Happiness IN Work
Happiness IN Work
Article featured in The Straits Times (26 June 2015)
A friend of mine recently complained that she was not enjoying her work anymore and exploring other options. I ask her why, and she replied that she is no longer enjoying what she did for a living. She could not find a reason to get herself to the office.
I proceed to ask her what she would do differently if she have the power right now to decide whatever she wanted in her role. She shared multiple ways on how she would enjoy her work more if she could do this, that, and this.
I began a discovery journey with her to explore the possibilities of doing what she had always wanted in order to help her find greater satisfaction in her work. If we had not undertaken this process, she might have found another job, only to face the same problem after a while.
Instead of finding happiness at work, lets find happiness in work. How can we increase our happiness in work? The answer does not necessarily lie in becoming an entrepreneur, as even entrepreneurs face challenges. The question to ask is: how do we accelerate our happiness in work and therefore our performance?”
To do so, there are three things you need to find:
1. Find Meaning.
One of the critical factors for people who excel in their work is that they find meaning in what they do. They do not believe in doing for the sake of doing. The people who go the extra mile are those who firmly believe that what they are doing in that moment makes a big difference to other people.
To us, a security guard to you might seem to be just another routine job. But a security guard who believes in the importance of ensuring that everyone leaves the office safely so they can spend time with their family is a security guard on a mission. He sees meaning in what he does, when it could be so much easier for him to be detached about his job by just ticking a few boxes and considering his job done.
In fact, such a security guard is usually someone who greets you in the morning and afternoon, and when you knock off. He or she is likely to be an approachable and friendly security guard whom you can strike up a conversation with.
Are you also someone whom people loves to strike up a conversation with when you are at work?
2. Find Time
Most people burn out because they believe that work is all they have. In fact, years of research have proven that we all need time on our own. This has nothing to do with whether you are an introvert or extrovert.
Finding time for yourself means having downtime for you. It is time to be you after having had to modify your behavior accordingly at work. This means putting on multiple hats at work, and change your behavior from one meeting to another, from one role to another.
I love to joke that being at work requires us to behave like a transformer, because we often need to transform ourselves fast enough to adapt to the environment. Even transformers need a rest, not to mention human beings.
Start finding alone time for yourself in work. Have a quiet lunch by yourself with a book, or simply just having a quiet lunch and people watch.
3. Find Energy
This not only comes from the food you eat which determines your performance for the rest of the day, but more importantly, energy is derived from the people you mix with at work.
You will enjoy your work better if you are able to find people who share the same level of high energy as you do. If you are someone who does not have too many friends at work, but only colleagues, you might need to reflect on the level of energy you give out when people are with you.
Low energy people drag the people around them down with complains and negative remarks, but high-energy people always see possibilities, and they make your work and environment productive and fun.
Start building your happiness in work today by finding meaning, time and energy. The power is always in your mind. You are what you like to think about. Think happy and your wish shall be granted.
Article by:
Joseph Wong, the behavioral transformation coach and chief facilitator of experiential onboarding (EO) of TrainingGearAsia. He is an author and thought-provoking speaker on topics of influence, leadership and people engagement at work. Email him at influence@traininggearasia.com.
