by Amelie Chance on May 28, 2010
There are many reasons why you may find their job miserable; probably as many reasons as there are jobs!!
That said, there are four key issues that seem to come up more than any other; four issues that are consistent culprits of workplace misery regardless of the type of workplace or nature of the job.
Work Stress – The Big 4!!
1. Negativity from work colleagues.
2. A bad boss.
3. Burn out from being overworked.
4. Lacking reward, feeling underpaid.
Since the solution to each of these specific issues can be applied to solve an even broader range of reasons for job dissatisfaction, let’s take a look at each issue one by one. This blog will cover negativity from work colleagues.
Negativity from work colleagues 
We’ve already mentioned that there is no such thing as the perfect job. Every single vocation comes with things that you will like about it and things that you won’t. The same principle applies to your work colleagues. There are people you will naturally get along with, there will be people who you have to “try” to get along with, and there will be people who, no matter what you do, simply won’t get along with you at all through no fault of your own whatsoever.
There are some elements of work colleague negativity that fall within your locus of control and there are some that do not. You can’t control how other people think, but you can control the information that they receive upon which they base their thoughts and perceptions about you.
Your best weapon, regardless of the nature of negativity, is to take a positive and constructive approach to how you interact with your work colleagues.
The biggest problem many people have with workplace colleagues is allowing themselves to be drawn into conversations of negativity and, by default, fueling workplace negativity. One employee complains about a particular thing and another employee, who agrees with the complaint or who simply wishes to “fit in”, reinforces the complaint by agreeing with it.
Now you have two people talking about and focused on the negative of the thing, and if a third (maybe you?) then offers a different opinion, suddenly you have the seed of workplace rivalry. This can happen with individuals or groups. It can start regarding a minor issue and can lead to a major workplace conflict. It can also go on in the background, perhaps in the lunchroom or on breaks, without the boss or manager having any idea at all. And negativity festers. [click to continue…]
by Amelie Chance on May 28, 2010
If you’re currently working a job that you hate then you are already well aware of the harmful impact that your negative workplace experience is having on your life. We spend most of our days working in and around our jobs so it’s not rocket science to understand that when most of our day is not enjoyable, most of our life is also miserable.
Actually, it really is worse than simply saying “most of our life” because when our job makes us miserable our unhappiness spills over into all areas of our personal life. It is simply impossible to be extremely unhappy from 9 to 5 and extremely happy outside of those hours. The reason why this is true is the exact same reason why job hopping is not the solution to finding workplace happiness, and that is because it doesn’t exist.
There is no such thing as ‘workplace happiness’.
When you head off to work there is no happiness clock-in machine, there are no happiness vials in the lunch room, your desk isn’t coated with a happiness varnish, and your boss doesn’t wave a happiness wand. You can rummage through your desk, your colleagues’ desks, or through all of the operating manuals that your workplace offers, but you’ll come up empty handed if you’re searching for workplace happiness because the harsh truth is happiness isn’t in your workplace. [click to continue…]
by Amelie Chance on March 5, 2010
Here is why:
If I asked you what your life goals are, what would you say?
I’m going to take a guess that 90% of us would respond with:
- To find great love
- Get a great job
- Buy a nice house
- Get married
- Stay in great shape
- Raise a lovely family
- Enjoy my passions
- Spend time with my friends
- Be liked and loved
- Attain my dreams
Now, imagine you are having a conversation about having that great job with a 4-year old child. The conversation would probably go something like this:
You: “I want to have a great job.”
4-year old: “Why?”
You: “So that I can do what I love and earn a great salary.”
4-year old: “Why?”
You: “So I can enjoy my life.”
4-year old: “Why?”
You: “Because that will make me happy.”
The 4-year old child is extremely insightful. What we learn is that if we had the same conversation about any of your life goals, we would drill down to the same reason every time: We do everything in life to find happiness.
If you were a nerd (like me), you’d plot it on a graph that looked like this:
Then why aren’t we, as humans, happier?
One simple fact:
Money, Love, & Healthy COMBINED can only increase your happiness up to 10%. That’s right, it has been scientifically determined that this is the case. We’re going to talk about the science in a second, but first, let me ask you:
What does it mean that those things only increase or decrease your happiness by 10%?
It means if you were rich, had the perfect mate, and were in terrific health, you would only be 10% happier than if you were poor, single, and in bad shape physically. Sound false? Well, when I put it that way, maybe it sounds false, but what about when you look around you at people chasing after these three things.
- Do you know anyone who has achieved financial success, yet is still unhappy?
- Do you know anyone who is in a great relationship, but always seems to complain?
- How about someone who is a skinny minnie and in great health, but still miserable…sound familiar?
I call these three people CHASERS. They chase happiness, but no matter what they chase, they come up short.
I was a chaser.
I was once ran a high-tech company with over 100 employees, I was married, had the house, the car, a great family, and I was…miserable. I was a chaser. Always going after the next thing that I thought would bring me true happiness and when I reached it, I realized that the boost I felt was only temporary. I would always go back to that set level of happiness (my genetic set point) and I was mystified. How come all of the things we have deemed important in Western, and now frankly, Eastern societies was not making me happy???
Because, we as a global society, have been chasing the wrong things.
Let me rephrase, we have been chasing the wrong things and there is scientific data that has now proven this fact.
Ok, what is this science I’ve been constantly referencing?
There are a group of people that have been asking this same holy grail type question…what actually makes people happy? But instead of just asking the question, they have made it their life work to study it scientifically. These people are Positive Psychologists and they study the Science of Happiness.
Now, I know what you’re thinking and I need to tell you that Positive Psychology is not some mumbo-jumbo-hippie-granola-new age trend. It is a Psychology which is a science. This science is based on theories. These theories are tested and supported by data. Positive Psychologists have tested tens of thousands of people for research and have spent tens of thousands of hours to determine some basic things like the fact that more money only makes us marginally happier. [click to continue…]
by Amelie Chance on March 10, 2010
Do you understand How to be Happy? Take the Survey and see…
It takes a moment to load… [click to continue…]
