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Workplace: A Predictor of Life Happiness
Mary and Theresa are both distinguished reporters who work in the same work environment and have similar responsibilities. While Mary loves writing articles and feeling fulfilled with her work, Theresa suffers from the stress of deadlines and longing for retirement. Because they receive happiness at work differently, Mary and Theresa have very different views of their life satisfaction. From a psychological perspective, despite the fact that people receive happiness at work differently, happy workers share common determinates such as following interests and having a positive attitude toward challenges. Though work environment might affect happiness temporarily, people’s internal choices create ultimate happiness in both smooth and rough times.
Most people agree that, in general, certain personalities tend to experience happiness more than others. But rather than depending on innate characteristics and abilities, happiness should be an enduring feeling that can be maintained regardless of our situation. By interviewing different happy people around the world, Foster and Hick, in their book How We Choose To Be Happy argue that we could gain happiness through people’s internal choices (9). Rather than letting external factors decide whether a person will be happy or not, happiness can be something that people can take control of.
People who try to gain happiness by changing their environment, such as the workplace, later find happiness to be transient. Due to changeable conditions in the workplace, it could only create happiness on a temporary basis. Without the intention to be happy, happiness will easily wither once these positive conditions change. Therefore, the workplace is only a single factor in happiness, which always dependent on internal choices.
While organizations try hard to improve their work conditions in order to appeal to employees, there is no single job that could provide happiness to everyone. Each person has his or her own standard of fulfillment and happiness (Scott). Since everyone has a different personality and different expectations for their career, each individual must find his or her own way to receive happiness at work. One might feel happiness at work because it provides a high income; others might feel satisfied at work for the status. Some people may find responsibility as stress while others see responsibility as a form of self-achievement (Cranny, Smith and Stone 150). Depending on the priorities, satisfaction might be found in different ways for different individuals. With dissimilar expectations, Mary and Theresa, for instance, feel extremely different under the same conditions. Although individual differences make people receive happiness differently, happy workers share several characteristics.
The secret that makes people like Mary feel fulfilled at work is following their passion. Each person has his or her own interests that excite and motivate them. Despite different approaches to work, working with passion makes the job itself enjoyable and therefore results in happiness. In Henderson’s research, the majority of the interviewees who receive happiness at work have followed their interests and enjoy what they are doing (Henderson 305). Despite each interviewer’s different preferences and focuses, following their interests has enabled them to fully engage in their work. By enjoying their jobs, workers are more likely to have a positive attitude when facing unexpected changes. Consider Lena, a teacher who was diagnosed with a rare bone disease. With the passion she had for her work, Lena did not complain about her physical illness and decided to continue teaching. “The pain is a reality that I have to deal with during every waking hour. It can be horrible. But I know that it would be worse if I give up what I love and spend all my time nursing myself” (Foster and Hicks 102). A passionate worker like Lena does not give up happiness during rough times, but instead finds happiness in the job she loves.
People are yearning for stable and secure environments and yet always fail to find it in reality (Foster and Hicks 98). Life is full of challenges and changes, and having a career is no exception. Even passionate workers face difficulties. But unlike people who work for money or other external reasons, passionate workers acknowledge the problems and have a positive attitude when challenges come. After researching and interviewing several happy workers, Henderson asserts, “What is most illustrative is the participants’ refusal to remain unhappy” (8). Their reaction towards challenges makes the difference. Happy workers understand well that no matter how well they plan, unexpected changes occur in every career.
Because unpredictable changes always happen, external factors would not be able to maintain happiness. Several studies from different scholars have shown that people with positive attitudes are more likely to cope well with changes (Judge, Erez and Bono 167). The common attributes among happy workers are that they accept the unstable reality and do what they can to make their situation better. One Chinese proverb says, “If the mountain would not move, build a road around it; if the road would not turn, change your path.” In times when we cannot change reality, we can still change our minds. Happiness comes from inside and lasts in both smooth and rough times. Consider Sally, a woman who faced a layoff crisis in her mid-fifties. Instead of letting fear take over her life, she decided to view this crisis as an opportunity of new exploration. By having a positive attitude, Sally enjoyed in her exploration and it improved her performance during this tough time. Sally eventually survived the layoff and got a better position in her organization (Foster and Hicks 116). Her intention to be happy enables her to stay positive during this crisis and remain happiness regardlessly.
When trying to define the best workplace, we often tend to focus on external circumstances. “Fat salary, less responsibility, and no commute” is an old Chinese saying that describes most people’s ideal workplace. But does high salary really bring job satisfaction? Many people do not feel happy at work due to false expectations of what money can bring. Living in a consumer-oriented world, the media proclaim that the more people buy, the happier they will be. Misled by media’s false impressions, people start to work overtime or work in a job they do not enjoy in order to have a higher income and to maintain an idealized lifestyle. Antonides shows a different point of view concerning this common thought about how financial situations will affect people’s happiness. He argues that “happiness in a wider sense was not significantly affected by the level of income.” Even when one’s income declines, happiness is not likely to follow the decline (Antonides 467-484). It is clear that increasing one’s income cannot buy happiness.
Not only will it not bring happiness, but trying to increase income creates a busy lifestyle, drawing people further from happiness. Created by the want of financial securities, a busy lifestyle becomes a happiness killer. Barbara and Paul lived the Hollywood life where money was never an issue, and yet they were not happy. In order to maintain their lifestyle, Paul was always working and under tremendous pressure. By deciding to give up such luxurious lives and follow their dreams, Barbara and Paul finally received happiness. Barbara said, “I’ll never be sucked back into that world again. I’m going to do the things that make me happy; and I’m going to turn down offers that won’t make me happy” (Foster and Hicks 95). Having the right notion of pursuing happiness is crucial. More and more people like Barbara have abandoned the idea of pursuing money only and draw more attention to their internal needs. A report from The Boston Globe points out, “In the past five years, 48 percent of Americans have voluntarily opted to make less money so they could have more time and a less stressful life” (Gerencher). The earlier we realize happiness come from inside of us, the earlier we can break away from the false hope of money.
While we discuss the significance of how inward attitudes affect our perception of happiness at work, some environmental conditions may make people perceive happiness more easily. According to a Canadian Business report, the best workplace gives employees a sense of trust. With trusting relationships between managers and workers, employees in return would spontaneously give full commitment to their job (Wahl). In other words, people feel fulfilled by receiving trust from others, and the happiness they receive motivates them to perform well. Working under certain conditions may create positive affects on workers’ happiness and performance. In his research, Cranny suggests that rewards, high job involvement, and clear, challenging goals create both job satisfaction and high performance (214). In other words, some conditions help people receive happiness more easily than others. On the other hand, no studies indicate that positive conditions maintain happiness in the long run.
Despite the clear connection between environmental conditions and job satisfaction, it is, however, not decisive. Because environmental conditions are highly capricious, once the conditions change, the positive connection between environmental conditions and job satisfaction break. Bruno and Alois in their book Happiness and Economics argue that insecurity occurs during economic crisis and creates unhappiness among workers (37). People whose happiness depend on their income may suffer greatly during times of economic downturn. Bewley suggests that pay cuts create dissatisfaction at work and negatively affect people’s well-being (Bewley 35). It is clear that relying on environmental conditions for happiness at work can be dangerous. Rather than intending to be happy, people become passive and let environmental factors determine their happiness. As we are looking for enduring determinants which enable us to feel happy, environmental conditions alone are not enough.
Because people spend most of their time working, satisfaction at work greatly affects overall happiness. Receiving happiness at work would also mean receiving happiness in most of our daily lives. Because our careers have occupy a large part of our lifetime, job satisfaction is therefore a good predictor for life satisfaction (Bryner). In recent years, scholars from different fields have gradually agreed that the relationship between the two is too complex to explain (Rode 40). One thing we can be sure of is that the most crucial element for happiness comes from internal factors rather than work conditions.
Mary faces challenges and difficulties in her career life just like everyone else. One thing that allows her to remain happy is her choice to be positive and to find joy in the job she loves. Regardless of the wide rage of working conditions and numerous changes happening throughout career life, people’s internal choice could make happiness present in both wonderful and tragic moments in life.