How to be happy at work is a question we’re asking ourselves a lot these days. Yes, we’d like our work to transcend our lives, to give them meaning. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Our work bores or stresses us. That’s why I’ve come up with 8 tips you can apply right now.

1 – Knowing why we go to work

Too often, we forget why we work. We work to work, because we have to.

To forget what motivated you to work is to lose yourself!

I invite you to close your eyes and remember why you started working in the first place? What were your reasons?

Was it to earn money? Yes, but what for? What do you get out of earning money? What do you do with it? How does it contribute to your well-being and happiness?

How can you be happy at work? By reminding yourself, every day, why you go to work, and why it’s important to you.

Reminding yourself of these good reasons will help you feel grateful for your work and the effort you put into it. You’ll have a sense of purpose and real motivation.

2 – Remember our value

To work is to be useful to others, to make the world a better place.

Too often, we forget this. We work because everyone else works. We do what we’re told.

Seeing the value of your work, how you’re contributing to a better world, feeds your soul and makes you happier.

But the value of your work isn’t always obvious to you, and few people will remind you of it.

So get into the habit of going to work remembering why what you do is important to others.

Accountants bring stability to people in the field, cleaners provide a beautiful working environment for others, bakers feed their fellow human beings…

Can you see the difference?

How can we be happy at work? By remembering how useful we are to others.

It goes even further, because when we understand that we are useful to others, we will take even greater care of our work. And the more we take care of our work, the happier and more satisfied we feel. It’s a virtuous circle.

3 – Be courteous to be happy at work

At work, we often work with people, not necessarily as a team, but we do rub shoulders with them.

These people can make us happy, but they can also make us unhappy. Yes, our relationships with others are essential to our happiness, but we need to have good relationships.

Good relationships don’t just fall from the sky, and they don’t just depend on other people. Yes, a relationship is 50-50. 50% of the relationship belongs to the other person and 50% belongs to me.

We both have our part to play.

That’s why I invite you to be courteous at work. What does that mean? It means saying: hello, thank you, please, sorry and goodbye.

All too often, we forget these rules of politeness, even though they are the key to a good relationship.

Indeed, stress leads us to consider courtesy and politeness as a waste of time.

People aren’t furniture. They need to hear “magic” words. Give it to them!

How can we be happy at work? By prioritizing our relationships with others.

Yes, our colleague is just as important as the photocopier, even more so. So let’s take the time to talk to him or her.

4 – Bring happiness to work

One of the secrets of unhappiness is having expectations.

At work, it’s the same thing. Yes, we expect our work to make us happy. It’s up to the job to make us happy.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. You must have noticed. Every time you wake up grumpy, your day goes pretty badly. But every time you wake up radiant, your day usually has a different taste.

I invite you to bring your smile and your good mood to work.

It’s normal to get up on the wrong side of the bed from time to time. But your day depends solely on you! So take a few moments when you’re not feeling well to do something that will put a smile on your face.

After all, it’s not your job to make you happy, it’s up to you to make sure it does. And that starts with your smile.

How can you be happy at work? By putting your best foot forward.

5 – Giving your rightful place

Today, work has become THE domain in which we must flourish. This leads us to make a big mistake.

We give priority to our work. We let it devour all the other spheres of our lives.

You are not your work! Your work can stop overnight. You may not be able to work tomorrow.

So what are you going to do? How can you be happy if your work is your whole life, if your work is who you are?

I repeat, you are not your work. Of course, your work is a way of feeling useful and fulfilled. But it’s not everything.

Your work is important, but not more important than your family, your hobbies or yourself.

Don’t give all your time and energy to your work.

How can you be happy at work? By not giving it priority over your life!

6 – Learn to spend better

“It is the superfluous things for which men sweat, — the superfluous things that wear our togas threadbare, that force us to grow old in camp, that dash us upon foreign shores. That which is enough is ready to our hands. He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.”
Seneca – Letters to Lucilius

Sometimes our work becomes a prison. It’s no longer a place where we feel useful, it’s become an obligation.

Our work is, of course, our livelihood. But we shouldn’t NEED to work 70 hours a week to pay our bills.

We can work 70 hours out of passion. And, again, I invite you to refer to the previous tip: be careful not to over-invest your time in your work.

But we can’t be happy if we have to work a lot to pay our bills.

All too often, we create false needs for ourselves. In fact, we’ve forgotten that we can live on little. We go on shopping sprees, we subscribe to all kinds of useless services, and every month, we’re in the red.

So we say to ourselves, it’s okay, I’ll just work harder next month. And that’s when work becomes a prison.

Be careful how you spend your money, don’t create unnecessary needs so that your work doesn’t suffocate you.

Understand that the more you spend, the more you have to work. You’re jeopardizing your life balance.

How can you be happy at work? By spending less!

7 – Don’t take yourself too seriously to be happy at work

Sometimes we feel like we’re gambling our lives, our reputation, at work.

This is because we identify too much with our work. I’ll say it again: you’re not your job, you’re much more than that.

That’s why I urge you not to take your work too seriously. Okay, it’s a way to earn a living, to have goals, to be useful to others. But that doesn’t sum up your whole life!

Let go of your work worries – your life isn’t at stake! Don’t let stress consume you.

Okay, your e-mail went out too late, you made a mistake… we’re not going to hang you for it. So why torture yourself?

Forgive yourself and move on.

How can you be happy at work? By ceasing to believe you’re indispensable, by ceasing to believe your work is indispensable. Just breathe! You’re so much more than that.

8 – Never stop looking to be happy at work

It’s essential to find a job that we enjoy and in which we feel happy.

Don’t put words in my mouth: I said it was essential, not compulsory! (laughs)

We can be happy even in a job that bores us, if our other spheres of life are full.

But it’s important to have a job that you enjoy, to find your vocation in fact.

That’s why you should never stop looking.

Follow your intuition, your thirst for learning, your curiosity…

Don’t put yourself in danger. Looking for a job doesn’t mean you can’t work in the meantime.

Don’t give up either. Indeed, working doesn’t stop us from finding another job, from finding our vocation.

Make do with what you’ve got. Start where you are. You’ll find your happiness at work by doing all those little things: by smiling, by feeling useful, by giving it its rightful place…

Don’t leave your happiness to chance! Build it a little more every day.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How not to get bored at work: 5 secrets you need to know
Discover Love your work: 6 tips for feeling better at work

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Joy of Work: 30 Ways to Fix Your Work Culture and Fall in Love with Your Job Again by Bruce Daisley

The author offers practical ideas and strategies for fostering happiness in the workplace. The book explores ways to improve work culture, strengthen collaboration and increase overall job satisfaction. It addresses common challenges in the workplace and offers practical advice on how to create a positive, fulfilling work environment. By implementing the principles outlined, you can find ways for people to be happier in their working lives, resulting in increased productivity and overall well-being.

Let’s face it, there’s a reason it’s called work, but it doesn’t have to be as painful as it has become. This book presents concise and meaningful ways to create a better workplace that will produce better results. We need to get back to effectiveness, not pure efficiency.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself