The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Category: Happy At Work

How to be happy at work

  • An African challenge

    Happy at work in Africa

    Do you know someone in Africa who’s happy at work? A company, where people like to work? A person who’s genuinely happy about what he does?

    There’s a reason why I’m asking, but I can’t tell you about it yet. I can only say that next week, a very, very interesting project will be announced, and this question relates to it.

    I will say this though: Happiness at work exists everywhere, including the developing world. We may think, that in some countries work is only a matter of survival, but that is just not the case. Even in the poorest nations in the world, people can be and indeed are happy at work. And even there, it makes a difference.

    So if you have a story of happiness at work in Africa, please write a comment – I would love to hear it.

  • Busy busy busy

    There will be another brief blogging gap while I have a few busy days speaking. Yesterday it was 2 gigs for a local meeting of Aiesec (a student organization) and tomorrow it’s for a group of supermarket managers.

    Meanwhile, all the action is over at the Happy Link Collection. Check out the links, vote for the ones you like and submit your own.

  • How to succeed with way less stress – Putting abundance to work

    Scarcity mentality

    In 2003, we decided to arrange our first business conference about Happines At Work. There were six of us working on it and none of us had ever arranged any conferences before. And we sure had our work cut out for us; we needed to find speakers, arrange a venue, get press attention, get a website, arrange catering, setup 15 workshops at the conference and, not least, sell a lot of tickets.

    This was in the early days of the company and the question was: Could a group of people with no experience working on a shoestring budget put together a great, successful, innovative conference on an untested theme for a critical business audience?

    Our basic approach to the whole project was “Sure it’s impossible. Let’s do it anyway.??? We totally believed that we could do it. And here’s the fantastic thing: Everything just fell into place. We couldn’t believe our luck. We needed a website – I ran into Niels Hartvig who makes the excellent web platform Umbraco, and he offered to host it for free. We needed a great design – and Niels knew an amazingly talented designer who did it for free. We needed some press attention – and just when I was about to call some journalists a woman walked up to my desk and said “Hi, I’m a journalist, and I’d really like to do a story about you???.

    It went on and on like that – everything we needed fell into place so easily, it almost got scary at one point. And this happened at least in part because we believed that it would be easy.

    Oh – and when we had the conference it was a huge hit. People called it the best conference they’d ever been to!

    In this post, I want to talk about one of the most fundamental ways to happiness, which is to cultivate an abundance mentality.

    Some people argue, that businesses are only interested in those resources that are scarce. An abundant resource has no built-in economy – it can’t be bought or sold because it’s freely available to anyone. Air is a good example. Since business is at heart an economic venture, this means that business thinking is skewed towards scarcity from the outset and that which is abundant is ignored or downplayed.

    But this scarcity mentality has a serious drawback. If your world view is that all the things you need to grow and prosper are scarce, hard to come by and something you must fight for, then the world becomes a very hard place to live in.

    This world view means that we tend to meet others as enemies (or at the very least competitors). It means living in a constant state of worry that you might lose what you have, and not be able to get it back. It also means that every new project becomes a battle against the forces out there that want the same resources that you need to succeed.

    But maybe the world isn’t like that. What if everything you need to succeed is abundantly available to you? What if you lived in a world that is more like a greenhouse with a nurturing environment for growth and less like an arid desert? What if people around you were actively trying to help you, not fighting you every step of the way?

    That is abundance mentality, and it’s a key to both peace of mind and a great tool for getting great results in the business world.

    Here are some examples of the difference between abundance and scarcity mindsets:

    Scarcity Abundance
    It’s every man for himself We can work together
    I never have time I take time for the things that matter
    Mistakes are disasters I can recover and learn from mistakes
    Ideas are hard to come by and must be kept secret I can always have a great idea
    Our company is lacking Our company has everything it needs to succeed
    Look at all the resources we need Look at all the resources we have
    The market is full of threats The market is full of opportunities
    People are out to get me People are out to help me

    So which is it? Is the world a nice, soft, inviting, cuddly place, ready to boost you to success in whatever venture you choose? Or is it a cold, hard, dog-eat-dog competitive place, in which only the strongest and the toughest survive?

    Here’s the truth: It is whatever you think it is. Your approach determines the truth.

    If you treat everyone around you like they’re out to get you, they most likely will be. If you go into a project treating it like a never-ending struggle for scarce resources that you must fight everyone else for, well guess what – it probably will turn out that way.

    But if you trust people to be nice and help. If you yourself are nice and help others. If you trust that there is enough success to go around. If you believe that others don’t need to fail in order for you to succeed. Then you will make that the truth. There’s nothing mystical or strange in this.

    It’s simply a matter of other people reacting to your choices and actions. When you believe that the world is a nice place, you’re open and relaxed which means you’re more likely to notice and take advantage of any new contacts, lucky breaks or serendipitous events that come along. You’re also more fun to be around, which means that you meet more nice people and that people want to help you.

    Think about the things you truly need to succeed and be happy at work. Good relationships. Good ideas. Motivation. Support. Learning. Curiosity. A great network of cool people. None of these need to be scarce resources. Treat them as abundant, and they will be.

    Will it work every time and make everything you need magically appear? Of course not – once in a while you will get burned, but so will the people who use scarcity as their mental model. And when you believe in abundance, at the very least you are more open, more positive, more relaxed and happier. And that ain’t too bad, is it?

    What’s your take? What do you believe about the business world? How have you applied an abundance mentality in your work? Write a comment, I’d really like to know!

  • Happy link roundup

    Here are this week’s highest rated links and stories from the Happy at Work Link Collection.

    It Isn’t Just a Myth, Power Turns People Into Assholes by Bob Sutton. “Asshole poisoning is a disease that you catch from others. It is also something that happens — with shocking speed and intensity — when people are put in powerful positions.”

    Trust Tip 16: Get Beyond Fairness by trustedadvisor. “To expect fairness all the time leads only to unhappiness, yet giving fairness is something we can do.” (thx iwelsh!)

    Where did the Dreamer go? by Craig Harper. “Life has a great way of sucking the creativity energy out of you, if you let it. So how can you turn it around…” (thx spocia).

    The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary. Very comprehensive!

    Do the right thing. A site to hold companies accountable for their actions. I like it!!

    Office politics is about being nice by Penelope Trunk. “Here is a message for people who say office politics don’t matter: You will die a slow, painful career death. This is because there’s no getting around office politics, and mastering them is essential to being able to steer your own career. Don’t take that as bad news, though, because mastering office politics is good for your soul. Really.”

    You can find many more links, vote on the ones you like and submit your own stories, articles or blogposts at the link collection.

  • Ask the CHO: Should you work for a year in a job that sucks

    Bad job

    In a previous post I argued against some commonly used phrases at work, including the idea that you can take a bad job “just for a year” to make some money.

    Dirceu asked this question in a comment on the post:

    About the “It’s not my dream job, but it’s only for a year…??? phrase: a person can work on a not-so-good job for one year just to save enough money to do what he/she want, just for security.

    Me, for example: I’m renting an apartment and paying a graduation course on a local university. If I want to change my focus from computers to, say, museums I really need to have money for security reasons.

    I know about the advantages of low-rent living, but with zero money, no living. :-(

    Please, talk more about this. And go on with the blog: it’s being, as always, very helpful.

    Great question Dirceu!

    Many, many people seem to think that sometimes you’ve just got to knuckle down and take that sucky job because you need the money. You can be a student paying your tuition, a new graduate paying off your student loans, a new home owner struggling to make the mortgage or any number of other situations that mean you depend on a steady income.

    But does that really mean that you must accept being unhappy at work? There is one question you must ask yourself:

    Leaving a bad job may cost you some money. Sure.
    But what will keeping that job cost you?

    Being unhappy at work steadily saps your energy, will power, self esteem and motivation. The longer you stay in that situation, the harder it gets to see any positive alternatives and to take action and move on.

    And it doesn’t just affect you at work, it also affects you outside of work. When work is something that gives you no pleasure, has no meaning for you, gives you no victories or appreciation and is simply no fun, your life outside of work is likely to suffer too.

    The worst thing about this is that it sneaks up on you gradually. Your energy dissipates slowly. You’ll hardly notice it from one day to the next but before you know it, the life has gone out of you. You become cynical, tired, uncreative, negative – maybe even depressed, stressed and sick.

    The thing is, the cost of leaving a bad job is very clear to us because the effect is immediate. The cost of keeping a bad job can be much higher, but it sneaks up on us slowly, and therefore we often forget to take that into account.

    What is your experience? Have you tried staying in a bad job for the money and the security? How was it? Write a comment, I’d really like to know!

  • Monday Tip: Write your exit speech

    The Chief Happiness Officer's monday tipsImagine that you’ve been with your current company for a few years, and now you’re moving on to a new job. On your last day at the old company, your co-workers and friends get together to celebrate you – or maybe just to make sure that you’re actually leaving :)

    Anyway, at this reception one of them gives a short speech about you. About:

    • What you’ve stood for in the company.
    • The results you’ve created.
    • The people you’ve helped out.
    • What they’ve appreciated about working with you.
    • What they’re going to miss about you.

    Your mission this Monday is to write the speech you hope they will give you. Don’t make it too long, just 3-5 paragraphs extolling your virtues based on the points above. Remember, at a reception, they’re not going to blame your for your mistakes or list all your faults – they’ll be nice.

    Of course, the real question here is: What do you want to be known for? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? Then take a look at the speech you’ve written and ask yourself what you can do to live up to it.

    The Chief Happiness Officer’s Monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

    Previous monday tips.

    By the way: Do you have any ideas for future Monday Tips? How do you make yourself and others happy at work in fun, simple, easy ways? I’d love to hear your suggestions, so write a comment if you have one.

  • Tomorrow (Jan. 24) is Belly Laugh Day

    HappyDon’t forget that January 24 is Global Belly Laugh Day. The concept is simple: Wherever you are on the 24th. at 1:24pm local time, throw your arms in the air and laugh.

    We’ll create a wave of laughter ’round the world.

  • How to deal with a bad boss

    Bad boss
    The uncontested, number-one reason why people are unhappy at work is bad management. Nothing has more power to turn a good work situation bad than a bad boss. Sadly there are quite a lot of them around. A recent British study accused 1 in 4 bosses of being bad, while a Norwegian study said 1 in 5.

    According to workplace researchers Sharon Jordan-Evans and Beverly Kaye, when people quit, they don’t leave a company, they leave a bad boss. Surveys show that up to 75% of employees who leave their jobs do so at least in part because of their manager. In the exit interview dutifully performed by HR, employees may say that they got a higher salary or a shorter commute out of the switch, but in anonymous surveys the truth comes out: My bad boss drove me away.

    The reason that having a bad manager is so bad for us is that managers have power over us. Managers can change our work situation, give us good or bad tasks, and, ultimately, fire us. This power imbalance is why a good relationship with your manager is so important.

    The good news is that you are not powerless. You don’t need to quietly accept a bad boss – quite the contrary. If your boss is not treating you and your co-workers right, you have a responsibility to do something! And in many, many cases, bosses long for feedback from their employees – they want to know what they can do better.

    Here are the steps you must take, to deal with a bad boss.

    1: Assume no bad intentions.

    While some of the things your boss does may make you unhappy at work, it is probably not why they do it. Until proven otherwise, assume that they mean well and are simply unaware of the effects of their actions.

    2: Classify your boss

    Which of these three categories does your bad boss fall into?

    1. Doesn’t know he’s bad.
    2. Knows he’s bad and wants to improve.
    3. Doesn’t want to know he’s bad or doesn’t care.

    Most managers who make their employees unhappy are simply unaware of this fact—nobody has ever told them that what they do isn’t working. Some managers know that what they’re doing is wrong and are trying to improve—these people need our support and good advice in order to do better.

    Paul’s new boss was constantly critical and never showed any appreciation for a job well done. In weekly status meetings, he would only comment on deviations from the budgets and demand explanations and actions plans.

    Well, Paul doesn’t stand for that kind of thing. He kindly but firmly let his new boss know that in order to be motivated he also needed positive recognition for the things he did well. The result: Over the course of three months, the boss has come around and now freely and happily comments on the great results Paul is getting. At their last status meeting before Christmas, the boss even spent five minutes praising Paul’s department for the work they’ve done and the results they’ve achieved.

    But this may not always work.

    I used to be the Public Relations Coordinator and Editor for a local non-profit organization. A couple of months before I threw in the towel my grandmother became very ill. After a phone call from a family member I was told to come to her bedside, as death was imminent.

    I told my boss that I needed to leave for a family emergency and explained the situation and how close I was to my grandmother. My boss replied, “Well, she’s not dead yet, so I don’t have to grant your leave.  And, I was told to complete my workday. Suffice to say I did not finish my workday. (source)

    There’s also the third category of boss: Those who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that they’re bad leaders, or who revel in the fact that they make people unhappy at work. These managers are usually beyond helping and may never learn and improve. Get away from them as fast as you can.

    3: Let your boss know what they could do better

    Presuming your boss is in category 1 or 2, you must let them know what they can improve. This can be scary because of the power imbalance between managers and employees, but it needs to be done. Managers aren’t mind readers, and they need honest, constructive feedback.

    4: Do it sooner rather than later.

    If you have a bad relationship with your boss it’s vitally important that you do something about it as soon as possible. It can be tempting to wait, thinking that it might get better on its own, or that your boss might be promoted, transferred or leave. Don’t wait – sooner is better.

    5: Choose the right time to talk.

    In the middle of a meeting or as a casual hallway chat are not the best ways to approach the subject. Make sure you’re in a quiet undisturbed place and have time to talk about it fully.

    6: Explain the effects on you and the effects on your work.

    Be specific and tell your manager, “When you do X it makes me do Y, which results in Z. If you can show how his actions reduce motivation, hurt business, or increase expenses, you’re more likely to convince him that this is a serious issue.

    7: Suggest alternatives.

    If you can, explain what they could do instead and why that would be better. Suggesting specific alternatives makes it easier to make positive changes.

    8: Make a plan and follow up.

    Agree to follow up at a later date, to evaluate the new situation.

    9: Praise your manager when he gets it right.

    When your boss gets it right, remember to praise them. Many managers never receive praise because people mistakenly believe that praise should only flow from managers to employees.

    You may be nervous about approaching your manager and giving them advice, but good managers are truly grateful for constructive, useful feedback, and will appreciate any opportunity they get to learn how to do a better job.

    10: If all else fails: Get out of Dodge

    If you’ve tried to make it work and can’t, it’s time to get away. You can go for another job inside the company (with someone you know to be a great boss), or you can quit and go work somewhere else.

    And you?

    What about you? Have you ever dealt with a bad boss? How did you do it? Write a comment, I’d really like to know!

    This post is an excerpt from my book Happy Hour is 9 to 5, which is all about making yourself, your co-workers and your workplace happy.

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  • Quote

    “To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.”
    – Pearl S. Buck, author

    (thx Jaizki)

  • Journey into leadership: Performance appraisals

    New leaderThis post is part of a series that follows A.M. Starkin, a young manager taking his first major steps into leadership. Starkin writes here to share his experiences and to get input from others, so please share with him your thoughts and ideas.

    Two weeks ago I asked this: Should I keep believing in my unpopular deputy? Will I be able to sell anything? Never tried. And will my operations manager finally begin taking initiative?

    With regards to the first there were quite a lot of comments in response, and I think once I made it clear how reliable the words about my deputy’s cheating were, people agreed with me that I should stay on the track of coaching her instead of firing her.

    Today was the day were we did the yearly performance appraisal – through a rigid and elaborate procedure. She had clearly prepared an efficient and versatile defense, bringing papers to prove this and that. I began by telling her in some detail what a great person I find her to be and that I thought she could go far with her skill set if she developed this and that trait.

    I think I managed to keep her listening – and talking honestly – for two hours, which is not bad! I was expecting to have to fight in order to keep her defenses down, which didn’t seem necessary. There’s a lot to absorb, because among suggested ways to develop, objectives for 2007 and a lot of scores and grades, there was some honest feedback about her disloyalty and her very varying morale.

    It ended up a very constructive dialogue, where we agreed on a lot of things she need to work on, and I think it cleared up something for me:
    If I plan on doubling activities in here within 12 months, I need her to do much more. And as mentioned I have only 1 day per week to give.
    So, I more or less decided – as a result of our discussion -to stop managing emails, financials, etc etc for at least a couple of months, so that I can focus on giving my deputy and our ops manager the skills they need to work on our strategy independently.

    I plan on spending my weekly day here:
    1) Doing a meeting to get a feel of what is happening and give people a chance to discuss
    2) Meeting with each manager (have 3 in total) to go through their action plans and coach them to deliver.
    3) Be really happy and an example of how positive it is possible to be in the face of all the hardships we have.

    – and that’s it!

    Let’s see how that works out.

    With regards to my ops manager – he is definitely a firework of initiative and ideas, but he has begun to do what I tell him. Let’s see!

    And sales? I won’t have time – but I have the green light to hire a salesperson.

    Yes!

    More in a couple of weeks – I simply HAVE to go skiing now!

    AM Starkin

    Previous posts by A.M. Starkin.