This week I had an honor to lead the online discussion with several human impact leaders and conflict resolution experts, during which we shared our ideas and practices on personal Happiness and well-being at work.

We started our discussion by mentioning the concept which was introduced by the scientists of the University of California at Berkeley. In their research on happiness at work they have revealed the concept PERK which can lead us towards a greater well-being and productivity at work. Each letter of this acronym stands for the essential pillar that needs to be in place in order for the individual to experience well-being at work. PERK stands for:

P – Purpose

E – Engagement

R – Resilience

K – Kindness

So let’s start uncovering these essential pillars that will lead us to a greater well-being at work.

How can we find our purpose at work?

As Paco Briseño explains, one of the important measures of well-being at work is to feel a sense of a purpose. Ideally our personal values are connected with organizational values which we are working for. Having purpose is to feel that we have a positive impact on our community and other people’s lives, by adding value with our work. Does that happening to you at work? And if not, I invite you to start uncovering your own values, searching for your ”Ikigai”, this is a Japanese ancient concept according to which you can find your purpose by asking yourself the following questions:

-What do I love doing?

-What am I good at?

-What can I be paid for?

-What does the world need?

The repetitive pattern that you will find in each four areas of your answers for the above questions, will be your Ikigai.

How can we check with ourselves whether we are engaged at work and how can we elevate our engagement?

As Mareike Müller mentioned, our starting point will be to check with ourselves, whether we generally enjoy our work? Do we have an autonomy to complete our assigned projects? How often do we feel immersed in tasks and have a sense of losing track of time?

Once you have your answers to the above questions, you might wonder how to elevate your engagement? The easiest way is to check what are the possibilities for you to have projects that are challenging (but still achievable), where you can work at your strengths and where you have autonomy to decide how you will complete the assigned project. Give it a thought and see who can help you with your new projects assignations that are more appealing to you.

These questions are the starting point to help you to take the ownership for your happiness and well-being at work. This will give you an idea what can be done at your current workplace in order to feel purpose and engagement at work or will confirm your previous intentions to change your job.

What are the best practices to stay resilient?

Tobias Rodrigues invites us to think of resilience as an emotional fitness. There are 3 areas that we need to take care of in order to become emotionally fit: body, mind, relations.

Body – we should be giving ourselves enough time of sleep (from 7-9 hours).

Mind – it is important to use our mind in our favor, one simple way is to practice gratitude. Going back into present or past moments of our life and finding what do we want to be grateful for.

Relationships – one simple way is to be playful, laughing, calling and encouraging people, celebrating – positive emotions prepare us to be able to take challenges and bounce back.

And finally, how can we practice kindness?

This means to which extent we treat ourselves and others with respect and dignity, are we a good listeners and able to provide constructive feedback? Another essential ingredient – being able to show compassion to ourselves and to others. Practicing kindness in your workplaces will transform it to a better and healthier place.

Another important aspect that we were mentioning during our discussion is the role of leaders in organizations and their impact on their teams.

So the following question arise:

How can leaders help their teams to become the most effective during the uncertain times?

Mareike Müller explained the concept of MAGIC. This abbreviation comes from the book “MAGIC: 5 Keys to Unlock the Power of Employee Engagement”, but Mareike shared her interpretation:

MEANING: create purposeful work and tasks – use positive reinforcement without punishing mistakes.

AUTONOMY: give your people control and responsibility for their work – no micro-managing.

GROWTH: support further education and provide career plans including personal growth as well.

IMPACT: lead through inspiration, emotional intelligence and by example, eliminate threads and punishment.

CONNECTION: listen, listen, listen and take time to get to know your people – be a person of trust and commit to your people.

You can view the entire recording of this online discussion in my YouTube Channel, by clicking the following link: https://bit.ly/3aSIxC3

We invite you to become a part of this important conversation on personal and organizational well-being!

Happy to receive your comments and suggestions on our next online talk!

Stay well and safe,

Jelena