A life full of happiness includes happiness in the family, happiness at school, happiness at work, and happiness at all of the other institutions that you are connected with. Let’s focus on happiness at work and how you can increase it, even if you are in a job with no status or seniority.
1. Honor your co-workers.
a. Be on time for meetings and appointments as an act of respect for others’ time.
b. Practice acts of kindness toward others when you have a chance to.
c. Recognize and praise a job well done, even if it means praising your boss. No one gets enough praise these days.
d. Socialize with co-workers to build team trust, camaraderie, and fun.
e. Learn your co-workers’ strengths so that you can honor them and help them leverage them as you work together.
f. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, successful projects, signed contracts, and other significant events.
2. Set goals for yourself.
a. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish in your job to forward yourself, your co-workers, and your company goals.
b. Discuss with your boss how you can excel in your position and help to make them look good too.
c. Discover how to maximize your strengths in your job and use them as much as possible.
3. Create your ideal environment.
a. Spruce up your workspace so that it supports you in your work. For some, this means liberally decorating with family pictures. Others want awards, certificates, and diplomas displayed. And still others prefer a neat, minimalist workspace.
b. Soften your commute. If you have a long commute, consider music that soothes you, audio books that make you smarter, or a day of telecommuting at a home office to take a break from the roads.
c. Start your day energized and refreshed. Get a good night’s sleep, wake up to great music instead of the news, and practice gratitude, exercise, or another happiness-producing act in the morning.
Ask yourself how you’re doing in the workplace on each of these 12 ideas. Are there two or three you want to work on? Which one can you implement this week? Mark your calendar, put your idea into action, and watch your workplace transform into a happier place to work.