The Danish Secret for Happiness at Work

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The Danish Secret for Happiness at Work

    You may have heard that Denmark is the happiest country in the world but it doesn't stop there: Danes are not only happy in life, they are also the happiest workers.

Happy people live longer, are more productive, earn money, and are also better citizens

    Danes are so happy at waork, they have a word for it; arbejdsglæde. I know that to the rest of the world this looks like a random jumble of letters you'd get if you tossed a bunch of scrabble tiles on the floor, but there is meaning behind it.

    Arbejde means "work" and glæde means "happiness," so arbejdsglæde is "happiness at work." The word also exists in the other Nordic languages but, interestingly, not in any other language on the planet. I've checked!

    This is no coincidence: there is a word for it Danish because Danish workplaces have a long-standing tradition of making their employees happy. To most Danes, a job isn't just a way to get paid-we fully expect to enjoy ourselves at work.

No one should put up with being unhappy at work-for 4 reasons

First; Time. We spend more of our waking hours at work than anywhere or on anything else. We spend more time at work than with our friends, families and children combined. If you're unhappy at work, you are unhappy.

Second: happiness in life! It turns out that hating your job spills over into the rest of your life and makes you an unhappy person all the time.

Third: being happy also makes you a better person. Happy people are more generous, more helpful, less biased and more open and trusting towards others. A UN report also concluded that "happy people live longer, are more productive,earn more, and are also better citizens. Well-being should be developed both for its own sake and for its side effects."

Fourth: success! Most people think that you get a job, work really hard, become successful and that this makes you happy. But in reality it's the other way around. Studies show that happy people are more productive, creative and resillient and end up being more successful at work and in life.

   

    So here's my challenge to companies, managers and employees everywhere: Put happiness at work first. Realize once and for all that life's too short to spoend so many hours in jobs that are at best tolerable and ar worst hell on earth.

    In short-let's see more arbejdsglæde around the world.

What can you do? Here are my top 5 tips for creating some happiness at work today:

1. Praise people. Praising other people's good work is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make them happy.

2. Say "Hello." In too many workplaces, people have gotten into the habit of not saying hello to their co-workers. Some further tips: Make eye contact, use the person's name, and sound happy!

3. Perform a random act of workplace kindness. Do something nice and surprising for a co-worker. Bring him a cup of coffee. Leave some candy on her desk anonymously.

4. Take some me-time. Every workday, make sure to take five minutes to yourself. Five minutes when you're not disturbed, the phone doesn't ring and no one's asking you questions. Just make sure to take five minutes when you can decompress, de-stress and ask yourself one very simple question: "So, how am I today?"

5. Quit if you have to. If your current job is bad and you have little hope that it will get better, quit and find a happier job.

    Happiness at work is not rocket science-anyone can do it and simple methods like these work the best. Source; Skylife. Story: Alexander Kjerulf