Happiness

You've been working hard, getting things done and demonstrating how prepared you are to take on more responsibility at work. Finally, the day comes: you're offered a promotion. On one hand, it's exactly what you've always wanted: a better title and more money. Before you accept the position, stop and think: do ...

Since you spend so much time at work, it's a real drag if you're miserable the whole time you're on the clock. Do you need to love your job? It would be great if everyone could get paid to do what they love, but until you can achieve that elusive goal, what can you do to make the 9-to-5 more pleasant? What can ...

Most people view life's goal is to be happy. I believe that's misguided. If the goal is happiness, one could, for example, spend all your time gardening, watching comedies, having sex, etc. Yet if everyone did that, the planet would be far worse: Patients would die, homes wouldn't get built and products ...

By Alexander Kjerulf The words we use to talk about work can be revealing. In Denmark, we say: arbejdsglaede. Which means literally happiness (glaede) at work (arbejde). This word exists in other Nordic cultures -- but nowhere else on the planet. (The Japanese instead have the word Karoshi which means ...

Despite the nation's stubbornly high unemployment rate, many companies -- especially high-tech firms -- struggle to hang on to top talent, prompting many employers to develop new or novel ways to keep key staff happy. To do that, many businesses have introduced or bolstered programs to improve the overall ...

A few years back, researchers from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School shed some light on the long-debated topic of money and its link to happiness. The study revealed a correlation between earning a specific dollar amount and reaching one's highest happiness level. According to the study, as people ...

The idea has been tossed around for millennia. Perhaps economic production isn't the best way to measure a country's progress. Perhaps there is a different and truer kind of wealth, the kind of wealth that most of us work and earn money in the hope of attaining: happiness. Now several countries are taking the ...

Many young, entry-level workers assume that the big cities -- New York, Chicago, Los Angeles -- hold the best job opportunities and therefore the best chance for having a happy life. But a new survey by CareerBliss.com suggests that recent college graduates might do better in considering second- or ...

American workers are increasingly miserable on the job. No wonder: Those who survived mass layoffs during the recent recession often were rewarded with more work for the same or less pay. A survey released last fall found that nearly a third (32 percent) of U.S. workers considered quitting their jobs, up 9 ...

By Jon Gordon Over the years I've done a lot of research on the positive effects of being positive and the negative effects of being negative. The research is clear. It really does pay to be positive and the benefits include enhanced health and longevity, happiness, career advancement, athletic performance, ...

Staying happy at work is not just good for your health. It's also good for your job performance. At least that's what most employees believe. The American Psychological Association (APA) conducted an online survey of 1,714 people and found that a whopping 93 percent of those who feel valued by their employers ...

By Kaitlin Madden Every Monday, I watch Bethenny Frankel juggle her hectic life as a working mom on her Bravo reality show. Though things don't always go perfectly, for the most part, she's pretty good at making sure nothing falls through the cracks. ...

When it comes to the workplace, there are few things as tough as having a bad boss. Whether it's a lack of organization, a gruff attitude or an inability to empathize with staff, working for someone with poor leadership skills can sap enthusiasm and productivity. But the negative effects don't stop there. A ...

By Dr. Robert A. Giacalone, Special to CareerBliss When someone talks about being happy or unhappy in their job, most people think about the job itself - the work, the supervisors, the company, the pay. And so many times these days, people will tell you that they are unhappy because of too much work, ...

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate and former chief economist of the World Bank, began chiding world leaders a couple years ago to give up wealth as the central metric of progress. GDP couldn't capture all the complexities of modern society, he said. A "comprehensive measure of well-being" would be better. ...

If you're like most people, what you really need out of a job is a salary high enough to cover your expenses. But what you really want out of a job goes far beyond that, and involves things like social support, feedback and opportunities for autonomy, variety and growth. It's all about "engagement" which is the ...

The question of whether or not money can buy happiness has been around since the beginning of time. For centuries, people from all walks of life have held money up as the single key to their ideal, happy life. The theory goes: The more money you have, the happier you are. ...

It took me less than four months of working for a major TV/Radio network in Manhattan to realize that I was headed on the wrong career path, but boy did I wish I had figured it out before taking the job. My regret? I never took the time to really sit down and weigh all of the positives and negatives of the ...

Lisa Cook, director of career services for Walden University With the national unemployment rate in double digits, people lucky enough to be employed are focusing on how to keep their jobs. For some, that means spending longer hours at the office, volunteering for new assignments, or enrolling in continuing ...