workhappyblog-blog

[workhappyblog-blog]

La Vita é Bella?

work.Happy® lessons learned in Rome, Italy

by Celine Gordon

Going to Rome for the summer, I expected an ongoing montage of fresh pasta carbonara, Renaissance art, cobble-stone streets and maybe even an Italian lover or two. While all of those things exist in Italy, however, they are not the heart of what Roma is really about. As Americans, we often romanticize Italy as an Eat, Pray, Love experience, glossing over how Italians truly live. Just like any other city, Rome has plenty of its own problems. Traffic and pollution are rampant in the city center, the city is covered in graffiti and unemployment around youth is at 40 percent.  Although Romans don't want to admit it, the romanticism of Rome died long ago with the Renaissance.

            Italians have a different view of laws and rules than Americans. One of my friends explained it to me, saying that, “Romans have a deep rooted history of Catholicism—even though church attendance is pretty low, the values are still embedded in our culture. In confession, you can admit your sins and be absolved of them. If you break a law in Italy, admit what you've done and you'll be forgiven.”  In Rome, Italians don't seem to mind or pay any attention to laws, while the police can easily be bribed and often turn a blind eye. At first, I was hated the lawlessness of Rome. The city is chaotic at times. It's full of pick-pockets, the buses are overcrowded because everyone refuses to pay for a ticket and the sidewalk is dotted with cars of Italians who couldn't find a parking space.

            But, as I spent more time in Rome, I came to realize that this lawlessness plays a critical role in what we've come to romanticize as “Italian culture.” For my sociology class, we visited a public housing project on the outskirts of the city. Although, many Italians pay for the low rent costs and are willing to wait for housing, the project is inhabited by about 800 squatters, living in the building's hallways, courtyards and empty spaces. Many of my classmates reacted in the same way I did.  “How could the police simply ignore these people who are living in the building illegally while others are forced to pay rent?” The police in Italy don't always act according to the law, however. They recognize that there is a utilitarian need for everyone to have housing. If they evict 800 people, they would have 800 homeless. This utilitarian reasons is what drives the people of Rome. Without the law to protect them, they must invest more in each other. To me, it seemed that Italians genuinely care for and looked after one another.

            These aspects of Italian culture reminded me of the work.Happy® philosophy. The Italians do not rely on the law to force them to get along with one another, but rather govern themselves to some extent in order to be treated fairly in return. In a workplace, a manager cannot force people to treat one another with respect. This can only emerge from an individual commitment from everyone. Everyone must be the example and everyone must govern themselves. Rome's beauty is not in its history, but rather that the people are still in love with their city despite its modern grittiness.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Designing the book

by Celine G.

Concept

A lot of It Takes Work to Be Happy is about how happiness is a group effort. In order to be happy in the workplace you have to exert just as much effort to create a better culture as your co-workers. In order to reflect this idea I designed the book to make a visual connection between individual and collective effort. The cover depicts one person with the faces of his peers reflected in his glasses. It shows that the individual has a huge effect on the group as a whole. Similarly, none of the figures in the illustrations or on the cover have faces in order to create a universal message. The people in the book have no specific identity because their situation can apply to anyone reading this book. I wanted everyone to be able to relate to them.

Illustrations

The first thing I did when designing the book was the illustrations. I read each chapter and brainstormed way to represent the issues presenting in the book visually. I tried to focus on creating realistic situations in the work place instead of relying too heavily on symbols or metaphors. I then created each illustration in Adobe Illustrator. I used a tablet to draw them but I tried to keep the lines clean and almost mechanical.

Mock-up

After I finished the illustrations, it was time to design the rest of the book. I created a “mock-up” of two chapters to dictate the style of the rest of the book. In keeping with the style of the illustrations I designed the pages to incorporate a lot of clean simple forms and to have a lot of white space (a term graphic designers use to describe empty space). When designing the book, I had to customize everything from the font (Helvetica Neue) to the quotes at the top of each chapter to the charts dispersed throughout the chapters. Instead of using multiple typefaces I decided to used just one and change the weight or the thickness of the lines to separate the titles, definitions, text, lists, etc. I also chose to place many of the elements of the book very close to the edges of the page. Many parts of the text, such as the chapter titles, are severely left justified in order to make them stand out more. 

Layout

Once I had finalized the design, I began to construct the book as a whole. This process is referred to as “layout.” Even though I already had a template to work with, all of the pages had to be adjusted by hand as I inserted the text. Layout is the most tedious part of the design process.

Editing

Once the layout was finished I edited the design almost as much as our editor, Ed, edited the text. Consistency is very important when doing a large scale design. All of the font sizes must match and every element on the page must line up the same as the pages before and after it. I went through the layout and individually checked each page to make sure the book as a whole had one cohesive look and feel.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Round One

by Ed

  In the spring of 2012, Terri and her co-author, Ovetta, worked together to complete the first draft by bringing together all of Terri’s ideas, the stories and examples of companies that are working happy, and content and tools that GenQuest has been building since work.Happy became trademarked in 2011. Even after the first draft—before we could begin editing the book—we asked ourselves:

Did we say everything that we wanted to say?

Have all of the work.Happy stories been told?

Do all of the chapters, sections, and paragraphs fully present what work.Happy is and isn’t about?

Of course, the answer to all of these questions was “No,” so we had to go back and re-write, revise, and re-tell a lot of the content in the first draft. We wanted to ensure that we accurately told the stories of our work.Happy companies, that we were backing up the work.Happy principles with good data and strong examples, and that readers would know exactly what we mean by “dreams” and “creativity.” It took about 2 more drafts to get it to where we wanted. Then, the editing process began.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Interviewing the Inspiring

By Lisa W.

What did interviewing the companies featured in the book entail?

If an organization was interested, I’d craft questions to ask them in a 20 minute interview or have them complete the questions. I was excited to find out their answers and became more energized after each response. Organizations and individuals are doing amazing things!

A release would follow and the rest is history.

What was your favorite part of the interview process?

I really enjoyed hearing or seeing the responses to the interview questions. Organizations and individuals are creating positive environments and it’s happening in every industry. The organization size and years of service to a company didn’t matter. It was happening and was awesome!

Did an organization say anything that really stuck with you?

Each organization and individual that followed through on providing responses left me thinking and excited to talk to the next contact. It was interesting how some people naturally created a positive environment and how others made it a structured process. Both ways were successful and they did what worked best for their organization.

I loved talking to Ellena Griffing. 85 years old, celebrating 65+ years of service to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and still wearing heels while continuing to work with such enthusiasm and passion! She is an impressive gal and I hope I can be like her someday! Simply inspirational! Learn more about Ellena here!

Did interviewing companies give you any new ideas for how you can work.Happy?

It was interesting to learn that working happy compliments the organization’s culture. It wasn’t the type of thing where organizations had a workshop for 8 hours and assumed all worries would be erased. Organizations and individuals were dedicated to creating a positive environment and working hard to do it.

[workhappyblog-blog]

How do you find a happy workplace?

By Lisa W. & Ariel L.

Finding happy workplaces required lots of brainstorming! There are a plethora of places to research, based on employees looking happy and being friendly as well as local and national lists of the best places to work (like this list Fortune & CNN Best Companies). Also taken into account are companies we have firsthand knowledge about, for example, Ariel used to work and Target and knows that they are great at recognizing employees.

It was important as well to conceptualize what people look for in a happy workplace. Google, for example, is known for its incredible employee perks. They have an in-house gym, free food, yoga classes, and childcare services to name a few. That must be why they are featured in our book! Work-life balance is another factor that is important to many people (see your balance here). We looked at all 7 of our principles (found at www.workhappy.org/learn) and analyzed which companies had a good fit with our principles.

After a list of initial places to contact was made, the real work began. It took oodles of discipline to make initial contact, follow-up, and realize that not everyone would be as excited about work.Happy as we are!

It was always thrilling to be able to give a brief explanation to the receptionist about what we’re doing. The best is when we were able to explain work.Happy to an executive member. It was simply amazing to find out that other people were as passionate about work.Happy and the principles as we are! We’d send several emails and call numerous, not always with any luck. Each communication would involve getting a little deeper and more detailed with information about the philosophy and principles.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Introducing the work.Happy team

Terri Giron-Gordon

Best work.Happy tip: Always be on time and you will never be flustered or unprepared.

Favorite Quote: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched—the must be felt with the heart” ~Helen Keller

If your life was an autobiography, what would it be called? Rebel by being successful

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? La Jolla, CA

What color best represents you? Purple

Lisa W.

Best work.Happy tip: Respect is a principle that helps keep the world going round and round. Learn to master this element first and then the other elements will quickly follow.

Favorite Quote: “If you are not getting as much from life as you want to then examine the state of your enthusiasm” ~Norman Vincent

Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

How superstitious are you? Not that superstitious. However, I believe in karma.

What’s your favorite junk food? Chocolate anything!

Celine G.

Best work.Happy tip: Don’t try to do things better. Do them differently.

Favorite Quote: "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." ~Andy Warhol

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve kept a secret? 2 hours.

Do you believe in ghosts? Noooooo.

Is a picture worth a thousand works? No. A picture can’t be put into words.

Melanie G.

What’s your best work.Happy tip: Treat people how you would like to be treated.

Favorite Quote: “Every day, in every moment, you get to exercise choices that will determine whether or not you will become a great person, living a great life. Greatness is not something predetermined, predestined or carved into your fate by forces beyond your control. Greatness is always in the moment of the decision.” ~Jeff Olson

What’s your favorite junk food? Cupcakes

How superstitious are you? On a scale of 1 – 10, I am a 20!

What color best represents you? Green

  Ariel L.

Best work.Happy tip: Always smile and be polite to people, you never know when you might need something from them!

Favorite Quote: “there is no set path…just follow your heart!” ~unknown

If your life was an autobiography, what would it be called? Lessons of a little blonde girl with big ambitions

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve kept a secret? I’m a middle child, I can keep a secret with the best of them!

Do you believe in ghosts? I would have said no…until I lived in a seriously haunted house. So yes.

[workhappyblog-blog]

The Search for the Perfect Partner

Terri met Ovetta Sampson when being interviewed for this article in Hispanic Executive magaine. They started discussing work.Happy and there was an instant connection (really who wouldn't want to work.Happy?). They kept in contact after their initial meeting. Terri made the decision to write a book, and it was clear that the work.Happy team needed additional help. From there Ovetta was able to provide GenQuest with an excellent outline for our work.Happy book and did spectacular research on happiness in the workplace. At this point we knew she would be the perfect addition to our book team! Ovetta has spent time as a journalist at daily newspapers as well as a communications consultant reporting from more than twenty countries.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Welcome to work.Happy

Welcome to the work.Happy behind the scenes blog! We would love for you to come along on the journey with us of writing the book, "It Takes Work to be Happy" out in November. The best place to start is by explaining what work.Happy® is from Terri Giron-Gordon, who came up with the concept of work.Happy® 10 years ago.

What is work.Happy?

work.Happy is a philosophy about the employer and employee observing seven important principles in the workplace. It is a two-way street.

How did you come up with work.Happy?

I experienced firsthand that some people are miserable no matter what you do for them. It is not simply about what the employer can do for the employees. Regardless of title or years of service, it takes everyone in the workplace to create and maintain a happy work environment. It really does take a lot of work to be happy.

Why is work.Happy important?

Working happy is important because it creates an environment where people want to come to work, want to meet high expectations, and want to achieve. Working with happy employees is the key to success.

How do you work.Happy?

I work happy by following the principles. I keep my work.Happy principles by my computer and remember to do something for someone each day. I also surround myself with positive people. Finally, I spend a lot of my free time on community activities.

Who do you look up to?

I don’t have a specific role model. Rather, I look up to people who are kind, have high expectations, and are confident and secure. Those are the people who truly make things happen.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Studies show that you can actually feel happier wearing your favorite clothes. We want you to show us your best work wear. It can be anything from a three-piece suit to a bright spring dress to a comfy casual-Friday t-shirt. Like our Facebook page, then post a photo of what you love to wear to work. You can post the photo to our page or email it to us at work.Happy@genquestinc.com. Photo submissions will be accepted August 1st-10th. Voting will be August 13th-17th. The photo with the most likes will win $25 Amazon.com gift card. In the event of a tie we will do a drawing to determine the winner.

[workhappyblog-blog]

The work.Happy® team is very excited to share the “It Takes Work to be Happy” book! It has been a long time coming, and now that the book is in its final stages we couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. The book features intriguing stories that have been submitted by companies who strive for a positive work environment and continuously exhibit the 7 work.Happy elements in their daily work lives. In addition, the book offers tips on how you can become a work.Happy employee and organization, work.Happy activities, and more. With the release of our book nearing, we have all been busy meeting with people, crunching numbers, meeting deadlines, and exchanging marketing ideas. Expect the book to hit the shelves sometime in November.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Who's coming to see us tomorrow? We'll be in Nob Hill at Summer Fest from 3 until 4 pm. Find out where we are on twitter @work_happy

[workhappyblog-blog]

work.Happy BUTTONS ARE GOING ON SALE!

Work.Happy buttons are going on SALE February 1-14 for $9.99!  It's a steal!  Stock up now and get them to your friends/co-workers throughout the year!

3 sayings rotate on the button to promote a work.Happy environment in your environment.

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere!" "It takes work to be happy!" "work.Happy dammit!"

Call the GenQuest office at 505-246-2829 to order your button today!

[workhappyblog-blog]

work.Happy® for the unemployed

You don't have to be employed to be productive and happy.

GovCentral offers some ideas on how to stay Balanced, continue Growing, and Support your community while you are searching for your next job.

[workhappyblog-blog]

Emailing with Respect

When most of your communication with customers and colleagues is via email, it's important to communicate both effectively, and respectfully. It's essential to get your message across, but you don't have to be a jerk to do it.

Check out some tips for typing effective emails at mindtools.com

Dictionary.com's "the hot word" explains how your email style can convey something about your tone and personality.

[workhappyblog-blog]

bringbackthenight:

Don’t settle for average.

Dream BIG.