Do you know how to be happy at work?
I spent years being pretty successful at work, but not very happy. To be honest I wasn’t sure “happy” was something I could afford when it came to climbing my way to the top of my profession. Surely work was meant to be “hard” not “happy”.
Eventually, I became so stressed and strung out that finding out how to be happy at work became a necessity rather an luxury. I had to figure this out, if I was going to find the energy each morning to walk through the front doors.
That was when I realized I had no idea how to intentionally be happy at work. Where on earth would you start?
The Best Way To Be Happy At Work
One of my favorite positive psychology professors, Chris Peterson was fond of saying everything we’d learned about living happy and fulfilled lives could be boiled down into three words: other people matter.
So when it came to learning how to be happy at work the first thing I decided to do was to invest more in my relationships.
Unfortunately, like most of us, I was pretty fluent in all the things I didn’t like about other people but it took a little more effort to find the things I did like.
No, I wasn’t a horrible person. The negativity bias that’s hardwired into our brains means we all excel at seeing the things that are “wrong” in others, rather than immediately noticing all the things that are “right”. Not surprisingly this doesn’t make for the best relationships and limits our ability to be happy at work.
Luckily our brains are capable of being rewired to balance this bias out. In today’s new episode of ChelleMcQuaid TV, I’ll teach you how I learned to be happy at work by playing a simple game that transformed my relationships at the office.
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Click here for the tweetable – Other people matter mightily if we want to understand what makes like most worth living – Chris Peterson @chellemcquaid.
Is it worth the effort? Researchers suggest the single best predictor of momentary experiences that lead to higher wellbeing and engagement at work, is not what we’re doing, but who we’re doing it with. While others have found, social bonds don’t just predict overall happiness but also our eventual career achievement, occupational success, and even income. Improving our relationships with others is one of the best ways to be happy at work.
Can You Be Happy At Work?
This week can you spot the strengths in someone you’re working with? When do they seem the most engaged and energized during your interactions? Which strengths might this suggest? Note down what you’re seeing and what you think the strengths might be (use the list below to help).
Courtesy http://www.viame.org
I’d love to hear what you find and if this exercise helps you to be happy at work. Remember to be as specific as possible in your comment as your insights and experience helps us all.
Thanks for tuning in!
P.S. Chris Peterson has a wonderful new book on his knowledge, insights and hopes for the future of positive psychology. You can buy it here.
Tags: at, happy, relationships, work
So I have this colleague at work who drives me nuts. Took your challenge and I’m pretty sure she’s high in the strength of love of learning. She loves reading and sharing new ideas but this seems to get in the way of getting her actual work done! What do I do?
It does sound like learning new things is something she enjoys. Is there a way to focus what’s she interested in learning around her job more? Perhaps researching or reading key reports, books, courses that can then be shared back for the benefit for the group?
Alternatively can you show her that her learning is valued and appreciated by using comments such as “Now you’ve learnt such a great idea to help our business how we help you apply it? What needs to happen now to make this a reality? By guiding the learning journey to action it might help her take these ideas to delivery.
Finally is she in the right job. If love of learning is not a strength valued in her role is there something that would suit her better?
Good luck!