Habits for Happiness at Work

by Timothy J. Sharp

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

5 pages, Audible Audio

Published September 27, 2020

About the author

Dr Tim Sharp is a highly-respected clinical psychologist at the forefront of Positive Psychology. He is a much sought after conference speaker and has a niche position in the media as the people's resource for happiness and wellbeing, going by the moniker 'Dr Happy'. Tim's broad appeal has seen him publish several books, including the best-seller 'The Good Sleep Guide', he writes a weekly column for the Sunday Telegraph (Body and Soul) and appears on ABC radio regularly. Note from the editor: Not only is positive psychology the most productive and far-reaching arm of clinical research, but Tim makes the most recent discoveries incredibly accessible for the busy person who simply wants proven techniques to improve their life today.

Reviews

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Habits for Happiness at Work is an Audible Original podcast series which came free with my subscription, by Australian psychologist Tim Sharp, who calls himself “Doctor Happy.” I had previously listened to “Habits for Action” by the same author, and like his down to earth style and pragmatic approach. This covers similar principles but obviously with a specific focus on work/career development. I listened to this on weekly runs over about a month which is the best time for me to absorb this kind of self-help material - I find I run for longer than with music as I don’t get bored so quickly!

Broken into ten chapters which are downloaded separately, this is aimed at people who are looking to do more than just a work to live, using a mixture of behavioural science research findings, personal and client anecdotes and interview quotes, and some good old common sense. Sharp begins with “Understand Yourself” - thinking about how your personality, strengths and goals are they key to enjoying the right job. Then there are chapters on colleagues, work parameters & approaches, setting limits & recreation, having fun, managing stress and getting support. There’s nothing groundbreaking and you’ve heard a lot of it before, but with work being such a large part of our lives, any tips on how to make it more palatable and emotionally rewarding and worth hearing.

Much of this would’ve been more relevant to me a decade ago - I ended up changing career, studying and doing a mixture of jobs that suit me much better, and am now winding down career wise. There was still plenty to think about and even small nuggets of wisdom that I can apply. I think this is worth a second listen with my husband, who is much less happy at work than I am, at some point. These sort of podcasts are one of the reasons I keep my (relatively expensive ) Audible subscription going - they add value over the monthly free download, and while I would never use valuable eye-reading time on self-help stuff, the invariably positive messaging is a good background for exercise. As with the last one, there is a bit too much self-promotion for his website and social media sites but overall I thought this was very good.

[Anu V Ioannidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish all of the administrative people I’ve worked with would have read/ heard this. Not because they weren’t good at their jobs, but because there’s always room for improvement in some areas and it’d benefit absolutely everyone.

[Ntombezinhle Nzama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical yet simple habits to implement for a happier worklife

[Adelline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible copy.