The benefits of employee engagement are well understood. Engaged employees are more productive, they don't leave as often, and they drive the success of an organization. But where does happiness fit into the engagement puzzle? Ruby Receptionists, a virtual receptionist company based in Portland, Oregon, found out it was pretty important. In 2012, the company was having an issue with accuracy. Founder and CEO Jill Nelson was seeing about 50 mistakes per 10,000 fielded calls—a serious problem. "It was a stressed-out point for us," she recalled. "It was clear that, while our receptionists were less accurate than they had been, it wasn't their fault. So the leadership team was sitting around talking about how to fix it." They decided to try an outside-the-box approach. For 21 days, employees were asked to keep a happiness journal in which they were encouraged to write daily about the things they were grateful for, their positive experiences, and other events that made them happy. Almost immediately, accuracy increased. Mistakes dropped to 26 per 10,000 calls, and in six weeks, the number was in the teens. By making happiness a priority in the office, the company increased its accuracy by 60 percent.