5 Surefire Ways to Make Yourself Happier at Work

Happy Monday morning. It’s John Garrett coming to you with another episode of Green Apple Slices. Every week, I bring back the co-host, the woman of the hour, the accountants’ group leader of North America and everything good for Sage, Rachel Fisch.

Rachel: Hey, John. How are you doing?

John: When I worked, I was analyst. I couldn’t screw that up. It was perfect. Yeah. You just got off your week traveling across Eastern Canada.

Rachel: Yeah. The first leg, the Eastern Canada leg, is done. We’ve got a couple weeks off before heading to sticking around the Toronto area for a little bit, and then we’re going to head out west in a couple weeks.

John: Nice. Very cool. Very cool. Today is your Thanksgiving.

Rachel: It is. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadian listeners out there. Happy Thanksgiving, John. It’s always the second Monday in October. That’s where we are today. We’re going to have a big turkey dinner, the whole bit.

John: You guys do that? All right. I’m just so confused, because you guys didn’t have the Pilgrims.

Rachel: We have farmers and we have harvest, and therefore, we have Thanksgiving.

John: I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s really cool. I’m actually traveling to Toronto this evening. Maybe I’ll catch a turkey dinner sometime. I’m speaking at Crowe Soberman.

Rachel: Awesome.

John: Speaking of which, I guess I should pack. I didn’t have time to pack. We talk through an article every week. This one I found on Huffington Post. It was 5 Surefire Ways to Make Yourself Happier at Work by Tiffany David. She says “This isn’t an employee engagement type of an article, but if you’re happier, then that sort of stuff happens on accident as a byproduct.”

I thought it was super funny, too, how she’s like “It could be really creepy when someone else is in charge of your happiness.” There’s a Chief Happiness Officer.

Rachel: Well, like when you see the Happiness Guru. Exactly. That’s a role now. I know that people try and be sassy with their titles, but it’s like, really? That’s up to you? Not up to me? All right. Sure.

I love how completely frank Tiffany is on some of this stuff. Line one: “Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s about making more money.” It’s not about the money, guys; it’s about engagement. It’s about all these things – you know what? As an organization, you are doing well, and you are profitable, you kind of feel like you have the freedom to stretch the boundaries a little bit.

I thought that was right on point, although there is lots that you can do that doesn’t cost a lot of money. Ultimately, if your company is a successful one, that will seep through all of the levels, as well.

John: Right. Absolutely. In the end, it’s all on the individual, which is something that I believe. Sure, top-down can help in the culture, but it’s still up to every individual. It’s not up to someone else to rule your life. It’s yourself. She has five items that can make you happier at work. I love the first one: Get a life.

Rachel: Get a life. Hey, John, get a life.

John: But I love it. “You’re more than what you do to earn a living.”

Rachel: Absolutely.

John: That’s the Green Apple message right there. Social media isn’t really being social.

Rachel: Absolutely not.

John: It’s actually getting out there and being around people and all that stuff. It’s just really cool. Number two is one that I super struggle with, but I know you’re an expert at. It’s just “Have a sense of humor.”

Rachel: I actually ran across on article, and maybe we should do it for another Green Apple Slices, but it was talking about how the ability to laugh with co-workers connects you at a level that even regular social interaction doesn’t. There’s something emotional and chemical that happens.

John: It does.

Rachel: Yeah. I’ll send you that link, and maybe we can do that another week. I thought it was great.

John: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Having a sense of humor – like really hard belly laugh. Those hard laughs. Like the “John just messed up my title again” laugh. That kind of a thing. You don’t hear those at work. That’s a shame. It really is.

Rachel: No, you really don’t.

John: I mean, when I work places – but then the managers always get really nervous, like “Oh, clearly, if they’re laughing, they’re not doing work.”

It’s like “No, no. You can do both. You can do both.”, of course says the guy who hasn’t had a real job in 12 years. But it’s all good.

Number three was treat yourself well. You’ve got to take care of yourself.

Rachel: We’re going to go on to number four.

John: This is the Rachel Fisch portion of the intervention. Just take time for yourself. Read a book. Get good sleep. Just really carve out time for you. I know it’s really hard when you have a family and you’re traveling and all that stuff, but you’ve really got to be conscious of that for people out there that are listening.

Number four: Stick with the winners. Surround yourself with positive people and people that are doing good things and doing great things.

Rachel: That’s why we do these episodes every week, so that you can make sure you stay with the winner.

John: Exactly. Exactly. Then the last one: Give a little. Volunteering. This is one where I’ve had several people on the Green Apple Podcast, but especially Misty Megia who volunteers a ton with Junior Leagues and does a lot of charitable work. There’s a ton of research on that, as well, where you just give and give and give, and you get so much back in return and feel good about yourself.

Rachel: You get so much more than you give. I’m so excited to be working at Sage. We have the Sage Foundation here. Sage actually gives staff five days off a year to volunteer in different places. They have some amazing initiatives. Check out Sage Foundation and see the pretty cool stuff that’s going on here at Sage.

John: Yeah. That’s awesome. But in the end, it’s up to you. It’s up to each individual to create your own happiness. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s all about. Hopefully, this episode brought a little bit of happiness to everyone listening. Get your week started off right on a Monday morning. Rachel, enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving.

Rachel: I’ll be having a turkey nap later.

John: Yeah. I’ll be packing my bags and flying up there and hopefully in time to grab some turkey dinner at a restaurant in Toronto. Happy Thanksgiving, Canada. We’ll catch you next week. Have a good one, Rachel.

Rachel: You too, John. Have a good week.