This time of year, people talk a lot about joy and family. But what about finding joy in the workplace? Most people in the Reliability profession spend at least 40 hours each week at work (probably much more). That’s almost 25% of our total time, and more than 35% of waking hours if you average 8 hrs of sleep per night. Who wants to spend a third of their life without joy?
If your workplace is getting you down or just plain blah, here are some ways to make a change.
- Create Laughter: Laughter makes the body produce endorphins, which are hormones that make your brain and body happy. It also reduces cortisol, otherwise known at the stress hormone. Boost the morale and positive environment in your office by taking the time for a daily dose of good, solid laughter.
- Clear the Clutter: It’s much easier to find joy in your life if you can take the time to appreciate the small things. Take a few moments to clean up your desk, calendar or to-do list. Knock out some low-hanging fruit to create a feeling of productivity. Set aside a time each day to take a few deep breaths and consider your accomplishments to give you a boost and create motivation for more.
- Focus on the Good: Let go of the past, and embrace what makes you feel good. Instead of dwelling about that time you put your foot in your mouth when talking to an Operator, go acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and move on. Bask in your “wins” instead. Big or small, identify the accomplishments, things or people that make you happy and focus on those. One of my happiest memories at work is climbing around a large compressor/turbine set while commissioning the lube oil system a couple years ago; it wasn’t the activity itself that sparks joy for me, but the people I was working with at the time. We always took the time to laugh and joke together and I cherish those memories.
- Surround Yourself with Other Joyful People: There’s no reason to hang around the naysayers and “difficult personalities.” Once you’ve finished your business with them, move on. Being around joyful, positive people will uplift you and make you feel that way too! Feed on the positive energies and avoid the negative. Life is too short to waste time with negative people.
- Bring Joy to Others: This is my personal top method of creating joy. In the workplace, this can be as simple as telling your senior millwright how much you appreciate his knowledge and support. Or thanking the guy across the hall for making you laugh all year. I finding that letting people know that you appreciate them for an objective, simple reason makes a huge difference in their day (or even week). It makes them feel good, it makes you feel good, win-win. So get out there and spread the joy!
What methods do you use to find joy in the workplace? Leave a comment below so we can all benefit!
I completely agree with the idea that finding joy in the workplace is crucial for a happy and healthy life. The article provides practical and easy-to-implement ways to increase joy at work, such as creating laughter, focusing on the good, and surrounding oneself with joyful people. Bringing joy to others is especially valuable and creates a positive and supportive workplace culture.