By Diane Lang, MA
This publication serves as a happiness toolkit—a handy-sized reference book on how to find harmony when faced with the mounting and often conflicting pressures of work and home life. It offers simple, realistic and easy-to-use tips for happiness. According to Lang, many employees work anywhere between 60 and 80 hours a week once commuting and technology-enabled work outside of contracted hours are accounted for. It is of little surprise, she concludes, that a large proportion of these are facing work-life balance issues and resulting dips in their happiness quotient.
The book maintains that the building of a strong core is essential for happiness: that the spiritual foundation is as central to our emotional health as a physical therapist would claim is the spine, surrounding muscles and central nervous system to our physical wellness. It goes on to offer solutions which deal with a variety of states of being which cause stress, dissatisfaction and unhappiness such as loosing control and anger, and cites amongst others the philosophy of Albert Schweitzer as its ethos, ‘’In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers at their feet.”
When questioned how the book helps employees in their daily quest for happiness, the author’s response was forthright —by relinquishing control; employees need to delegate to release the need for control. By trying to resolve those things that we have no control over we become angry, frustrated and overwhelmed. In the same way she rationalised that the search for perfection is futile. Workers and management should set small, realistic goals and action plans to get there.
Lang advised that workers should consider their career and whether it was right for them. Typically they are happier and more creative if immersed in a career rather than employed in a mere ‘job’. To probe further she suggested questioning, ‘’Are you passionate? ‘’Another strong recommendation was to make time for the family which is far away from the distractions of technology. As for HR she asserted that they should offer both on-site wellness programmes and coaching to show that the company cares—back to that most fundamental belief that contentment breeds productivity.
From the Humanistic school of psychological thought, Lang promotes self-awareness and the power of internal change. Since these principles are universal this compact resource is valuable for anyone: the average employee seeking to shoo away those Monday-morning blues through to the enlightened HR Director planning morale-boosting policies to enhance company performance.
Lang is a Positive Living Expert and Psychotherapist and a nationally recognised speaker, author, educator, therapist and media expert. In addition to holding multiple counselling positions, she is also an adjunct professor at Montclair State University. She has spoken at many companies and universities including Bayer and JP Morgan and is becoming well known for her vibrant, inspiring and action provoking workshops and wellness programmes for employees of small and large companies.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
