Being happy at Work

Lovely, Monday again! Alas, Monday again! One of these exclamations is invariably made as Sunday gives way to a new week. Going by the clock, we spend over ten hours a day at the workplace. Hence these remarks manifest our happiness or unhappiness during those ten hours.

What is it that makes a person feel happy at work? How can an unhappy employee be set apart from a happy one? Is the matter related to good management policies or is it all about good working relationships? Or is the issue a personal perception?

Workplace happiness implies taking pleasure in and deriving pleasure from every activity indulged in there. And pleasure implies contentment and delight. What is it that makes up happiness at workplace? And how can one be in high spirits there? An attempt has been made to find the answers in the succeeding paragraphs.

Statistics indicate that there is a twenty per cent lot that feels perennially miserable at workplace. Encouragingly, there is the eighty per cent majority that is not unhappy. Astonishingly though, pay packets or work passion have very little contribution towards attaining workplace happiness.

But how does one do all this? Here are some ways:

·  The first step forward

It should be taken out with an optimistic and affirmative frame of mind. Remember that contentment is a mental condition; in fact it manifests a person’s approach to life as a whole and mindset with all possible ramifications. Quite a few employees, including otherwise happy ones do not even appreciate that workplace happiness is entirely contingent on individual levels of inspiration and optimism with regard to one’s job or work. This is an undeniable fact.

The primary means to achieve happiness at work is by discarding issues that usher in unhappiness and discontent. An increased concentration on agreeable and pleasant facets does work wonders. A continual focus on disapproving and downbeat features may apparently be effortless and undemanding. But coming together with cheery issues is the thorniest aspect that generally plagues workplaces and the environment of happiness therein.

The fact is that happiness is a point of view and way of behaving. The effort that goes in to make one happy or unhappy is just the same.

·   Self-confrontation

  There is nothing better than being in control of one’s own progress. To be able to do that, one should contest and face up to oneself instead of placing reliance on external assistance and impetus. When people leave a job to take up another elsewhere, the major factor responsible for such an act is plain ennui. Therefore, isn’t it worthwhile to constantly identify fresh issues to be contested and endeavoured?

It should be noted that in order to be happy, one’s objectives and career roadmap should be in conformity with the overall personality. The feelings of weightiness and excellence that are experienced when one hold the reins are indeed intense; and the intensity increases when a work is accomplished.

No road will be devoid of bumps and should impediments be encountered, falling back on the line manager is recommended. However, to hope that one can succeed with someone else at the steering wheel is an exercise in pointlessness. It is remaining in high spirits all along that matters most.

·   Have good company 

It helps and pays. The assurance of happiness is guaranteed when there is someone to talk to and interact with, more so if they are workplace colleagues.

One should talk to as many people as possible, strike acquaintances and build long-lasting relationships. Interactions will facilitate new perceptions and prospects – both will in turn facilitate maintenance of the desired focus and zeal towards work. 

The fact is that a realization that there is somebody who can be banked upon and its reciprocity make the time spent at a workplace an exciting and exuberating experience. But, one has to guard against tittle-tattle and scandal-mongering. Disgruntled people should be avoided because they tend to breed negativity. 

·   Finish all assignments:

There is nothing that is impossible. So, all assignments should be finished, howsoever difficult they may appear or unpleasant they may seem. It when the going gets tough that the tough get going. At the end of the day, the feeling of triumph will be immense and that on its own will serve to impel one to move forward.

While at assignments, it is important to be on the lookout for newer techniques and modern methods so that the knowledge base is widened. According priority to tasks and then completing them is the mantra of success and happiness.

·   A breather is essential:

Star gazing will not take anybody anywhere. If there is no work, it is no point pretending to be busy. A break, and a short one at that, can turn out to be very stimulating and uplifting. A minor exercise intended to reduce anxiety undertaken periodically can be extremely helpful in staying happy at work. One should also avail leave benefits to rejuvenate and for rest and recoup.

          It is an amiable environment with affable and accommodating contemporaries and seniors alike that are responsible for bringing about the much needed cheerfulness, delight and exhilaration at any workplace. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to remain motivated and promote own work and workplace happiness.