When was the last time you felt happy at work? Was it today, or last week, last month, last year, or even longer?
If you can't remember the last time you felt joy in your job, you're hardly alone. It's been a hellish year and a half for many. New surveys show employee ratings of happiness at work have plummeted.
Just 45 per cent of American workers say they are happy in their jobs, according to a survey of 5,000 employees by the U.S. Conference Board. That was down from 49 per cent last year - and the lowest level since the annual survey began 22 years ago.
The sagging economy and job insecurity have been major happiness killers, according to another new survey by ComPsych Corp., a provider of employee assistance programs. It found 74 per cent of 791 workers surveyed had become more worried about their job stresses and workload this year.
The mood shift has spawned a trio of new books that point out that happiness is a state of mind that can be created even when things seem dreadful. In interviews, the authors shared their advice on ways that both employees and employers can restore happiness at work.
HOW TO BE HAPPY
| Employees |
Shut off the inner voice "If you tell yourself that you are unhappy, you are, and, as a result, you make things harder for yourself," said psychologist Jessica Pryce Jones, chief executive officer of iOpener Ltd., an organizational consultancy based in England, and author of Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success.
Because unhappiness is learned, you can also unlearn it, she said. "Finding happiness isn't about becoming delusional in a Pollyanna-ish way. Everyone experiences anxiety, frustration and worry in difficult situations, but you make things worse for yourself by continually chewing over the negatives."
In interviews with more than 1,000 professionals for her book, she found that "even the people who profess to absolutely hate their jobs can describe things about what they do at work each day that they love," she said.
"Sure, the spreadsheets you work with may be tedious, but think about the relief you feel when you get them done. Recall the laugh you got when your teammate told a good joke. And wasn't it good to get that note of thanks from your client?"
Write down such moments and review them at times when you would otherwise start thinking about why you're not feeling happy, Ms. Pryce Jones suggests. "By putting your focus on positive meaning, you'll feel better. "
Fight inertia
"Our default reaction to life is to fall into inertia and do what we've been doing, go where we've been going, and say what we've been saying before," said Milwaukee-based executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, author of a new book: Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back When You Need It. "Once we become unhappy, we drag that mood around all day and take it home with us at night."
How to break the powerful pull of inertia? "Start doing a five-minute assessment of accomplishments every day," Mr. Goldsmith advises. "Ask yourself what in your day made you happy, what felt meaningful, what did you achieve and how many positive comments did you make to other people...When you regularly look for and count on opportunities to add meaning to your day and give support for others, you'll find yourself accomplishing more and feeling happier about your work." Change your approach
Attitude has a lot to do with how happy you are at work. "Don't count on management to get you more engaged: Think about what can you do to generate more enthusiasm," Mr. Goldsmith says.
