The Happy at Work Project

By Karl Staib
WorkHappyNow.com
 Copyright © 2009 Karl Staib • Work Happy Now

All rights are shared. This PDF may be reproduced mechanically, electronically, or by any other means,
including photocopying. The original purchaser is authorized to make as many copies as s/he deems
necessary.

I do ask that you share this with a friend, co-worker or your boss and tell them that you found this PDF at
WorkHappyNow.com.

Karl Staib http://www.workhappynow.com 512-963-0828

Work Happy Now email: karl@workhappynow.com

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 2

What is a Happy at Work Project?

Happiness is a feeling. When you are happy at work, you feel good. That’s what the Happy at Work
Project is all about – feeling good at work. Sounds simple enough, right? So why aren’t there more
people doing it?

The best way to optimize your work happiness is to break down what brings you joy, how it brings you
joy and how to do more of it. The magic word is “how.” When you ask yourself how you will make work
happiness a reality, you begin the process of bringing more fun and success into your life.

The four most important aspects of working happy are...

• Values
• Relationships
• Passion
• Strengths

I created this project to help people who, struggle to enjoy their job, like I once did. The main reason why
people are unhappy with their careers is not because of the work they are doing, but how they perceive
that work.

Your Happiness at Work Project

You have the ability to improve your work happiness using just a few concepts that you can apply on a
daily basis. But first you must understand the “how” behind everything that you do. When you understand
how to make yourself happy, the rest will fall into place.

This will not be an easy project. Struggle at work is inevitable. However by creating your own Happy at
Work Project, you can focus on improving your life piece by emotional piece.

Your Foundation

Your core foundation and beliefs will determine your happiness. If you believe you will be successful and
you have a plan to accomplish your goals, it will happen.

That means you have to work on your happiness every single day. Some days you may have to pull back
because you are getting stressed out, while other days you may need encouragement to obtain better

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 3

results. Every Happy at Work Project is unique, and it is up to you to determine where your balanced
state is on any given day. You can’t force yourself to be happy. You must solve each daily happiness
puzzle until you learn enough internal tools to make it easier and easier. The more you practice, the less
you’ll have to try. You will create habits that encourage happiness.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 4

Creating Your Happiness at Work Project

So you probably need a little more happiness in your working life, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.
It really isn’t that hard. Yes, it will take work, but I’m all about incremental change so your foundation
doesn’t crack. To make happiness a reality in your working life, you need to figure out first what your
values are and how you can best align them with your job.

Mark an X next to your five most important values.

1. Your personal values

___ Having Fun ___ Creativity ___ Interaction ___ Community
___ Job Security ___ Success ___ Freedom ___ Fame
___ Variety ___ Happiness ___ Recognition ___ Good Health
___ Power ___ Leisure Time ___ Money ___ Having a Set Routine

___ Autonomy ___ Working from home ___ Adventure ___ Challenges

___ Family ___ Friendships ___ Religion ___ Low Stress

___ Physical Appearance ___ Time to Myself ___ Children ___ Helping Others

___ Productivity ___ Results ___ Status ___ Love

Other _________________________________

Mark an X next to your company’s five most important values

2. Company values
___ Having Fun ___ Creativity ___ Interaction ___ Community
___ Job Security ___ Success ___ Freedom ___ Fame
___ Variety ___ Happiness ___ Recognition ___ Good Health
___ Power ___ Leisure Time ___ Money ___ Having a Set Routine

___ Autonomy ___ Working from home ___ Adventure ___ Challenges

___ Family ___ Friendships ___ Religion ___ Low Stress

___ Physical Appearance ___ Time to Myself ___ Children ___ Helping Others

___ Productivity ___ Results ___ Status ___ Love

Other _________________________________

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 5

Your values and your company’s values will probably differ and that’s okay. What’s important is how
much they differ. If your values are too far apart from your company’s values, you may be setting yourself
up for failure.

How are your values similar to your company’s?

How do they differ?

You have to decide whether your values are similar enough and determine how you can keep your
needs aligned with your company’s needs.

If you decide that your values are too far apart, then it’s time to make a choice. You can either try to
realign your needs with the company’s so you stop this emotional tug of war, or you can find a new job.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 6

Build Your Relationships

We are all social beings and without the great people in our lives we wouldn’t have the passion to be so
creative. Ever since I met my wife, I’ve felt a burst of energy to be happier. When I had good bosses I felt
engaged and excited about my work. When I improved my relationship with myself happiness came
more often and a lot easier.

You need to build relationships that will help you work happier. That may mean making more friends at
work or expanding your network in order to find a job that fits your needs.

What are the most important things you look for in a friendship?
1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________

Now try fulfilling those needs for the people in your life and watch your happiness grow. It’s really that
easy. When we give people the things we need, we are fulfilling our own needs at the same time.

A boss/friend of mine encouraged and rewarded me when I created a brilliant presentation. He knew that
I enjoyed the praise and he was happy to give it to me. He gave me what I needed, so I learned from his
example and give him encouragement in return. I repeatedly thanked him for his leadership. We gave
each other what we needed to feel good.

You need to provide your co-workers and supervisors with the feelings that they desire, not merely the
results that they ask for. Sometimes these are the same things and sometimes they aren’t. The more in
tune you are with people’s needs, the easier it will be to accomplish great results. We connect with each
other through feelings. If you can give the people in your working life the emotions that they need, you
can succeed at any level.

When you are helping other people work happier, you will notice that your work happiness follows right
along with it. When you are giving value to others, your career will blossom.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 7

Your Passion – Enjoy What You Do

Obvious, right? So then why do so many of us do work that we don’t like? We lock ourselves into these
roles and are afraid to make changes. We get trapped in the perspective of work being an “overwhelming
mountain” rather than allowing ourselves to enjoy the beauty of each step.

Incremental change is the key. We need to tweak the present work we are doing until it becomes
something that energizes us to our core. I like to think of it as a seesaw. Many of us are stuck in a job
that doesn’t maximize our strengths. We have a bully sitting on one side of the seesaw laughing at us
because we are stuck at the top – no control. Every day, we need to add a little more weight to our
happiness. Eventually we will start dictating our own happiness.

That means offering to do projects that fit your needs. For example: If you love interacting with clients but
you’re stuck at a computer all day, then volunteer to start a community outreach program to bring in more
customers.

It comes back to understanding what you value and figuring out how to do that most of the time.

Write down 5 things that you would enjoy doing at your present job:

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

Then write down 5 ways to make this a reality:

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 8

Pick one and try to implement it over the next month. If you don’t get anywhere, then pick another one
and try that one for a month. Eventually you’ll see people starting to crack and they’ll be more willing to
give you what you need. Hey, if it helps the company then it’s good for both parties.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 9

Maximizing Your Strengths

You must know what you are good at in order to succeed in any business. If you are an amazing editor
and you feel powerful when you are doing this task, then you need to do more of this kind of work. An
effective way to identify your strengths is to label them using an action word. “Editing” would be the
action word from the above example. By using action words from your working life, you can discover
what makes you feel strong.

List your five greatest strengths:

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

How can you use these strengths to build on your success?

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

Don’t limit yourself to five spots if you need to keep listing. You make the list as long as you like. These
are the same methods I used to start Work Happy Now. I figured out what I would love to do and how my
strengths fit my needs and launched Work Happy Now. It’s the best business decision I’ve ever made.

If your strengths and needs lead you to want to start your own business, please don’t just quit your job.
Start by cutting back your spending, saving money and starting your passion on the side. I always knew I
wanted to start my own business, but I just didn’t know what that business should be. When it finally all
clicked, I could feel my energy level rising. I couldn’t stop the creativity. If you jump right in without
building a foundation first, you will probably fail. You have to be prepared for success.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 10

If you enjoyed your job at one time, but now you feel a malaise fog over you then you may need to
realign your core needs with your work. That means getting back to what energizes you. So stop doing
the things you hate and start doing more of what you love. You can’t respond to every email, try every
idea, or buy every piece of software you need, so pick your spots and invest your time where your
energy is at its highest.

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 11

Your Work Happiness Project is Yours Alone

Your happiness is 100% up to you. No one else can provide happiness for you. Even if they tried, it
wouldn’t work. You have to know what you want and make it a reality.

The idea is to focus on small increments of change. Use the Happy at Work weekly calendar to stay on
track. To get this weekly calendar just email me at karl@workhappynow.com, type in “Happy at Work
Weekly Calendar,” and I’ll email it to you.

WorkHappyNow.com writes articles each week that will help you with your work happiness project. So
stop by and join in on the discussion to bring your work happiness to the next level.

Remember, I’m always here if you need some guidance.

Karl Staib
WorkHappyNow.com
karl@workhappynow.com

Happy at Work Project – http://www.workhappynow.com Page 12