As a manager, the job is to make your employees not happy but productive. Employee happiness is one of many ways you can get to consistent productivity, but it'

As a manager, the job is to make your employees not happy but productive. Employee happiness is one of many ways you can get to consistent productivity, but it's not the end goal. I've found too many managers believe as long as their employees are happy then they're doing a good job managing. It is totally possible to have happy unproductive employees, and sometimes the only way to help them improve is to make them unhappy. Set difficult expectations, alert them to their failings, and establish a transparent plan for improvement. If necessary, take away the damn ping pong table. I want to employees to be happy insofar as it improves their output, retention likelihood, and company morale. If their happiness kills their and others productivity then difficult conversations must be had.