6 Steps to Being Happy at Work in 2019

If you’ve found your mind circling around the idea that a new job might bring you more joy and happiness in 2019, then you may want to think again before giving your notice to explore greener professional pastures. It’s perfectly normal to rethink different aspects of our lives in the face of the new year and it may feel the ideal time to turn over a new leaf. However, instead of making radical changes, your work lifestyle just might need a little maintenance. So, before you race off on the path to happy unknown, try taking these six steps to being happy at the job you already have first.

6 tips to being happy at the job you have

1. Leave Personal Problems at the Door

Instead of viewing your workplace as an obstacle to dealing with personal problems, try shifting your perspective. If you leave your personal issues at home, then work can be a much-needed escape and break from thinking about problems when you are not available to do anything about them. Not only will you feel better and be more productive, you may gain some additional perspective after getting some space from the issues.

2. Create a Support System at Work

Most likely, you have a circle of friends with common interests that make you happy in your personal life. Try doing the same at work. Work friends can help ease job pressures and make us look forward coming into work. You can get started by putting together a book club, exercise group or fantasy sports league with colleagues to increase the camaraderie of your workday.

3. Personalize Your Workspace

Most professionals spend more time at work than they spend in their beds at night. More than eight hours a day in the same place can really wear on you, your outlook and ability to focus on the positive.

Make your workspace your own while staying within company policies for these personal touches. Put up pictures of places you want to go, pictures of loved ones and meaningful sayings that inspire you to remind yourself where you want to go, what you already have and who you want to be. Take a few minutes every day to reflect on these things to stay happy and motivated.

4. Get Moving

The office environment is naturally sedentary. However, movement causes our bodies to produce “feel good” chemicals. Consequently, we start suffering a deficit when we remain still for too long. And, it doesn’t take a huge amount of exercise to start feeling better. Find ways to add more movement to your routine. Little things like walking to your car or around the building during your break can add up to big improvements to your overall mood. You can also walk to a nearby restaurant at lunch instead of eating at work or take a longer route than necessary to use the bathroom. Just a little bit of movement each day improves your health and helps boost your overall outlook on life.

5. Organize Your Surroundings

A great way to get started with being happy at work is to simply get organized. Mess and excess clutter can add unnecessary stress to your day. Create a manageable daily schedule and file folders for everything, while keeping clutter to a minimum. Once you’re handling your workload easily each day, you can start rewarding yourself.

6. Reward Yourself

It’s entirely too common for people to neglect rewarding themselves and continue working themselves to a breaking point. Plan to treat yourself during the weekend – see a movie, take a mini staycation at a local bed and breakfast, try a new restaurant. It doesn’t really matter what it is. Anything that gets you motivated on Monday to get through your workweek to enjoy your weekend reward.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, underwhelmed or just plain miserable at work, give a couple of these tips a try to improve your work morale and see if you can be happy at your current job before making career moves. At the very least, it will boost your energy level and create a more positive outlook.