How to be Happy at Work

By Mihaela Stamenova and Luis Colasante

We spend the majority of our lives at work, so it’s important to choose a job that brings us satisfaction and happiness.

A job, by definition, is not necessarily fun, or enjoyable. Work can be hard and complicated, dealing with colleagues, managers, customers, deadlines and other day to day issues.

Most of the employees believe that work is just a way to have an income to pay their bills. Others believe that you don’t have to be happy at work to succeed. And you don’t need to like the people you work with or even share their values

Said Dr. Annie McKee from University of Pennsylvania and author of How to be Happy at Work.

What is true is that unhappiness at work can lead to a lack of focus and can impact productivity and make it harder to communicate with the people on your team. It can also lead to an increase in stress levels, which can cause significant damage to the body and mindset.

There is no doubt that an employee, who has a certain level of happiness, is more productive and more likely to be engaged with their team and organization.

Happier employees are also much more pleasant to be around and make stronger leaders and co-workers,

Said Deep Patel author of Paperboy’s Fable: 11 Principles of Success and Forbes contributor.

But what makes you happy at work? While enjoying what you do and income plays a huge role, experts say that your mindset and attitude are much more important factors.

According to the sobering 2017 Gallup, the majority of the U.S. workforce 51 percent are not engaged with their organization and 51 percent of employees are actively looking for a new job or watching for new job openings.

Disengaged, unhappy employees aren’t any fun to collaborate with, those people don’t add much value, and impact our organization with a negative mindset. 

Dr. Annie McKee explains in her article for Harvard Business Review “Being Happy at Work Matters” that it’s even worse when leaders are disengaged because they infect others with their attitude. Their emotions and mindset impact other’s moods and performance tremendously. 

After all, how we feel is linked to what and how we think. In other words, thought influences emotion, and emotion influences thinking. 

Dr. McKee explains, that it’s a myth that feelings don’t matter at work. There are clear neurological links between feelings, thoughts, and actions. 

When we are in the grip of strong negative emotions, it’s like having blinders on. We focus only on the source of the pain. We don’t correctly process information. Frustration, anger, and stress cause an important part of us to shut down. Disengagement is a natural neurological and psychological response to pervasive negative emotions.

To have employees fully engaged and happy the organizations need to put in place, three things:

I. A meaningful vision of the future:

Employees want to be able to see the future and know how they fit in.

II. A sense of purpose:

Employees want to feel as if their work matters and their contributions help to achieve something really important.

III. Great relationships:

Relationships are hugely important for employees; we know that people join an organization and leave a boss.

People to be fully engaged need a clear vision, meaning, purpose, and resonant relationship.

To achieve happiness at work, it’s not only a responsibility of the organization, that need to create the ecosystem where employees will feel happy, but the organization also need to create a long-term vision, link people’s work to the organization larger purpose, and reward employees that are in line and resonate with others.

It’s also the responsibility of employees to find and live happiness at work.

If you are looking to feel happier at work, here are five tips that you can do to your daily routine that will have profound benefits:

1. Choose to be happy at work

You can choose to be happy at work. It sounds simple, but it’s often difficult to do it.

It’s on your attitude!

2. Do something you love every single day

You are a person with skills, you have different interests so take a look at yourself and find something that you can enjoy doing every day.

3. Avoid negativity

Avoid colleagues that are toxic to you and your organization. Choosing to be happy at work means avoiding negative conversation, gossip, and unhappy colleagues as much as possible. 

Don’t let the negative nellies you down.

4. Build relationships with colleagues

Spend time with colleagues that you enjoy, help your colleagues at the moment that they need you.

You might like and enjoy them, you need have allies at work your network provides support, resources, sharing and caring.

5. Learn new skills

Doing the same thing day in and day out can grow tiresome, so try to change things up a bit and keep challenging yourself to learn new skills. Learning q new skill will help you to be more efficient and will improve your feeling of satisfaction and happiness.

And, don't forget to smile :)

You can read this article also at Luis Colasante Academy