How to Be Happy At Work

Good morning I bit to lecturer and fellow friends. Everyone wants to feel happy in

their life. People may be successful and have a lot of money, but without happiness it will be

meaningless. So, how many of you here happy at work? I am sure some of us feel unhappy at

work because of certain circumstances. Is it possible to be happy at work? Can you go to

work and be energized, have fun, do great work, enjoy the people you work with, have fun

with your customers, be proud of what you do and look forward to your Sunday mornings?

Can we create workplaces where happiness is the norm? John Ruskin quotes about happy at

work, “In order that people may be happy in their work, those three things are needed: They

must be fit for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success it.”

Here I will share with all of you on how to be happy at work. To be happy at work, you

should start with a positive outlook which means that start your day with positive attitudes at

work. Then, make new friends with your co-workers and avoid negativity such as negative

conversation or gossips with your colleagues. Besides that, you should keep personal

problems personal or please don’t bring your personal problems at work. Put aside your

problems at home. In order to stay energetically for eight hours long, you should adopt a

healthy diet by eating snacks such as fruits and vegetables. You also should create an office

nest by decorating your work place with flowers and simple photo which later will make you

feel relax and comfortable. When you have a lot of work or stress, you should take a break

for a while even ten-minute only. This is to ensure that you will stay happy while working.

Lastly reward yourself by treating yourself for a lunch or a movie either with co-workers or

family when you did an excellent job.

First of all, you should start your day at work with a positive outlook. Positive outlook

means you see opportunities instead of the problems. You see solutions when problems

occur. You see the bright side in everything, even in negative situations. How we choose to

start a new day can be our single most effective way to impact having a good day. I am sure

some of you say this words when it comes to Sunday morning, "Ugh, I don't want to go to

work today.” Please don’t say these killer words. If you think of don’t want to go to work,

you will find your work on that day will not go smoothly. So, in order to avoid this attitude,

1

you should set your mind clear. When you wake up, before you get out of bed, take a moment

to settle your thoughts and get into the right frame of mind. Don’t let the worry clock stock

start ticking but instead take slow, even breaths and control the pace of your day. Every

morning when I wake up I am excited about my day and can’t wait to go to work. I expect

positive things to happen, I create positive situations. I am not saying that nothing bad ever

happens to me but I just choose to get over them and look at the positive that comes out of it.

In every situation there is a positive and negative, we tend to take from it whatever we give

our focus and energy to. Take control of your life and your future by creating more positive

things in your life. You create your reality. Have a positive outlook on life and you will see

that your happiness and positive situations will multiply tremendously. Thus, you will do

your work with happiness and settle it on time without worries.

Secondly, you should make friends as many as you can in your work place. So many

of us spend so much time at work but that will be nice if we have co-workers that help us in

work. Unfortunately, some of us are shy, or quiet. Some are awkward and don't know how to

make friends with those people we work with every day. I myself am shy and quiet. I don’t

know how to start a conversation at work or anywhere. But then I realized that I should open

my mouth and talk with my colleagues in order to make them like me and happy working

with me. Having someone to talk to on a social levels and in fact having co-workers that you

like to and enjoy working with is a hallmark of happiness at the workplace. Talk to people,

get to know them and try to enhance personal relations in the workplace. You can make

friends during lunch hour. This is because people talk about their personal lives. It's where

questions are asked and people are brought up to date on what's going on. Try to get yourself

invited to go to lunch with others. Or, invite others to go with you. "Doing lunch" is the way

it's done these days and it's the most critical part of making friends at work. Meeting new

people and getting fresh perspectives can help you to keep yourself interested in your work.

Also knowing that you have someone to share and care about you can make work hours fun.

Thirdly, avoid negativity which is tried to avoid negative conversations, gossip, and

unhappy people as much as possible. No matter how positively you feel, negative people

have a profound impact on your psyche. Don't let the negative attitude people bring you

down. This only makes you even more depressed. These people don’t like their jobs or they

2

don’t like their company. Their bosses are always jerks and they are always treated unfairly.

Thus, they always spread rumours and gossip to the co-workers. Involving yourself with

office gossip will only work towards zapping your energy and occupying your mind with

thoughts unrelated to your work. Gossipers also drag other people into their scandalous

chit-chat, by saying nasty things about others and circulating rumours which, most of the

time is simply untrue. So stick to discussions that are honest and productive in nature and

work towards improving your workload. Thus, prevent conflicts and the lowering of

morale, productivity, and profitability. Be strong, assertive and determined to overcome the

persistent negativity of others. Always be honest with such people, tell them the truth and

don’t let anybody bully you – not even your boss.

Furthermore, you should keep your personal problem away from work or don’t

bring your personal problem to the work place which later can affect your performances and

productivity. I am sure some of us have problems either with family, money and friends.

These problems may be big or small matter and depends on how we going to handle the

problems. I myself have my own problem which is need to manage my time on work and

study properly. I worked in shift and sometime clash with my class. So how I settle this

problem without affecting my work? First, I took a deep breath and think carefully. I remain

positive about my personal situation and understand that life often tests faith. Then I leave

the "private" at home and only allow the "professional" to come to work, whenever

possible. The reality is that you don't want to bring personal issues to the office. If you

make your personal problems common knowledge, then they may be blamed whenever you

have concerns at work. You don't want your boss to feel that you are unable to separate

your personal life from your work. They may lose faith in your abilities. Next I will get the

support from my colleagues which will help me find a solution. They will give their opinion

and I will consider it as they have more experiences in work. Besides that, I will go to lunch

with them and try to have fun in order to avoid thinking about the problem. Thus, by doing

these strategies, I found that I focused more on work in spite of personal problems.

Other than that, you should adopt a healthy diet by eating healthy and drink lots of

water. Shirly Weiss, a certified holistic health and nutritional counsellor and consulting

expert for The Balance Team, told that maintaining a good diet and keeping yourself

3

properly hydrated throughout your workday can really make a big difference in your energy

level and attitude. In other words, when you eat right and keep yourself hydrated, you are

helping your body maintain sufficient energy levels to let you complete your work to the

best of your ability. Food such as fruits and vegetables should be bringing to your work and

treat them as snacks in order to keep you awake while working. The great energy providers

are bananas and oatmeal biscuits. The main thing you should do is drink plenty of water. It

will give you oxygen to your body and you can do your work energetically.

You should create an office nest or surround yourself with things that will make you

happy. Jennifer Star, a founding partner of The Balance Team, said that you are at your job

for at least eight hours a day, which is more time than you probably spend in your bed.

Thus, make your space your own. Decorates your area and add colours to your space as

much as your company policy permits. Design the area that will allow you to feel

comfortable and relaxed. Simple items like photos, flowers or fragrance diffusers can really

set the right mood for you. According to an article in Live Science, a survey of 450 workers

found 69 percent of the people who had plants felt “very happy.” However, try to avoid

getting a cactus plant. Because of its spikes, the plant is considered bad Feng Shui. Thus,

having a plant in the office can make you feel happier while doing your work.

Every day, some of us spend at least 8-10 hours sitting in front of the computer. When

you are busy doing your work, it’s common to ignore small things such as taking a break.

People think that taking a break would unnecessarily delay their work and reduce their

productive time. But, according to research, taking regular small breaks actually makes you

more productive. Besides that, it is also good for your health. Sometimes, we have plenty of

work to do. At such times, it is not even possible to think about taking a break. I have been

through such situations. That's why, I remind myself to take regular breaks whenever I can.

Your eyes need rest, your body needs some movement, and your mind needs a small

distraction to get new ideas and fresh perspectives. Take a ten-minute break each hour and go

for a short walk. The fresh air will rejuvenates and relaxes you as well as gain clarity and

focus. Besides that, this is a good way to give your body just a tiny bit of exercise and makes

your body active. If it's not possible to take a walk, you can just get up from your chair and

stretch your body. Move your legs and hands a little, rotate your neck in circles, or try to

4

bend and touch your toes. Furthermore, you may take slow deep breaths which will help calm

your mind. It also reduces any stress and relaxes your whole body. Listening to your

favourite song can be a good energy booster. I would prefer that you listen to soft music or

songs that will make you feel relaxed. Close your eyes and be completely immersed in

listening to the song. I do it this way and it feels more enjoyable. But make sure your boss is

not around. The most important thing when taking a break is to not think about the work that

you were doing. The goal of a short break is to relax your body and mind, and make you feel

fresh and energetic again. Thus, you will be more productive and happy to finish up your

work.

Goal setting and achieving is supposed to be fun. When you reach a goal, whether it is

a little one or a big one, why not give yourself a reward. For example, if your goal is to finish

a report within 5 hours, then you should motivate yourself to finish it. If you manage to finish

it within your target, you can reward yourself by a pat on the back or give yourself a treat

such as go for a lunch or dinner together with co-workers, a movie or go for a massage. Make

the rewards fit the accomplishment. Please don’t wait for the boss or co-workers to recognise

the work that you’ve done. Sometimes you must give to yourself what you deserve from

others and compliment your own work. I also have my own target. I like to finish my report

right after returning from patrolling the area. This is because I don’t want to bring work back

home. For me home is for relaxed after stress at office. Besides that, after I finished my report

and still have time, I like to have tea time with my colleagues. Thus, some interesting

engagements with them will develop. Rewards are important to keeping the motivation alive.

By rewarding yourself, it will keep you on the right path and inspired you. A positive attitude

like this can influence your mood at work. If you’re happy, you will naturally be motivated to

work better.

In conclusion, it’s important to focus on the right things and be happy at work. Work

is a social place where you meet people and share ideas to do work together. Like it or not,

work occupies an enormous amount of our entire lives and will always contribute more or

less to frustration and stress. Many employees are not happy, but most of them simply

associate work with an unhappy place. However, it has been found out that people who’re

5

happy in their workplace are more productive than those who’re not. Every morning, try

come to the office with a positive outlook. Do make new friends and avoid negativity at your

work place. Besides that, please keep your personal problem personal and put it away from

work. Adopt a healthy diet and drink a lot of water while working. Moreover, you can

decorate your desk or create an office nest in order to be more relaxed and comfortable. Last

but not least, take a break for a while to refresh and gain energy back as well as give a self-

reward when do a good job. Thus, apply these simple steps in your life and you will find your

happiness at work. If you want a great life and great success in your work, you know what

action should take. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own

actions.” Dalai Lama quotes. With that, I end my speech. Thank you.

6

References

Susan M. Heathfield. Top 10 Ways to Be Happy at Work. About.com Guide. Retrieved

February 20, 2013 from

http://humanresources.about.com/od/success/tp/happy_work.htm

Chrysta Bairre, April 20, 2012 in Work-life Balance. Taking Breaks Can Help You Get More

Done. Retrieved February 20, 2013 from

http://www.liveandlovework.com/2012/04/20/take breaks-get-more-done/

Beverly West, 10 Tips for Staying Happy at Work. Monster Contributing Writer. Retrieved

February 20, 2013 from http://career-advice.monster.com/in-the-office/work-life

balance/ten-tips-for-staying-happy-at-work/article.aspx

Ben Welch, Top 10 Ways to Be Happy at Work. Retrieved February 20, 2013 from

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/190765/careers_and_job_hunting/top_1

_ways_to_be_happy_at_work.html

Parul Solanki, published on February 26, 2010. How to Be Happy at Work. Retrieved

February 20, 2013 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-be-happy-at

work.html

7