My Hapiness Project - Throwback to March - Work - or How to Aim Higher

Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness. In March the focus was on finding happiness in work - which I guess is something that everyone on this network is looking to achieve.

Gretchen made two key points throughout her experience in March. First, a human being needs to be productive to be truly happy. Second, work occupies so much of our time. She reviewed multiple studies saying that people who are happier in their work are more productive, efficient, get more raises and higher salaries.

There is basically no downside to pursuing happiness in your work-life.

And every organisational psychologist will tell you the same thing - but how do you go about finding it practically?

In March I was four months into my role at Tenzing. I'd just landed my first client through my own channels and experience and was feeling pretty good. So for me, the idea of happiness at work was more exploring the ways that I want to work that make me happiest.

I discovered a couple of key themes that really perked me up -

1.Embracing the challenge

Being challenged at work is an important element of happiness. Challenging work can be a great motivator, as it can keep you engaged and interested in your role. For many people, having to overcome some level of difficulty in their work is much preferable to the boredom of an easy, unchallenging job.

?However, it's important to note that this positive effect can only go so far. If work becomes so challenging that it’s practically impossible – or if you feel that you don’t have the skills, resources or management support necessary to overcome challenges – it can reduce motivation and have a very negative impact. To toe this fine line I've found talking through challenges and celebrating the small wins keeps me grounded and enables me to embrace and learn from the work challenges.

2. Having autonomy over your time

When you have autonomy in the workplace, you develop self-reliance and resilience. These are two of many important leadership skills. Since independent thought is synonymous with problem-solving, a workplace based on autonomy is a perfect work environment for building leaders.

Research also shows that when you are free to make your own choices about how you go about your responsibilities you are happier, more committed, productive and loyal.

For me, having autonomy over how I spend my time has been a game changer. As long as the work is done on time to high quality and clients are happy it doesn't matter if I do it in the day or night, at home or in the office.

This has enabled me to wrap my work around my life and not the other way around.

??3. Making space to think

So much of our time is spent doing things - replying to emails, reading long-winded documents, summarising and analysing. When was the last time you stopped to think?

One of the best things about my current role is the real understanding that in order to solve a problem we need to spend time thinking about it - understanding the context, meeting with stakeholders and then working to solve it.

When faced with serious challenges or problems, your mind needs time to think through the possibilities. Embedding this in and NOT FEELING BAD ABOUT IT is the key.

?You can check out this article for a few ideas on how to take time to think - Thinking Time Is Critical -- It's Not Slacking Off and if you need any further encouragement check out Digby Scott's article on Unhurried Productivity here.

?As final food for thought in the month of March - Rubin believes that enthusiasm trumps innate ability, as enthusiasm fuels your willingness to practice. This was an interesting concept for me and one I personally attest to - in my role I'm always doing new things and I love the opportunity to learn, practice and get better at things that are a challenge!

I'd be interested on people's reflections of this. I've heard a lot of people say that they hire based on enthusiasm and the promise of ability (instead of hiring people that have already done the job for several years), but I haven't seen it much in practice. What do you think??