Whether we like it or not, most of us are likely to spend a large chunk of our lives at work (around 3,500 days in total). And while some of us are lucky enough to genuinely love what we do, we could probably all do with injecting a little more joy into our jobs.

There are a lot of simple things we can do to boost our joy levels at work to make us feel more content and boost our resilience and mindset for those times when, inevitably, things get tough.

With this in mind, we asked the experts for their top tips to bring joy to the office and beyond – no matter what you do for a living. 

Most of us know that our brains have a natural negativity bias – a tendency to focus on the things that aren’t going so well. But what if we forced ourselves to focus on the positives for a change?

“We’re so drawn to the dark side because of our negativity bias,” says Beth Stallwood, a careers coach and author of WorkJoy: A Toolkit For A Better Working Life. “We make mountains out of molehills, forget all the good stuff and overthink the smallest things.”

Whether you’re tech-savvy or more of a pencil-and-paper person, try journaling all the joy you’ve found in your workday.

“Keep a log of all the good stuff that happens (however tiny),” advises Stallwood, “and refer to it often to realign your focus towards the joy.”

You might be surprised how much positivity you can find – it could be a quick chat with a colleague in the loo or some praise from your boss – it all counts. And when you’re having a bad day, you can go back and remind yourself of these moments. 

Just as in life, we can’t (and shouldn’t) go it alone. When things feel difficult, it can be tempting to hide away – especially if you have the option to work from home. But reaching out to people in a similar situation can be really beneficial – so try to cultivate your work tribe.

“You don’t have to do this thing called work alone,” agrees Stallwood. “So often, it’s your comrades and cheerleaders that keep you buoyant through the more challenging times and provide that sense of communal joy. Find out who’s in your squad and invest in nurturing your network both internally (for support) and externally (for a broader perspective).”

Before you get too excited, we wish this involved sitting in a buggy while a giraffe tries to nick your flat white (teambuilding idea?), but we’re talking more of an office walkabout.

“If you’ve fallen a little bit out of love with your job, before you jump ship, try a work safari,” suggests Stallwood. “Look beyond your current role, team and context, and allow yourself to explore new roles and teams to see how a new role or different relationship might fit. You never know what else is out there and the joy that exists until you take a good nose around.”

Office emotions are contagious – and none more so than negative ones. When your colleagues are unhappy or dissatisfied, it can be tough to distance yourself from their mood – but it’s essential if you’re to maintain your individual work joy.

“We’ve all worked with people who suck the joy out of our day,” says Stallwood. “From moaners to manipulators and the my-way-or-the-highwayers. Where you can, minimise the time and energy you spend on these people – they will only bring you down! Where you have to deal with them on a regular basis, create some boundaries that help you manage their impact on your joy.”

Your ability to appreciate joy and find the positive in your job can be enhanced by practising the same principles when you’re out of the office.

“It’s so easy to get lost in work, for it to take up so much space in our lives,” cautions Stallwood. “It can squeeze out all the other things that bring us joy and this has a massive knock-on effect. If you build in space for joy outside of work, you’ll find it has a profound effect on your life inside work too.”

And if you’re already frazzled with an endless to-do list, don’t panic – we’re not suggesting time-consuming activities. “We seriously overestimate the time it takes to bring joy into our lives,” says Stallwood. “There’s loads you can do in 10 minutes a day.”

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Images: Getty