible scheduling and formal mentoring programs.

Click here to see the full list of America's Happiest Companies

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