Comments

Thanks for sharing that Erik and Shelly. A great interview packed with simplicity and common sense. I always say in talks 'It's really not compulsory to be miserable at work’ - now we have been put in touch with a book about it - Thank you Alex and keep up the good work - Brilliant!

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 12, 2007 11:44 AM

Interesting - you really don't hear much attention being paid to happiness in the workplace, although I think every manager is conscious of attending to the conditions that would bring about happiness.

Something I don't agree with in the interview is his statement that there are only two things that lead to happiness in the workplace...results and relationships.

What about clear objectives, praise, a department or company that is doing well and is perceived well in its field, money...all of these things combined are related to happiness.

Also - the ability to use your creativity and OWN a solution is also important to happiness. In large companies you can achieve great results but never get the credit coming to you because you don't communicate with the right people.

To sum up - great that this topic is getting more awareness, but let's not over-simplify the result to fit into a top-selling book.

Jeff

Posted by Jeff at October 12, 2007 2:58 PM

The Reflective Happiness movement of the last 7 years is light years ahead of Alex. I scanned the Alex book online & give it a D - plus his sartorial choices lack any style.

Maybe we can chip in to send Erik to Denmark provided he promises to stay & be part of the middle class paying the 63% + federal tax rate?! Happy days indeed :>]

PS - seems a main way to stay happy is to not get stuck in the negative emotion simpleton lifestyle. Alex is right about that - we are hardwired with many more negative vs. positive emotions :>] ... embracing life's richness & complexity is key.

Posted by Michael at October 12, 2007 6:21 PM

I think it is important to note that different people are happy for different reasons. Persoanally I actually get a kick out of problems - really trying to understand the root causes rather than symptom bash - effectively that puts me in the miserable so and so camp - but I feel forfilled when I really start to understand what is happening in a difficult situatation

I get a little tired of the bigger car, bigger house cliche. I have not met many people like that. most people I know want to do interesting forfilling work.

I certainly agree that this generation is looking for more than a steady paycheck - a lot of the newbies at my place want to work for a comapany that does cool stuff and actively works to improve things in the community (we do both!). They get a real sense of pride in working somewhere that is both full on in terms of achievement/growth and has a social impact as well.

Posted by PaulH at October 13, 2007 12:11 PM

The booklet title is totally incongruent - and any title with a "kick butt" in it ultimately is a sure loser.

"Happy Hour 24 / 7 - Happiness in Life & Career Pursuits". Now there is a title with a respect for brand & lovemarking.

Any title with "butt" in it is TMI too much information - people want to picture pleasure-focus ideas.

Kicking anything takes you away from the peace & passion that one requires for authentic success in careers & life :>]

Sometimes you get 1 shot @ a bulls eye & Alex totally misses on this one - plus he bears the burden as "kick butt Alex" forevermore :>]

Posted by Jack at October 13, 2007 2:23 PM

Our brilliant England Rugby team beat France 14-9 in the semi-final tonight (Saturday) to reach the World Cup final as we did in 2003 when of course we won the last World Cup in Australia. England Rules!!

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 13, 2007 4:19 PM

very interesting.I know there is a course been taught in Harvard called "happiness" and it becomes one of the attractive class there.

Posted by Adam at October 15, 2007 8:54 AM

Thanks for sharing the interview guys - it was a great read. What Alex had to say was very interesting. I've worked in many different environments - and I have to agree, the environments that had the most happiness were the ones where the employees were encouraged to be creative and praised for their hard work, in addition to the normal routine of problem solving. I'll definitely have to take a look at Alex's book.

Posted by Erica at October 15, 2007 10:58 AM

Wow, he really is the Chief Happiness Officer. I don't know if it was his picture that encouraged the impression but I swear I could detect happy tones with his every answer. I love the Scandinavian and Japanese terms given out. I thought karoshi was very funny. And I also thought the plush elephant was a cute idea. Maybe serving better coffee in the office would also help create happiness in the work place... It's a start, right?

Posted by jen_chan, writer SureFireWealth.com at October 16, 2007 11:57 PM

funny log..

Posted by Tercume at October 17, 2007 5:16 PM