Work is often something that people endure and not enjoy. They ‘put up with’ work all day and then come home to something nice like their dog, a drink, watching TV etc to find the right work life balance. The assumption is that work is stress and the rest of our life is where we find true meaning and happiness.

Happiness at work can often mean different things to different people. Feeling an overall sense of enjoyment at work, being able to emotionally handle setbacks, connecting with colleagues, clients and customers, knowing that your work matters to you, your employers and beyond or all of these.

The benefits of feeling happy with your work life...

• Feeling happier can improve health and well-being, creativity, problem solving, productivity and innovation, and therefore lead to faster career progression.

• People who are happier at work are often more committed and driven to work and more willing to work towards a shared vision.

• In the face of setbacks, people in happier workplaces tend to see the bigger picture, making them less stressed and better at coping with and recovering from work strain and conflict.

• Socially, people who are happier at work are generally seen as more likeable, more trustworthy, more deserving of respect and attention, and more effective leaders.

• At happier workplaces, people are also more helpful to each other and more supportive of one another during difficult times.

So how do we shift our thinking about happiness at work? How can we make our work lives more satisfying and meaningful that contributes to our happiness? I've been exploring these questions in depth... there is no simple answer!

Happiness is different for everyone and each workplace has its pros and cons but ultimately, there are four key elements to happiness at work.

Purpose

Our purpose is a reflection of our core values and we feel more purposeful at work when our everyday behaviours and decisions are aligned with those values. As individuals, bringing more passion and purpose to work can mean connecting what we do to what we believe in and care about, rather than passively embracing the status quo.

Engagement

Do you generally enjoy your work? How often do you feel curious or deeply immersed and lose track of time while working? Do you feel like you can be effective and get things done? Most people answer no to some of these questions. Having engagement can really build on your confidence and give you the feeling of ownership and respect. A good way of improving engagement at work is to adopt tools to help with time management and productivity. For example, a project management program where you can assign yourself tasks and plan how and when you will complete your goals. Feeling more in control of your work can reduce stress and improve happiness.

Resilience

The ability to handle setbacks, failures, and disappointment is critical to overall happiness at work. Resilience doesn’t mean trying to prevent difficulties or confrontation, it means being able to manage challenges at work with authenticity and grace. Mindfulness can be a starting point for changing our learned habits of self-criticising, blaming others or dwelling on past or future upsets, that make it hard to manage difficult moments at work. Resilience can also mean detaching from work. Taking time away to recover and pursue wellness, social, creative, and perhaps charity activities.

Kindness

Finally, we’re happier at work when our thoughts, feelings and actions towards others are of kindness and genuinely building supportive social bonds. Being kind at work involves treating others with dignity and respect, empathy and compassion, practicing gratitude and constructively managing conflicts.