We invite you to take a trip to a country in the Himalayas. A country, which claims to have the highest rate of gross happiness in the world: Bhutan. You may ask yourself: How do they measure their happiness? Well, they do it through indicators such as the environment, cultural heritage, distribution of wealth…
There have been many attempts to measure happiness in the world, the most desired yet intangible quality. The University of Waterloo also measured happiness in Canada from health, education, culture, community participation, leisure time and democratic health. One thing unites all studies: personal well-being and social equity.
The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu stated more than 2,000 years ago that living in the past is depressing, living in the future produces anxiety and that you only have peace by living in the present. And you, are you happy?
Half of many people’s conscious lives takes place in overcrowded factories or offices, environments of scarce creativity, warmth and personal identity, still little thought out for human interrelationship… Does it surprise us that many employees yearn to end their working day and return home? There the warmth and protection of home, our identity, happy and healthy spaces, resting areas, and loved ones await us.
What if we could make ourselves feel practically at home when at work? Especially after many of us have had to telework for so many weeks in a row, the difference will be even more obvious. Most companies rely on employee motivation as the key to improving productivity and results. That is why they have devised healthy, creative environments, designed for the exchange of knowledge and for teamwork… But it goes beyond the physical space. Happiness is an inner state, an attitude, a choice and… it depends on you. The company is responsible for creating healthy working environments. Each one of us must build our happiness and satisfaction day by day.
We dare to state 6 keys to be happy at work:
- Curiosity: feeling like your constantly learning
- Optimism: focusing on the solution and not the problem
- Commitment: getting involved in the common destiny
- Empathy: maintaining a state of actively listening and giving feedback
- Respect: Celebrating diversity
- The purpose: To give meaning to your work. From the culture of what we do to why we do it
Internal communication is an essential tool for linking desires and perceptions. One of our missions as communication managers and people should be to achieve a good working environment to promote the happiness of the employees. We know that this is not an easy task, but it is worth the try.
