12 Steps to Happiness: Actions every person and company should adopt

What makes you happy?

This question has many answers and will differ from person to person. Most of people could say: quality of life, spend time with the family, travel a lot, hang out with friends. But the fact is everyone has a different perspective and a concept of happiness.

Jurgen Appelo, Management 3.0 founder, shared this common thread:

“Happiness is something we create; it is not something to achieve. It is a path you choose, not a destination to arrive at.”

One of the Management 3.0 tools is the 12 steps to Happiness. Which means 12 ideas that, when applied, leverage life experiences and create a more comfortable and enjoyable day.

12 Steps to Happiness present to us practices to be used in our daily basis. You can try to identify which has a big impact in your life and start with that, for example: Prioritize what is the most important thing for you and put an action on it.

Here are the 12 practices:

In my personal routine, for example, I make it work at least four practices, which are the most important for me. If they are not working properly, I feel imbalanced and with a unwellbeing.

What I do, from 12 Steps of Happiness:

• Thank: Thank my colleagues every time we have an good or bad time together, for being there with me and support me un many ways.
• Eat Well: Consume fruits, vegetables and drink a lot of water – Having a good and balanced diet.
• Exercise: Gym 4 days a week.
• Rest: 7 to 8 hours of sleeping. If this number is less than 6, I will probably have a terrible day (a zombie day as I called it).

Now, thinking on the perspective of a company, if you are a leader, you can encourage the employees to pursuit the 12 steps, working with then to clarify what is important and how you can help them with it. Thinking bigger, you can also work with the organization to implement some of the steps as a company culture.

A study says: “The evidence shows that people who achieve good standards of wellbeing at work are likely to be more creative, more loyal, and more productive.” (Find more here: https://neweconomics.org/2014/03/wellbeing-at-work).

I have worked in companies that implemented some of the 12 steps (Natura, ELO and Itaú for example), like:

• Meditate: Every week the company held meditate sessions for employees, we also had access on a meditate app (developed by the company). Beyond that, in the begging of each important meeting a few leaders used to meditate with us, just 3 or 5 minutes of it, helping us to relax and be more focused.
• Exercise: I have experienced - Runner marathon championship, free weekly gym classes, Gym discounts, Yoga at the office. So many good ideas to implement.
• Thank: We could thank someone giving this person Kudos. Usually, we published those Kudos in the company social media to make it visible to everyone. It was such a kind way to show gratitude and recognize colleagues.
• Rest: Most companies I have worked for have straight policies about work balance. Extra hours or work in the weekend were not allowed. They understood that a rest mind could perform better.
• Smile, Aim and Help: 3 amazing practices I could experience every day. It was a reallity because the company had a good environment and culture. The place was light, people used to enjoy their jobs, the leaders were presented to help and support us and the company purpose was delighted. Looks like a dream? Perhaps, but it true??.

Lessons learned:

12 steps of Happiness is a guide - Management 3.0 gives us the banner that we have seen just to reflect about it and try to implement it consciously in a way that make sense to us. It also gives us the chance to adapt everything and use it as a tool.

This can also be applied by you, as an individual or by the company, as a culture statement, creating a wellbeing environment, both will generate positive impact and may impact your happiness at work.

You can find more information here: https://management30.com/practice/happiness-steps/