How to find Happiness at Work.
Stephen Quinlan
Over 15 years ago, I once asked someone I supervised how his work was going? and he said “it’s alright” and I replied “is that as good as it gets?” to which he replied “work is work, if it was expected to be good they would call it something else”.
This dominant narrative that work should not be fun is antiquated, out-dated, and false. There is some really good cutting edge research by organizations like “The Happiness Index” that shows how wrong that narrative is.
Every one has some influence on the culture of the workplace, how much, depends on a variety of factors, such as position and our own personality. We may think we have no ability to change the culture of where we work, but I will argue that there is a great deal we can do to make our work environment a happier one.
In his book,Freedom to be Happy, Matt Phelan argues how happier employees are more productive, more creative, sell more, and create better financial outcomes for their organizations. But what do you do if the company you work for does not support this idea or even goes as far as being adamantly opposed to fostering happy employees? What if your company uses the carrot and stick method, dangling a reward to the most productive workers, or worse, monitors you to ensure optimized output even at the expense of employee’s wellbeing. It appears that many companies do not understand the tangible cost that comes from having an unhappy workforce.
In this industrialized time period, individuals spend many hours a week at work, many of us devoting more waking hours with our co-workers than our family. If people are not feeling happiness during the predominant part of their day at work, it is often challenging to meet this need when we leave work. When our jobs feel overwhelming or meaningless, returning to work can often preoccupy thoughts outside of work with feelings of fear or dread.
My proposition is to explore the areas where you have control and you may be surprised by the change you are able to create in your own happiness around work. I want to share a story about a person I knew, who would come to the office and periodically give updates on his life. He always attested that he resented his job, with good reason. He complained that he had to work the night shift at a sewage treatment centre and felt he had a skillset that should allow him to earn more money. He had spent years feeling frustrated about his career, which impacted his mental health outside of work and was a strong factor in him needing to seek out help for his addiction.
Each session he would lament over the challenges that he was facing with regards to how despondent he was feeling about his job. However, one day he came in and said “he loved his job!!” What was the cause of this remarkable change? Had he changed jobs or been promoted? He explained that nothing had changed, that he had the same job, but that he had started to look at working at his job in a different way.
The job was just as hard and unpleasant as always, but he reported that he had stopped focusing on what he was doing, and instead, looked at “why” he was doing it. He said that he realized that every shift he worked “puts food on the table for his children”. Additionally, working the night shift allowed him and his wife to be available for all their kid’s school runs, sports games, and activities – allowing them to fit work in while being available for their kids during this busy, but cherished, time in their lives. Rather than putting his energy into resenting what he could not control about his job, he shifted his focus onto what he could change – his perception of the work he was doing. By deriving meaning from what he was doing, he was able to realize that working this job allowed him to prioritize what he truly valued – supporting and being present with his family. He had found a way to connect the job he was doing with his core values and beliefs.
The Daisidara is a poem written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, it is known for providing common sense advice for life, that Happiness Management updated it and in it we offer advice for gig workers and those who do not find meaning in their jobs.
“Remain interested in your own work. How you approach your tasks matters to the ecosystem. Even GIG work can give purpose when looked at as it supports your future plans”.
The lines remind us that how we turn up for work mentally, impacts the time we spend at work and even our purpose in life. If we cannot give a smile to our colleagues when we see them at the start of the shift, we are setting ourselves and those around us up for an unhappy shift and making the shift feel longer and harder than it needs to be. If you are doing GIG work and all you are doing it for is the money, that money is still helping you build a better life for yourself.Creating happiness in your work is as important as creating it in your life as a whole.
The question I leave you with is why do you do the work you do? Is it your passion? If not, does doing it allow you to focus on what is important to you in your life? Does it allow you to do a fulfilling hobby, spend time outdoors, take care of a beloved pet, or be with the ones you love? By finding the “why”in regard to our work allows us to understand where we find meaning and purpose in that part of our life, which will lead to increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction.
I would recommend delving into some of the brilliant work out there, such as the work done by “The Happiness Index”. I was inspired to write this article after watching the TEDx Talk by Matt Phelan “12 Million lessons in Happiness” (see link below) and his two books “Freedom to be Happy” and “The Happiness Index”, both well worth a read if you want a deep dive into the research that informs how to make work a happy place. It is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the connection between being happy at work and all the benefits that go with that.
(Published 5 Feb 2026)
Ref:
https://youtu.be/AHhwiLTKXiQ?si=icz2f7BwRA2eeiUr