One of the catchy topic of the current times of finding happiness and alignment in the work has also been part of my challenges in my own journey. Happiness at work where we spend 10-12 hours a day, which is most of our awakened time, really matters a lot in defines our overall life quality.
I have realized that remaining Happy is always in our hands and it is not subject to anything external whether it is place or people. It has been an important calling for me to stay in control of my life and never give away the power to others to disturb my peace. It took time and I am glad I got it now to a great extent.
This motivated me to launch the program “Happy Workplaces” and we went ahead to study and research on the various reasons why employees become unhappy in their work life. We spoke to some 50 odd HR heads and interacted with about 500 employees recently and here are some insights on what employee deal with:
Solution Mindset: Focusing on the problems and highlighting the issues does get some attention from boss but eventually the person who provides solutions wins everyone’s hearts. Lack of Solution Mindset was a concern in many.
Lack of Creativity: All jobs over a period of time become monotonous. Going beyond, being passionate and creative in simplifying the job steps keeps the engagement at a higher level for a greater good and this is always recognized at some point. Many do not have patience and perseverance to do this.
Working in Silos: It is great to do everything ourselves but when things are done in silos without sharing self-knowledge and appreciating others work, the results are limited. Eventually this builds on the pressure on the final results. Insecure behaviors found in people while sharing and coaching others.
Politics & Unfair Practices: Getting emotionally disturbed with internal politics or unfair practices takes a direct toll on the performance. Staying calm, away from backbiting and maintaining balance with focus is a challenge to many. Being in the flow, it is found that many people found it difficult to pause and consolidate.
Personal setbacks: Personality issues, negative emotions, self-esteem issues, inter-personal, health issues, lack of direction are all one’s own problems and no one else is to be blamed for these. Apart from focusing on material aspects one has to also focus on internal growth. Many do not focus on holistic self- development.
In the wrong job: Work efficiency defines the interest and competencies. The skill can be learnt if there is an attitude to learn. Continuous failures may mean being in a wrong job. Skill yourself or change the job, can be one of the hard calls one has to take. It if found that there is no time for self-introspection and there is a mad rush.
There are of course some external factors like Employer Support, market conditions, natural calamities, government policies, etc that are definitely out of one’s control.
However one has the choice to succumb to these conditions and remain unhappy or take charge of life, put some efforts and move to Happiness zone.
Not doing anything by simply playing blame games, moving jobs and living in constant insecurity is considered normal behavior.
Extraordinary behavior is to take responsibility of life and not giving away the power to anyone to disturb our own peace and happiness. This needs serious efforts and commitment. This is an art everyone can learn to make their life happy in midst of all the chaos and still stay positive and vibrant.
And that is our “Happy Workplaces” program as our contribution to the cause. This will be soon available Online reaching everyone and is currently available in a 1-Day Workshop format.
