How to get your happy back

A positive emotional state can be when we experience feelings such as; happiness, pride, comfort, love, purpose, or passion. So, how regularly do you experience a positive emotional state when at work? And are you aware of what prevents and what contributes to it?

The average full time worker spends around 1,763 hours a year at work -  that's a really large proportion of our time. And for those of us who dislike our jobs or experience a lot of stress or fatigue, these 1,763 hours may feel much longer. If we aren't always in a positive emotional state at work, it can affect us in many ways.

You may well have had the thoughts about quitting and finding a new job, to satisfy the needs that your current job aren't meeting, but it isn't always quite that simple. Or maybe you enjoy your job but don't get on well with your boss, or your colleagues or just find you're not providing the contribution you want to at your current company? Whatever your situation, you can inject some happiness into your everyday routine, to start to increase your well-being at work.

You are in control of your happiness, and once you're aware of your control, you can easily contribute to your well-being in different ways. You'll begin to feel happier, more confident and have an increase in self-belief. So, here's a few ways in which you can make that difference for yourself in the workplace: 

1. Change your attitude

When we feel stuck in a bad mood, the most likely reason for us feeling 'stuck' is due to us reverting into ourselves. We may do this to try and help the bad mood, but in fact it only makes things worse. So next time you feel like this, change it. Smile instead, say 'please' and 'thank you' to colleagues in a warm tone of voice, hold the door open for others or have a chat with the person next to you. It will help to lift you and you'll start thinking positively about whatever was troubling you. 

2. Have fun!

You can implement fun activities into your mundane routine to not only increase your positive emotional state, but also the state of others. This could be as little as doing some lunch break games to raise money for charity like 'guess who' with pictures of your staff when they were kids, or a company 'Bake Off' competition. If you manage a team, this may even be ordering pizza in on a Friday lunchtime for your team to say well done for a hard week's work. Whatever you choose to do, it means that work doesn't have to be targets, serious conversations and deadlines - you're there for a long time (according to the statistic above!) so why not make it fun when you can?

3. Be open with others

We have work friends we trust and can confide in. This is essential when we are going through a tough period such as having challenging communication with a tricky client or when we feel we're getting nowhere with a new project. Having someone in the environment who can reassure us, by coming over with a coffee or having a chat over a drink with them after work, can really help us to offload. And not only do we need to be open with work friends, but also with the 'decision makers'. If you want to reduce hours, or go for a promotion for example, be open and direct about exactly what you want. When you make a good case to support your requests, you'll feel more worthy of what you're asking for and thus will be considered with more importance.

Start taking control of your happiness and begin to say 'I've had a good day at work today' - everyday!

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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Wolverhampton WV5
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Written by Jessica Shields, Personal Development Coach & NLP Master Practitioner
Wolverhampton WV5

Jessica Shields is a professional coach and NLP practitioner at 'Jessica Shields Coaching'. She uses her coaching and NLP skills to work with a variety of individuals, aiding them in achieving their potential, whether that may be professionally or personally.

For more information about her work, visit: www.jessicashieldscoaching.co.uk

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