Happiness at work
When we are deeply absorbed in a task, we lose track of time. Psychologists call this as being in the zone or in flow state. When we are in such a state, we are happy. The output of such a flow state always happens to be our best. I have been in such flow state for days together without feeling tired or burnt out. Rather I would feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness once I complete the task.
On the contrary let us say we are forced to work for long hours because we are solving a lot of mundane problems or putting out fires. This kind of work has a lot of interruptions and/or context switches between tasks. Even if we do that a couple of times a week, over a period of time we will be frustrated. Soon the unhappiness we develop will permeate into other parts of our life. More importantly it will have a strong negative impact on our physical and mental health.
We deliver our best when we strongly feel that the task we are working on is meaningful. Work and life are not separate. In my experience, when I feel a strong sense of purpose at work, I am generally happy at home as well. As a leader, I strive to maximize that happiness for my team. Only when we are happy, we deliver our best.
