Happiness at Workplace Does Not Have to Be a Myth

Nothing matters more in life than being happy. Keeping in mind that we all spend maximum time of our day at work, with our colleagues, stranded at our workstations, it becomes imperative that we find happiness at workplace.

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Having worked with a lot of people in the past, the one thing that I observed was that they were most happy during the time they left for home from work. But that seemed quite strange to me. I always wanted to create a team where people were happy doing what they did. I wanted that my team must be the happiest when they come to office in the morning and not like what I had observed with all the people and teams I had worked in during the early days of my career.

Whenever I discussed it with my friends and colleagues, they all used to say that happiness at workplace is a myth. If I had heard to what they had said, I’m not sure the team that we have at ProofHub would have been like it is now. Luckily enough though, I stuck to my own approach and did things which I thought would make the team happy. And, I would love to share those things with you so that you can also break this myth that you cannot be happy at workplace.

All for one and one for all

Teamwork makes dream work. This is the core philosophy we live by. When you are working in a collaborative environment, each individual needs to understand the importance of keeping team at the forefront.

We have a team of writers, designers, coders and testers. All of them play their role in keeping ProofHub up and running. Each team member at their level is accountable for making the product successful. But, at the same time is their combined efforts that wins the battle. Whenever a team is stuck at something, there is always someone to take over, shoulder the responsibility and collaborate to ensure things do not get out of hands. So, whenever an individual or a team is in fix they know that the entire team has their back.

A team that eats together stays together

Someone had rightly said - good food is the basis of true happiness. And, when this good food is enjoyed in good company the amount of happiness is doubled.

At ProofHub we embrace a culture of building teams that stick together. Our aim here is to become more than just colleagues, and build relationships that sustain beyond office. Why can’t your office colleagues be your best friends? After all, you are spending more time with them as compared to what you are spending with your family.

I encourage my team to always have lunch together. Even if they cannot, then I ensure that at least the entire gets together at least once a week and talk about things. These talks could be about anything - so that team members get to know each other, can connect with each other and can trust each other.

The doors are always wide open

Being in the industry for more than half a decade now, I’ve observed that closed doors of communication are the number one reason why employees are unhappy.

I’ve seen managers simply overlook the opinions or suggestions of team members. For them feedback is just a one way process, where they are entitled to share their views about the team members. But, I don’t agree to that. This is the reason why in my team, I’ve inculcated a culture of open communication. Anyone can come and talk to me about anything. And, the entire team follows the same.

You will never find anyone hesitant to talk about even the most stupidest ideas that come to their mind. Because they know, their voice would be heard.

Be happy and smile

Beginnings are the most important part of a journey. I personally believe that every day brings with it a journey to a new experience. And, that’s why everyone in my team is inspired to greet all the other team members when they come to the office, every morning!

It has become more of a ritual than anything. And, trust me it has worked wonders in bringing the team together, breaking the ice and keeping them happier at work. No matter how stressful the day lined up for team members is, they are positive from the time they enter the office and are cheerful while tackling the challenges that come along.

And, to me this is their biggest strength.

On a parting note, I’d like to say that each team has its own limitations. And, each team has different set of individuals. We cannot generalize the approach of keeping the team happy. What worked for me quite well, might not work for you. Or what’s going great for my team in the kind of work culture we thrive in, might not fit within your work culture.

The points I’ve shared here are based on what I’ve managed to achieve with my team and how I’ve been lucky enough to break the ‘happiness at work is not possible’ myth. And, I’m hopeful that my experience will help you to get similar results.

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Vartika Kashyap currently runs the marketing team at ProofHub — a project management software for teams of all sizes. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.

Also follow our company page @ProofHub to get the recent updates about our tool, published articles, motivational quotes & presentations.

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