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Summary: Recognition of results and relationships may create more happiness in the workplace.
- Three simple things could increase happiness on the job.
- Job satisfaction and happiness at work are not the same.
Given the challenging economy it might be difficult to find happiness in a new job, but there may be several ways to experience more contentment in your current position. One approach is to try to stop the habits which typically are associated with unhappiness, such as whining, comparing salaries, ignoring stress and the like.
Alexander Kjerulf, the chief happiness officer at Woohoo inc. has a theory that happiness at work is related to three things: results, recognition and relationships. For him, results were defined as small meaningful successes, and are an important part of happiness.
Recognition is a significant source of happiness because it celebrates the successes mentioned above in a social context, so they can be acknowledged within groups. Recognition can also be for completed projects and entire teams, it is not only for individuals.
Relationships, Kjerulf says, are not just between co-workers; they are between people first. So he encourages employees to share information about their personal lives at work, such as their holiday plans and family scenarios to strengthen and maintain personal bonds.
He also makes the distinction between job satisfaction and happiness at work. The former he says is what a person thinks about their job and the latter is how a person feels about his or her job.
In his book Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh identified four major aspects of happiness in the workplace: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness and vision/meaning.
Image Credit: Japuraalwis
