For many people, happiness is the overriding value in life. However, is happiness at work as important as what we strive for in our private life? How to achieve them? Can we work on it? In the article below, we will try to answer this question.
Work as a chore
Work allows us to survive, thanks to it we earn money. Consequently, many of us view our daily duties as a necessary evil. We are in a bad attitude; we only dream of returning home as soon as possible. Thus, it isn't easy to talk about satisfaction or happiness at work.
Employers indeed try to make us feel good in the workplace - they adapt workplaces to the needs, provide free lunches or snacks, and do not save on bonuses and rewards. However, it's important to know that these factors aren't the main factors contributing to your happiness at work.
Why is happiness at work important?
Happiness in life is essential. Is it the same with happiness at work? Of course! A happy employee is more involved in carrying out their tasks, gets along better with colleagues and clients, feels greater job satisfaction, is motivated, and more effective. It cannot be denied that the more such people in a company, the more successful it can be.
What Influences Happiness at Work?
Workplace atmosphere
One of the elements of happiness at work is a good atmosphere. The factors that create it include positive relations between employees (but also between employees and management), lack of competition, and the feeling of equal treatment. However, it is based on trust:
between employees,
employees to management,
management to employees.
If there is a good atmosphere in the company, it affects the better productivity and commitment of employees, thus achieving better results.
Opportunity to develop
Almost all of us want to develop and move forward. We want to learn something new, get to know information that will make our work easier. We are happier when we are offered training and courses at work that make it easier for us to gain knowledge.
Company values
If our values coincide with the values represented by the company, we are more motivated to work and identify more with the company. So it is natural that our feeling of happiness at work, in this case, will be on a much higher level. The lack of consistency between our values and the company's values means that we do not feel satisfied with the tasks performed, and we even feel resistance to their performance.
Objective of the work
It happens that we perform activities that are monotonous, repetitive, and that do not give us much satisfaction. However, if we know what our work's purpose is and it is clearly defined, these activities turn out to be less disruptive, and we are more satisfied with what we do. Seeing that our actions are effective and helpful for society, we can feel proud to be part of a given project.
Challenges
We often feel best when our work is full of challenges; we have to overcome our weaknesses, learn new things, and deal with problems. The better we are at it, and the more challenges lie ahead, the greater the satisfaction.
Happiness at work - how can you work on it?
Even if it seems that happiness at work is not possible in our case and our work is a series of failures, it may turn out that it is not so. We can work and shape happiness at work. How to do it?
Notice the good points of your work
We very often focus too much on the disadvantages of our work, which is why we completely overlook the advantages of it. We spend so much time in the workplace that it is impossible to fill it with only negative emotions. Thanks to work, we develop our skills, gain new knowledge, solve problems, meet interesting people, and make long-term friendships.
If we take a long time to think about why our work is important and necessary, we may find that it makes sense, which will increase our happiness at work. Remember that if it is so bad that you cannot find a single advantage of this situation, then you are in the wrong place, and it is time to think about changing.
Set goals
As we have already mentioned, clearly defined goals increase commitment to the entrusted tasks that await us on the way to them. Therefore, in your work, it is worth setting goals and striving to meet them. In this case, it is worth applying the rule of small steps. Even if your goal is to complete a large project, break it down into smaller tasks. Performing each of them and marking it, for example, will make you have a real sense of approaching the set goal on a previously made list.
Develop yourself
Many of us appreciate self-development and increasing competencies. Thanks to this, we believe in ourselves and our own abilities more and more, we feel better with ourselves, we stress less. Nobody wants to stand still because many of us then feel that we are stepping back. If we stop feeling happy at work, maybe it's time for some training or course, learning something new? Development brings happiness and satisfaction.
Keep your distance
A bit of humor and distance at work will not hurt. Co-worker made a joke? Let us pick up the gauntlet, and let us not be indebted. Do not be afraid to laugh; approach the situation with distance and smile, even if it seems insurmountable.
Take care of good relationships
For happiness at work to be of the right level, good relationships with colleagues are essential. Even if we have a different opinion, we do not like someone; let us not fall into an avalanche of accusations and gossip. A good atmosphere and a group of people who respect each other and like each other increase commitment and satisfaction at work.
Posted on Apr 1, 2021 by Anna
