Life and work cannot be burdens we have to carry. They cannot be chores we need to do and get bored of. At least that’s what we must strive for, right? Which is why…
Happiness is a core value for us @WukiLabs!
In working towards being happy, creating a happy company and spreading happiness through our interactions, services and products, there’s a thing or two we have learnt about happiness.
Happiness is not momentary. It is a state of mind.
Spurts of joy are just that. Spurts of joy. That’s not happiness. Happiness is a state of mind, a state of being that we experience throughout, over time. In joyous moments and despite moments of difficulty and challenge. Boredom is not allowed @WukiLabs. We laugh. Often, loud and hard… till tears roll down our cheeks and our stomach is tight in stitches. We try new things all the time – laughter clubs, coffee breaks, social discussions, story-telling… the list goes on.
Happiness provides us strength.
Happiness is energy. Being happy adds to our productivity, gives us strength and never lets anything get us down. It drives us to persevere, keep at our goals and enjoy all that life brings. So we set ourselves happy goals. Reward ourselves for the great work that we put in and the results we accomplish. We talk about sadness and troubles, whether personal or professional openly with each other and get support. We build apps like ineedtoscream.com so others can do the same.
Happiness does not come from material wealth. It comes from experiences we have.
The gift is less important than the surprise around it. The car is less important than the journeys we take with it. We remember a dinner with friends more fondly than the last shirt we bought ourselves. Time and money need to be invested in experiences rather than things. @WukiLabs, we celebrate birthdays of team members by gifting them experiences. We reward ourselves with experiences for achieving our happy goals too!
Happiness is not about money. It is about the people you live and work with.
“Ah, every company says that so it doesn’t have to pay employees.” If that’s what you were thinking, it couldn’t have been farther than the truth! We all need, want and love money. Who doesn’t? And @WukiLabs, we pay well, don’t link pay to performance ratings and don’t have confidentiality clauses on compensation. Because the point is not the money. It’s about working with a fun team of colleagues who grow to become your closest friends and coming to an office that is home. That’s what truly makes us happy.
It makes sense for us to invest in our own happiness – as individuals and as organizations.
That’s how you know it’s a core value and not just lip service. When time, effort, money and creativity are all invested by the organization and every team member to create an environment where happiness thrives, is celebrated and shared. Through our blog posts and our organization transformation work @ Glow Worm Consulting, we spread some of what we learn, live and experience each day with the world.
We are all still students of happiness. Radhika’s taken it a step further by picking happiness in careers as her topic for doctoral research. And our discoveries continue. While that is happening, Monday morning blues… what is that?
