Happiness at work

June 7th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

I have the pleasure and privilege of introducing one of
my favorite bloggers who has kindly submitted an article for this blog. Alexander
Kjerulf a.k.a. The chief Happiness
Officer.

He just finished writing his first book titled Happy
Hour is 9 to 5 - How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt
at Work. The book has been extremely well received all over the world.
David Maister called it “very, very good” and “extremely
well written.” But the praise that Alex appreciates the most came
from Anna Farmery, who said that “reading the book makes me happy
and gives me faith that we can create great workplaces.”

So without further Ado here is the article from Alex. Please
leave your comments if you enjoy the article and visit Alex’s blog to see more of his work.

Change
the way you think to be happy at work

Happiness at work is an emotion - an internal state. You feel it or you don’t.
In any case, it’s inside of you.

While it is certainly affected by what goes on around you (like when some inconsiderate
jerk takes the last coffee and doesn’t make a new pot) it mostly relies on
what goes on inside your head.

The old “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it” applies
here as well.

And that’s why we must change our thinking about work. There are some traditional
perceptions, ideas and maxims that are holding us back from achieving truly
fulfilling and happy work lives. Many people and workplaces focus all their
efforts on changing the external circumstances at work - stuff like salaries,
bonuses, promotions, careers, perks, etc…

So we need to pay more attention to our internal mental processes
around happiness at work and change our thinkingon some key points. Here are
the most important ones.

From “Work is tough” to “Work is fun”

For the last 200 years, all through the industrial age, work has been perceived
as tough, unpleasant and hard. In fact, that’s why we get paid. And for most
of the industrial age, this was mostly true, with many jobs being hard, boring
or even dangerous.

Today, this is less and less so and there are many, many more interesting,
creative, fun, pleasant and happy workplaces to choose from. But none of this
will matter if we go on expecting work to be hard and rough - for the simple
fact that we tend to get what we expect.

Therefore we must change our thinking, and start expecting work to be fun.

From “You can’t be happy and successful” to “You can
only be really successful if you’re happy”

What is business success worth, if you’re not happy?

I have seen successful business people break down crying over the realization
that they have wasted large parts of their lives chasing money, fame and success
- while never being happy themselves.

It makes zero sense to sacrifice your happiness at work for success. It’s
just not worth it.

From “Success requires hard work” to “Success requires
happiness”

Interestingly, you don’t need to give up on success in order to be happy.
Studies show that happy people are more likely to be successful! Which
is hardly surprising when you remember that people who are happy at work
are also more motivated, energetic, likable, creative and productive.

From “Happiness at work is nearly impossible” to “Happiness
at work is easy”

Everything we need to create happy workplaces is easy to get and readily
available to almost any workplace in the world. It’s not about budgets,
mission statements, strategies or corporate policies.

Happiness at work comes from the simple things. From the things “you
and I do here and now”.

Anyone can do it!

From “Happiness at work is trivial” to “Happiness at
work is crucial”

Happiness at work is not a trivial little detail that we can leave to an overworked
HR department to maybe do something about. It’s not a side issue to address
once you’ve achieved the right salary, title and company car.

Happiness at work is crucial to your health, success and general happiness
in life and it’s the #1 factor that drives corporate success.

That’s why happiness at work needs to be at the very top of our priorities
- both for employees and businesses.

So considering the fact that happiness at work is crucial, easy and really,
really good for you… My question is: Are you happy or unhappy at work? Is
your workplace happy or unhappy? How does this affect you?

And if your workplace is not happy, what would be different if you and
most of your co-workers liked your jobs so much that you looked forward
to going to work almost every morning? What would that do for you and for
the company?

Popularity: 4% [?]

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There Are 14 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Lodewijkvdb on 7 June 2007:

I like the message you’re bringing across. And although happiness is reached in different ways for different people, we share that it is of the utmost importance in all aspects of life.

And to answer your questions: In my job I float around the “Meh” state, sometimes more “Argh” and sometimes more “Yay”. That’s because there are aspects of my job that get me in the best state (and I feel I deliver the most value then as well), and other aspects are downright demotivating and depressing. I am doing things about it, as I choose the “Yay”-state.

PS: The link “Alex’s blog” isn’t working

Comment by Alan Marston on 8 June 2007:

Steven,

I think bringing in additional writers is a great idea, and Alex certainly fits the bill! I am enjoying your blog very much and look forward to more from you and your team. You will likely see some visitors to your blog from mine as I have been linking to your posts frequently lately.

Keep up the good work!

Alan.

PS: The “Alex’s blog” link worked fine for me.

Pingback by Change your thinking on happiness at work on 8 June 2007:

[...] I wrote a guest post for Steven Aitchison’s excellent blog on How to change your thinking about happiness at work. [...]

Pingback by The Way The Internet Should Be! » Blog Archive » Change your thinking on happiness at work on 8 June 2007:

[...] I wrote a guest post for Steven Aitchison’s excellent blog on How to change your thinking about happiness at work. [...]

Comment by karenlim on 8 June 2007:

Great post!

The method to think positively by changing the thoughts is not new but is just under-applied.

The law of attraction states that you become what you think most about. So if you think you are unhappy in a job, you naturally are iritated by some events and end up more unhappy.

Most people do not realize that they just need to shift their emotion and their thoughts to also enjoy their 9-5 job.

Some people know that they can change their mind if they change their thought. Question is how do they change their thought?

I think these techniques can serve as a guide on what you can do to control your thoughts to focus on good outcome:-
http://secretofunlimitedprosperity.com/25/law-of-attraction-the-secret-to-control-your-thoughts-day-3/

Enjoy reading!

Pingback by beccalynn.net » …The search for the meaning of feeling infinite, and happiness… on 14 June 2007:

[...] I would have to agree with Ms. Lamott. Happiness is very much like an arrow through air. It happens at the weirdest, unexpected moments, but it’s also very much a mental state. Like this guy says, “Happiness at work is an emotion - an internal state. You feel it or you don’t. In any case, it’s inside of you.” If you’re not emotionally content, then happiness will continue to avoid you, without you having any knowledge of why. [...]

Pingback by Saturday roundup 16th June 2007 on 18 June 2007:

[...] Thank you to Alexander Kjerulf for posting ‘Happiness at work’. This was another great guest blogger post which was well received here. [...]

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Comment by Puzzled on 16 October 2007:

I desperately need someone’s advice and input.
I was told my the VP of HR (whom I report to)
” that his only responsibility is to insure that I am doing my job and doing it adequately. If I am unhappy that is my responsibility not his”. While there is “some” truth to that, the fact of the matter is - he is causing my frustration and unhappiness in my job. I LOVE my job. He has become a tryant and bully. I along with a few others at work are fed up and frustrated. Yet nothing is being done to correct the problem.

Is he truly not responsible for anything other than me completing my work?

How would others handle this?

Comment by Steven Aitchison on 16 October 2007:

Hi Puzzled

I would immediately speak to him about his behaviour. As crazy as it may seem he might not realise he is acting in the way you describe.

If this does not help I would report it to his superior. There are policies within every workplace to counteract bullying and intimidation.

This is only my opinion.

Comment by Puzzled on 18 October 2007:

I did speak to him. Keep in mind he is the “VP OF HR”!!! Isn’t it a bit ironic that this position is the position we “ultimately” go to with such problems?
His attitude is pretty much, “I’ll yell if I want to”.

His immediate superior knows about all this. Now if he decides to do something about it is another matter.

Comment by David - Happiness Ezine Publisher on 25 May 2008:

What goes into happiness at work is the same as what goes into happiness anywhere. If what you are doing is consistent with your values and you appreciate it, you will be happy at work. If your job is not in sync with your values, no attitude change will help.

The other aspect of work, is that it is a social environment. It takes an effort to get along with people, and that is crucial to enjoying oneself at work…just as it is in the home.