Tailored happiness at work
Everyone is different, therefore what makes them happy can be entirely opposite. Can personalising happiness be intuitive, or invasive?
Last week we talked about living in a technological and convenient era, but can this element of ease and personalisation make us truly content and bolster our overall mental and physical wellbeing and, if so, can this be done in our place of work?
Create happiness
Making you happy in and out of work could be very similar - a sense of purpose, gratitude and kindness. The need to feel comfortable in our surroundings, give and receive respect and always feel heard. These are actions that require others to make you feel counted, but we are resourceful and intelligent specimens, so why not create your own happiness?
Here are some quick, personal and satisfying ways to find some zen and fulfilment at work:
1. Set yourself short-term goals to relieve any tedious or non-creative task you’re focused on, i.e., ‘If I focus and finish this spreadsheet in good time, I’ll make happy hour in the local.’ Or why not write down some other rewards on paper, put them in a jar and pull one out every time you feel accomplished, or that you’ve achieved a short-term goal.
2. Make yourself a super energising playlist of all your favourite songs – this will make you feel comforted as every song has been hand selected by you!
3. Find 5 or 10 minutes in your busy day to take time out and meditate. There are numerous ways you can do so, with or without technology… (did you know that a study performed by Harvard Medical School and the Bender Institute of Neuroimaging in Germany found that participants who had never practiced meditation then began to experience stronger emotional control, as well as mental and emotional enhancements?)
Ok, so we’ve covered self-happiness, but as we do spend a lot of our time at work it’s integral that your place of work is keen to boost your overall happiness and wellbeing. As mentioned, we are all different and a whole load of various things make us happy little beans. So, we’ve looked into the most popular ways companies can consider and help employees feel empowered, fulfilled and just plain happy at work.
8 ways workplaces can make you that bit happier in a varied amount of ways…
Offering flexible working times – because everyone needs and deserves a bit of flexibility!
The option to work from home. What with the wonders of technology this is becoming increasingly possible for a wide range of jobs (…working from a lilo is still working, right?)
The concept of unlimited holiday is becoming more popular, or if that’s too bold a leap encourage employees to take breaks, and holidays.
Ensuring that employees are trusted to work autonomously if they so wish.
Offer training and development when and if it’s needed.
Really recognising that employees need a steady work-life balance – this could be encouraging no out-of-hours emails.
Free gym membership, encouraging a healthy and happy workforce as well as no guilt for that cake you had this morning.
And finally, food, glorious food. This could be a bowl of fresh fruit on a Monday, or as indulgent as breakfast everyday - complementary food is always a crowd pleaser.
Here are some little happiness tasks for you to try this week…
Instead of drinking masses of coffee, get up a little bit earlier and do some exercise - it will naturally make you feel more energised, and probably happier too
During your commute summon three great things to your mind that happened to you recently - gratitude is great for the soul
Track your efforts instead of accomplishments; without effort the big things don’t happen – celebrate the small wins and enjoy getting to the end goal