Creating Happier Workplaces

 Wouldn't it be nice if your workplace was both happy and productive? Without being - toxically happy. And yes, toxic positivity is a thing and it really is toxic. The idea that you need to be happy all the time, is performance, not happiness.

I was talking to some colleagues on a board meeting I participated in. And I talked about how happy participating in the group makes me. And the work I do for them, doesn't feel like work because it's so fun.  One of my colleagues remarked that where she is, if you appear to be having fun, they don't think you are working hard enough. I felt so bad for her.

Work should be fun and can be fun. People who cultivate a harried, put upon sense of self, that they are so busy they just can't, are hurting themselves and others. Happiness is hard to come by.

One of my favorite quotes is by Robert Louis Stevenson. He said, "There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves, or when they are disclosed, surprise nobody so much as the benefactor."

Think about the people you interact with throughout the day. If a barista is happy, it helps make you happy. You share in the joy, it helps you feel connected to another human, no matter how briefly. We should be encouraging happiness as a norm. Not as an oppressive performative norm, but just - it's ok to be happy. Being happy is precious.

Now to blow your mind. The way to create such a culture is, paradoxically, to allow for unhappiness. To share in people's struggles as well as their joys. No one is happy all the time. Life can be hard. This is why the sharing of happiness and the sharing of struggles is so important to creating a good work community. Making space for people to be fully messily human, allows people to share their emotions (good or bad) and to experience the connections that help us feel safe. And that, helps create happiness.

If you want to learn more - my video program - Creating Happier Workplaces Using Humanism and Science is now available for free streaming at: https://vimeo.com/747308545