How to Find Happiness at Work

Happiness. Zappos believes in delivering it. Coke wants you to open it. Countless books try to help you achieve it. Research demonstrates that you are more productive with it. And yet the truth is that so few people feel it at work. Why? Is it because leaders don’t create "happy" workplaces? Is it because work is inherently miserable? Or perhaps it's because of our attitudes about work? There's really no definitive answer here.

A negative boss, bad working conditions and a toxic culture can certainly make people unhappy. I’ve also seen how leaders can create happier and more productive employees by creating the right culture and work environment. However, I believe the biggest determinant of our happiness at work is... us.
Our happiness has less to do with forces outside of us and more to do with what's inside of us.

Happiness is an inside job.

I’ve met bus drivers, janitors and fast-food employees who are more passionate about their jobs and happier than some professional athletes making millions of dollars. Our happiness comes not from the work we do but from how we feel about the work we do. And to feel great about the work we do it’s essential to fuel up with passion and purpose. As I wrote in The Seed, happiness is a byproduct of living and working with passion and purpose.

But Jon, I don't know what my passion and purpose is, you might say.

It's ok. The first step is to be the SEED, plant yourself where you are and begin to serve and make a difference. When you plant yourself and make a difference passion flows through you, purpose begins to reveal itself, people want to be around you and you feel happier.

When you work with passion and purpose you don't have to seek happiness, rather it finds you.

Start planting and cultivating it today!

Written by Jon Gordon
www.JonGordon.com

Positively Contagious

The Flu is not the only thing you catch at work. Turns out you are just as likely to catch someone's bad mood and negative attitude. Yes, the latest research demonstrates what we've all known to be true, emotions are contagious. Researchers call them emotional contagions and they impact our work environments, productivity, teamwork, service and performance in significant and profound ways.

As we know all too well, one negative employee can pollute an entire team and create a toxic work environment. One negative leader can make work miserable for his/her team. An employee in a bad mood can scare away countless customers. Complaining can act like a cancer and spread throughout the entire organization and eventually destroy your vision and goals. And pervasive negative attitudes can sabotage the morale and performance of teams with great talent and potential.

That's the bad news... but there's also good news.

Positive emotions are just as contagious as negative emotions. One positive leader can rally a group of willing people to accomplish amazing things. One Chief Energy Officer who sits at the welcome desk can positively infect every person who walks in your business/school/workplace. One positive team member can slowly but surely improve the mood and morale of her team. And pervasive positive attitudes and emotions at work can fuel the productivity and performance of your organization.

Emotional contagions are the reason why when I speak to businesses, schools and sports teams I say that everyone in the organization contributes to the culture of it. You are not just a creation of your culture but rather you are creating it every day through your thoughts, beliefs and actions. What you think matters. How you feel matters. And the energy you share with others, whether it's positive or negative, really matters.

You can be a germ and attack your organization's immune system or you can act like a dose of Vitamin C and strengthen it.

So the next time you head into work with a bad mood you might want to stop before you walk in the door and consider what your leader would say if you had the Flu. She would tell you to stay home until you are healthy and not contagious. And in that moment, as you stand at the door you have a choice: You can go home so you don't infect anyone with your bad mood, or you can choose to get healthy right there, change your attitude, and decide to be positively contagious.

Written by Jon Gordon; www.JonGordon.com