We all know if you like to go to work it makes getting up easier, working easier, and going to bed (so you don’t dread tomorrow) easier! Finding meaning in your work is the key to happiness. Most adults spend the majority of their waking hours at work- an average of 48 hours a week! This means our work plays a huge role in our levels of happiness. A survey reports that the thing most people love about their job is the people they work with. Social connections are essential to our health and well-being.
Don’t put too much into how much money you earn. Studies show that once you are living a life where you can cover your basic needs, happiness doesn’t go up in great amounts by the dollar figure you are bringing home. Wealth doesn’t guarantee a good life. One study it points to findings that money may be a more effective tool for reducing sadness than enhancing happiness. Another study shows that you will get more contentment from putting money toward experiences than material things, social connections matter, and spending cash on others is more fulfilling than spending it on yourself.
Shoron Salzberg, the cofounder of Insight Meditation Society, has identified Eight Pillars of Happiness in the Workplace…
Balance: the ability to differentiate between who you are and what your job is.
Concentration: being able to focus without being swayed by distraction
Compassion: being aware of and sympathetic to the humanity of ourselves and others.
Resilience: the ability to recover from defeat, frustration, or failure.
Communication and Connection: understanding that everything we do and say can further connect or take it away.
Integrity: bringing your deepest ethical values to the workplace.
Meaning: infusing the work you do with relevance for your own personal goals.
Open Awareness: the ability to see the big picture and not be held back by self-imposed limitations.
Employers know that happiness at work is a great way to boost productivity. They spend money on team building, coaches and fun. Do you know that there is a job called a consultant and Google has a Happiness Officer? Now that would make me want to go to work for sure!
Employment has been shown to make people happier. It gives you self-confidence and a sense of control.
Let’s see… if there are 168 hours a week and 48 are spent sleeping, 48 hours at work leaves 72 hours for everything else including your weekend.
I believe finding meaning in your work is key. Have you found passion in your work?
