A Miserable Workplace
A lot of people are talking about happiness these days. Is there something wrong with a happy workplace? I do not know how many times in my lifelong career of working with people I have heard them say: “ I just want to be happy!” What is happy for you?
I have a definition of happiness for me. I know what it takes for me to feel happy. I have pictures in my head that if I were to achieve them I believe I would be happy.
But when people say they want to be happy, I cannot assume I know what they are talking about. I have to look further into what happiness is for them.
My mentor, friend and teacher, Dr. William Glasser stated that happy people have happy relationships. We need at least one person in our life that cares about us and who we care about. If we have difficulty getting along with the significant people in our life then we will be unhappy. If we are around people who are miserable all the time then we will be unhappy.
In an attempt to become happy people turn to pleasure seeking behaviors. They get involved in addicting behaviors like drugs and alcohol, get involved in risky activities, such as unprotected sex and so on, all in an attempt to feel better.
In my twenty plus years working with youth and all their trials and tribulations, there was one question I used to ask those youth who were really struggling with getting along at home and in school. Most of the time they were using some form of pleasure seeking behavior. The question was: “ Have you given up on People?” You would be surprised by the number of times the answer was “ Yes”.
Can you imagine if your workplace is full of miserable people? These people have unhappy relationships. Maybe the unhappy relationships are limited to the workplace so they do enough to get by because outside of work they are truly happy. What if the workplace were the only place they felt happy? Can you imagine the productivity and the desire to be at work?
There is so much to share with these ideas. Check out my guide for meaningful relationships.
Yours in growing awareness
Maureen Craig McIntosh
