Is happiness at work a thing?

I think it is. Happiness is not always about having the dream work. It is a combination of things. It's about work-life balance, peace of mind, and having fun, even with the most common and boring of tasks. It’s about keeping our mental health intact, about self-preservation.

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Where unable to do what I love, my employment must be:

• Ethical employer (valid cause to support)

• Well paid (peace of mind)

• Added benefits (value and work-life balance)

• Easily productive (little friction)

• People that hold the same values (consistency and reliability)

Yes, it's also about the little perks that come with that employment too. They may sound little at first glance, hell, but with how the current health system is, health insurance offers tremendous value!

Although companies are not yet at the ideal mental health empathetic level they could be, their awareness of the matter is growing. This is a very positive shift for all work environments. I strongly feel that much of this has to do with remote/hybrid working. The independence and self-sufficiency it grants us make such a difference in our work-life balance. Commuting feels like such a waste of time (and money) looking back now. To top that up, my productivity exponentially increased.

And alongside the work productivity, is none other than the home life productivity. I have lost count of how many washing loads I have got through, how many lunch packs I prepared, during my commuting time and how many clothes I’ve ironed over my lunch break, which has granted me that much-needed/deserved extra time during the weekend. Quality family time! Quality WRITING time!

Another very disregarded intrinsic value in our not dream employment is added through the people we meet. Think of the people that surround us at work and how they relate to us, how they perceive us. No, we don't choose who we work with but, if we keep an open mind, even the ones we don't see eye to eye offer us some form of developmental value. All the relationships we build help us discern what we want more or less, it helps me learn how to manage them most effectively. People can make work more enjoyable, even fun, at times, helping us deal with all other routine frictions.

And finally (this may sound cliché nowadays, even cheesy, but hear me out) by facing our employment in a more positive, grateful way we can see how it leads us in the direction of what we truly like and what brings us joy. I find that it works against me in fighting the daily tasks. Any friction I subconsciously put on taking that first phone call - on a day that started with an argument with a child of mine -, the moaning that occurs when I can't find a record I'm looking for on a spreadsheet, or pointing fingers to colleagues for not doing their job right, all this can only make me feel worse. All my tasks will feel like chores, one after the other. What does this mean? Well, it means I’m able to see a positive side to it all, helping me get on with my day in the most seamless way. Just by changing our perspective, my day will be done without me even realising it. Go on, have fun at work and be at least a little bit happy!