5 tips to start feeling happier at work

We’ve all seen the stats: the average person spends over 90,000 hours at work over the course of their lifetime. That’s a lot of sad desk lunches, boring watercooler chats and office politics. And it’s no secret that your job – whether it’s in construction, hospitality, education or retail – can have a huge impact on your life and your overall sense of happiness and wellbeing (particularly if you’re NOT happy in your role).

So what can you do about? Can you do anything to help you become happier at work? Experts say yes. Here are their five key pieces of advice that you can put into place today.

1. Decorate your workspace

Whether it’s a desk in an IT department, a locker out the back of a retail store or construction site – or even the inside of a semi-trailer, take ownership of your space at work. You might want to stick up photos of loved ones, postcards of your favourite holiday spots and have a favourite mug to hand. Believe it or not, little things like this can lead to better productivity and contentment, say experts, because the small act of decorating your work area gives you a feeling of autonomy and job satisfaction.

2. Don’t chase the big bucks

Freddy Mercury famously sang that money couldn’t buy happiness – and he may have been onto something, experts say. Several studies say there’s no correlation between big salaries and feeling happier at work (even if you can afford to buy more of the stuff you want). Experts say happiness plateaus around the $80k salary mark, so if that’s enough to pay your bills and enable you to live a life you want with good work/life balance, stop chasing those six or seven figure salaries. It probably won’t make you love your job more.

3. Get on your bike

We all know exercise is good for us, and workers who are on their feet a lot – like those in construction jobs, healthcare, retail or hospitality – are arguably fitter than those who sit at a desk all day. But before you get to work (and how you get there) matters, too. Research shows that workers who walk or bike to work were more satisfied in their jobs than those who relied on other forms of transportation. Maybe because moving in the fresh air, instead of cramming yourself into a bus or train, can give you more energy, set you up for the day and enable you to arrive at work refreshed instead of cranky and frustrated.

4. Set goals you can meet

Smashing your to-do list can mean a huge burst of satisfaction – but you don’t have to make it a long one. Scientists say even achieving a few small accomplishments every day can make you feel liked you’re moving forward and achieving something, which is a powerful booster of employee morale and happiness at work. Try it yourself: write down three achievable things at the start of the day that you’ll get done. Cross them off as you do them and acknowledge your success at the end of the day – it’ll be motivating to feel you’ve made some progress.

5. Embrace gratitude

Sure, it may sound a little woo-woo – but there’s a lot of research about gratitude journals and having a gratitude ritual. Science tells us that our brains remember more of the bad than the good, so writing down something you appreciate about your day or something good that happened can help train your brain to look on the bright side. And studies show when you do it consistently, you’ll feel more optimistic about your life in general.

Want more career tips?

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