How to be happy at work

One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic – and working from home - brought into focus was exactly how much time and emotional effort we spend at the office. If you look back through these Tuesday Tips, an awful lot of them are focused on trying to improve the “work experience” – the quality of the interactions we have with our colleagues, our output and productivity and the “return” we get from the time and effort we invest in the office. Happiness and work aren’t necessarily natural bedfellows – but with the amount of time we spend at work, it surely makes sense for us to be as comfortable there as we can be.

But being happy at work is not about the HR function – which spend significant time and effort trying to determine levels of morale within a business – and the reasons for that level of morale. They work to improve morale and strengthen links between colleagues – which is why you will see posts about charity bake sales, or ice cream, or trips to the cinema after work. Being happy at work is about you.

Focus on the positives

There are some people who get such satisfaction from their work that they say that they would do it for free. Some people have the means and the support – financial and other – to actually donate their time to others. Most of us, however, work because it gives us the money we need to live the lives we want to live – to feed and dress ourselves and our families; to find and afford shelter; to meet the very basic essentials of life. Work also gives us access to a social network – you may not love the people you work with but they represent human interaction. Find things in your job you enjoy – you will still need to do the things you don’t get as much fulfilment from but use the high points as carrots. Use your job to develop yourself – both personally and professionally. Build networks that might help you to get a job you would enjoy more. Develop skills that you can use not just to improve your current performance but also to make you better in your next role.

Commit to what you are doing

One of the things that will make your workplace a happier, safer place is to take responsibility for what is going on around you. Make the effort to proactively seek out the information you need to make better decisions and do what you do better. Develop – and use – an information network. Ask for feedback on your performance – not just from your boss (although this is a critical way of building a better relationship) but also from your peers and (if this is doable) your customers. Listen to what you are told – and act on what you hear. The more feedback you get, the better you are likely to be at your job – and the better you are at your job, the more likely it is that you will get the positive reinforcement that will make you happier. Be organised – if you promise to do something, do it. If you know that you aren’t going to be able to get something done on schedule, let the people you are working with know. If you are asked to do something when you are already 100% utilised, explain and (gently) refuse.

Mind your own business

We spend a lot of time at work. That may mean that colleagues become friends. There is evidence that having a strong friendship at work makes you happier and more motivated at work. Enjoying the time you spend with your colleagues can be an important part of a positive work experience. But … when you mind your own business, you limit your sphere of responsibility – and you own the power to fix whatever has gone wrong. You have control. You don’t have to rely on others. Getting the things done that you own can help turn you into a centre of excellence. Minding your own business and getting your own stuff done means that you are more likely to improve areas of your own life and get better results – and those better results make it more likely you become an example to follow, rather than someone to pity. Getting your own stuff done means you are not having to invest finite resources – time, effort, attention – in problems that you don’t own and so can’t fix. We recently discussed the importance of making mistakes and learning from those mistakes – but if you are involved in someone else’s issues, the consequences are much less likely to impact you – so you are much less likely to learn any lessons.

You don’t have to love your job. You don’t have to love your office. You don’t have to love your colleagues. But if your job is regularly making you miserable, it could be a sign that it is time to move on. And the skills and the network that you have developed in your current job will be important tools in you getting a better job that is more suited to you – and where you will be happier.