Similarly, you could create a real happy place at your cubicle by keeping objects that bring positive energy that you would like to look at to boost you. It could be pictures of your role models, God or artistic objects that light up the aesthetics. If nothing works, get a small plant for your desk and feel the energy! It'd be nice if we just said to the world, 'Make me happy,' and the bluebird of happiness flew down and turned our blue mood pink. That, sadly, is not how things work. We need to take responsibility for our own happiness and stop the blame game. Resist blaming your boss, the traffic, the weather and other elements for your own unhappiness. You are not authorised to view the member list or profiles.
Why Being Happy in the Workplace Matters . . . Even When You're Not Working
Last month we discussed the importance of having fun at work. So we thought, why not take a closer look this month at why happiness in the workplace matters outside of the office.
Given that full-time employees spend more than a third of their waking hours working (not including the commute time), it suffices to say that how we feel at work affects other areas of life. If it makes us happy it can create a positive impact that trickles down to a cellular level – literally.
Here's a look at highlights from recent studies that prove making happiness your ONE Thing in the office can provide benefits that extend well beyond the workplace.
Happiness Makes You More Productive
Since 2010 numerous books and studies have been published that provide empirical evidence that shows 'happy' employees are more productive. They tend to work more efficiently and think more creatively. They also approach problems in a constructive manner so that their issues are quickly solved. Game 78: december 11, 2015the initials game.
Of course, this is a key point for employers, but being more productive in other areas of our lives is just as important. Around the house we have just as many tasks and juggle even more job roles. Making time for social activities and hobbies requires efficiency. Applying our happy work mindset to all other areas of life can make everything more manageable.
Happiness Begets Success in All Areas of Life
When we think of success, work immediately comes to mind. But it's not confined to the workplace, and being successful in personal areas of life as a spouse or parent is arguably more important.
A 2005 American Psychological Association publication analyzes research that has linked success in all areas of life to happiness. It appears that one begets the other. People aren't necessarily happy because they are successful. Oftentimes it is happiness that increases our odds of success. It's quite possible that the positive mindset that increases productivity also helps us overcome challenges.
Happiness Makes You Healthier
It doesn't take a research study from a national institute to know that happy people are less stressed. That automatically gives them an edge when it comes to health.
Studies conducted by psychology professor and social psychologist D.G. Myers have compared stressed, depressed employees to happy ones and found that content workers have lower medical costs. Health care is a cost shared by both the employer and the employee in most cases, meaning that happiness directly affects everyone's finances.
The American Psychological Association research mentioned above also notes that happiness has a positive effect on healthy behavior, mental health, stress, coping and the immune system. Nothing is more important than our health. Without it we can't be our best at work, home, in social settings or anywhere else.
Work Paceteach To Be Happy Birthday
Happiness Makes You a More Involved Citizen
Volunteering makes people happy, but even without that initial feel-good rush, happier people are more likely to give their time, money and energy to others. As psychologist Martin Seligman points out in his book Authentic Happiness, happy people are typically more altruistic.
Moreover, there are studies that show happy employees in particular are more likely to engage in citizenship behavior. Involvement in our community has been linked to work environment, which means the office can impact our inclination to volunteer. This in turn can have an effect on our overall happiness and wellbeing.
Happiness Makes You Kinder
There is also a cyclical effect between happiness and kindness. Two new studies have found that random acts of kindness and buying things for others instead of ourselves generates feelings of happiness. As the feeling of happiness increases a person is more likely to continue being kind.
Researchers are calling this a 'positive feedback loop'. Even better – kindness is infectious. Seeing someone else perform an act of kindness or being the recipient of it will lead to moral elevation that encourages altruism. Science has now proven kindness makes the world is a better place, and happiness at work can play an important part.
Happiness Can Undo Negative Emotions
Disappointment, sorrow, pain – these negative emotions are an inescapable fact of life. We all deal with negative emotions in our own way, but research has shown that happiness can soften the blow. Being able to better manage the setbacks and stressors will definitely make life happier all around.
So much is written about happiness at work — yet judging from Gallup statistics that show 85% of employees aren't engaged, few know how to attain it. Given that the average person spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, it's important to figure out how to feel better about the time you spend earning a living. Here's the catch, though: If you set happiness as your primary goal, you can end up feeling the opposite. This is because happiness (like all emotions) is a fleeting state, not a permanent one. An alternative solution is to make meaning your vocational goal.
Last month we discussed the importance of having fun at work. So we thought, why not take a closer look this month at why happiness in the workplace matters outside of the office.
Given that full-time employees spend more than a third of their waking hours working (not including the commute time), it suffices to say that how we feel at work affects other areas of life. If it makes us happy it can create a positive impact that trickles down to a cellular level – literally.
Here's a look at highlights from recent studies that prove making happiness your ONE Thing in the office can provide benefits that extend well beyond the workplace.
Happiness Makes You More Productive
Since 2010 numerous books and studies have been published that provide empirical evidence that shows 'happy' employees are more productive. They tend to work more efficiently and think more creatively. They also approach problems in a constructive manner so that their issues are quickly solved. Game 78: december 11, 2015the initials game.
Of course, this is a key point for employers, but being more productive in other areas of our lives is just as important. Around the house we have just as many tasks and juggle even more job roles. Making time for social activities and hobbies requires efficiency. Applying our happy work mindset to all other areas of life can make everything more manageable.
Happiness Begets Success in All Areas of Life
When we think of success, work immediately comes to mind. But it's not confined to the workplace, and being successful in personal areas of life as a spouse or parent is arguably more important.
A 2005 American Psychological Association publication analyzes research that has linked success in all areas of life to happiness. It appears that one begets the other. People aren't necessarily happy because they are successful. Oftentimes it is happiness that increases our odds of success. It's quite possible that the positive mindset that increases productivity also helps us overcome challenges.
Happiness Makes You Healthier
It doesn't take a research study from a national institute to know that happy people are less stressed. That automatically gives them an edge when it comes to health.
Studies conducted by psychology professor and social psychologist D.G. Myers have compared stressed, depressed employees to happy ones and found that content workers have lower medical costs. Health care is a cost shared by both the employer and the employee in most cases, meaning that happiness directly affects everyone's finances.
The American Psychological Association research mentioned above also notes that happiness has a positive effect on healthy behavior, mental health, stress, coping and the immune system. Nothing is more important than our health. Without it we can't be our best at work, home, in social settings or anywhere else.
Work Paceteach To Be Happy Birthday
Happiness Makes You a More Involved Citizen
Volunteering makes people happy, but even without that initial feel-good rush, happier people are more likely to give their time, money and energy to others. As psychologist Martin Seligman points out in his book Authentic Happiness, happy people are typically more altruistic.
Moreover, there are studies that show happy employees in particular are more likely to engage in citizenship behavior. Involvement in our community has been linked to work environment, which means the office can impact our inclination to volunteer. This in turn can have an effect on our overall happiness and wellbeing.
Happiness Makes You Kinder
There is also a cyclical effect between happiness and kindness. Two new studies have found that random acts of kindness and buying things for others instead of ourselves generates feelings of happiness. As the feeling of happiness increases a person is more likely to continue being kind.
Researchers are calling this a 'positive feedback loop'. Even better – kindness is infectious. Seeing someone else perform an act of kindness or being the recipient of it will lead to moral elevation that encourages altruism. Science has now proven kindness makes the world is a better place, and happiness at work can play an important part.
Happiness Can Undo Negative Emotions
Disappointment, sorrow, pain – these negative emotions are an inescapable fact of life. We all deal with negative emotions in our own way, but research has shown that happiness can soften the blow. Being able to better manage the setbacks and stressors will definitely make life happier all around.
So much is written about happiness at work — yet judging from Gallup statistics that show 85% of employees aren't engaged, few know how to attain it. Given that the average person spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, it's important to figure out how to feel better about the time you spend earning a living. Here's the catch, though: If you set happiness as your primary goal, you can end up feeling the opposite. This is because happiness (like all emotions) is a fleeting state, not a permanent one. An alternative solution is to make meaning your vocational goal.
As author Emily Esfahani Smith has outlined, people who focus on meaning in their personal and professional lives are more likely to feel an enduring sense of well-being. Research shows that making work more meaningful is one of the most powerful and underutilized ways to increase productivity, engagement, and performance. In one survey of 12,000 employees, 50% said they didn't get a feeling of meaning and significance from their work, but those who did reported 1.7 times greater job satisfaction, were 1.4 times more engaged, and were more than three times as likely to remain with their current employer.
As a coach to executives considering their next career move, I often hear clients express their desire to find greater meaning at work. 3.7 continuity and differentiablityap calculus solver. Take Jon (not his real name), for example. He started a biotech company, which he successfully grew to over $2 billion in revenue. Investors were champing at the bit for him take the helm of another organization as CEO. However, when presented with these outwardly impressive opportunities, Jon confessed that he wanted to solve what felt to him like more significant health care problems — ones that no one had been able to solve. Although he was flattered to be courted for this top role, he was searching for more from his work, including long-term career satisfaction and engagement.
The Difference Between Meaning and Happiness
In a recent study, Shawn Achor and his research team found that nine in 10 people would be willing to swap a percentage of their lifetime earnings for more meaningful work. That's a lot of employees who would take a pay cut to have their work matter. But what are we really searching for when we say we want more 'meaning,' and how does it differ from happiness?
You and Your Team Series
Making Work More Meaningful
- To Find Meaning in Your Work, Change How You Think About It
- John Coleman
- Kristi Hedges
Philosophers, scholars, artists, and social psychologists have struggled to come up with an answer to that question for years. According to research on happiness and meaning conducted by psychologist Roy Baumeister and colleagues, five factors differentiate meaning and happiness:
- Getting what you want or need. While happiness was found to correlate with having your desires satisfied, meaning was not. In fact, as Baumeister wrote: '[T]he frequency of good and bad feelings turns out to be irrelevant to meaning, which can flourish even in very forbidding conditions.' For example, Jon might have enjoyed the prestige of a CEO title, but his quest to do something that mattered — even if it meant not getting that benefit — overrode this want.
- Time frame. Baumeister found that while happiness relates directly to the here and now, meaning 'seems to come from assembling past, present, and future into some kind of coherent story.' In Jon's case, although becoming a chief executive may have brought immediate happiness, he was willing to forgo that quick hit of endorphins in order to seek something that reflected his bigger-picture and long-term values.
- Social life. Connections to others is important for both happiness and meaning, but the character of those connections informs the type of fulfillment they give you. Baumeister found that helping to other people leads to meaning, while having others help you leads to happiness. Jon's desire to use his skills to help others predisposed him seek that type of role.
- Challenges. Stress, strife, and struggles reduce happiness, 'but they seem to be part and parcel of a highly meaningful life,' according to Baumeister. Jon was willing to take the more difficult route of figuring out an alternative to the CEO job in order to increase his chances of finding meaning at work.
- Personal identity. An important source of meaning is actions or activities that 'express the self.' But they are 'mostly irrelevant' where happiness is concerned. Jon's pull toward a different type of job was an expression of what had become most important to him.
Work Paceteach To Be Happy Birthday Wishes
How to Prioritize Meaning
The distinctions above provide guideposts on steering your professional life toward meaning, which, as research by psychologist Pninit Russo-Netzer found, can ultimately lead to happiness as well. Here are four practical steps you can take to bring more meaning into your work:
- Keep a journal of activities. Identify the projects and tasks you find deeply satisfying (as opposed to ones that gratify you in the short term). Do you feel fulfilled when making presentations to your clients, for example? Are you energized when mentoring and coaching junior employees, thinking about how your present efforts contribute positively to their future?
- Align your values and actions when choosing what to prioritize. If mentoring is linked with your personal identity and self-expression, make coaching part of your weekly activities. If self-development is a core value, incorporate daily rituals such as listening to podcasts, taking a course, or joining a mastermind group.
- Focus on relationships, not just deliverables. But as you do so, be intentional about how you go about it, remembering Baumeister's finding that contributing to others' well-being is strongly tied to experiencing meaning.
- Share 'best-self' narratives with coworkers. In the spirit of helping others, assist people in identifying what types of activities lead them to authentic self-expression and meaning. In the bookAlive at Work, author Daniel Cable suggests having colleagues share stories of seeing one another at their best. You can do this for peers and ask them to return the favor.
Living with meaning and purpose may not make you happy — at least in the short term. It requires self-reflection, effort, and wrestling with issues that initially can be frustrating. But when you approach work situations mindfully, with an eye toward contributing to others while honoring your personal identity, you'll find opportunities to practice the skills that help you find the intrinsic value in your work.
