Is Your Day Job Making You Happy?

*Collaborative Post

Everyone deserves to feel fulfilled at their place of work. It doesn’t just improve your personal life, but has great implications for business too – so an all-around happy work environment is a win-win scenario.

A 2019 survey found that 7 major factors contribute to an individual’s happiness in the workplace, including feeling valued and engaged within a positive work environment that is flexible and collaborative. Increased happiness levels were linked to higher levels of creativity, lower employee turnover and reduced workplace burnout.

Being happy is crucial for business and we can explain why.

Why is it important to feel happy?

From an employer’s perspective, happy employees are far more engaged and productive than unhappy ones so that’s only going to be good for business. More than just a passing mood, happiness does great things for our minds and bodies.

Workplaces reporting high levels of happiness have far lower levels of absenteeism as well as improvements in personal wellbeing. When an employee feels cared for it can decrease feelings of anxiety and depression in and out of the workplace.

How does my salary affect my happiness?

40% of respondents from a survey conducted by professional booklet producers, instantprint, stated that salary impacted job happiness. 50% of directors agreed with this. Clearly, money can buy happiness but why?

Aside from the basic need for a salary, having one that is felt to be suitable for a job role increases feelings of appreciation and motivation to perform well. Feeling valued and respected was found to have a direct impact on overall performance and happiness.

What is the role of fellow workers?

For many of us, our colleagues are who we spend the majority of our time with so getting to know the faces we see 5 times a week is always going to make things easier. Creating a sense of community amongst employees should be a priority of any business, as it can increase resilience to challenges at work and productivity.

Your desk mate can make or break your work-life so it’s worth the effort getting to know them.

How is happiness affected by a work-life balance?

When you feel that demands are piling up in and outside of work, it is normal to feel exhausted and discontent. In fact, 35% of respondents from the instantprint survey stated that work-life balance dramatically impacted their happiness.  Maintaining clear boundaries between home and work-life not only improves your health and relationships but prevents burn-out and increases mindfulness.

Getting this balance can be elusive though, so have a look at some tips to improve your work-life balance to make it that touch more achievable.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.