If Misery Loves Company, What Does Happiness Love?

What an interesting phrase: “Misery loves company.” It seems both true, and yet faintly ridiculous. How can anybody who’s miserable want company? When I’m miserable, all I want is to be left alone, curled in a little ball on my bed, sucking my thumb and clutching my baby blankie. Okay, maybe not really, but you get the idea. Don’t bother me—I’m miserable!

And yet . . . don’t we all know those people, those people at work who meander from work station to work station, carrying a tale of woe? They seem somehow compelled to repeat their litany of injustices done to them, their stories of unfairness, how they hate their job, why they’d quit tomorrow, but just can’t, how the boss hates them, and on and on. When you see the miserable person coming, you quick duck down a hallway, or into the bathroom (hoping you got the right one). Often you will see a small herd of people diving into cubicles or closets in advance of the miserable person’s approach. Have you ever seen a cubicle filled with thirty-five co-workers, all stacked up on the desk, under chairs, wedged into corners, hoping against hope that the miserable person will walk on by without noticing? It ain’t pretty.

So it would seem that while misery indeed does love company, the company doesn’t necessarily love the misery. What can you do?
Well, you can keep running and keep hiding, for one. But sooner or later, you’re going to round the corner and –smack!—run right into the MP. (That stands for Miserable Person, in case you didn’t get it.) And then you’re stuck. Stuck listening to the newest versions of how ABC Co. is sticking it to the MP and the world is going to hell in a hand-basket.

You can use, the “I gotta go,” excuse. “Sorry, MP, wish I could stay and chat, but I gotta go [fill in the blank—pee, meet with the boss, copy these reports, climb a tree, change into my superhero costume and save the world,etc., etc.]” Unfortunately the MP might just follow you.

You could sprinkle fairy dust on them and hope they turn into Happy Person. Happy Person is much more fun, and fun to meet in the hallway, than Miserable Person. Wouldn’t it be great if we could change MPs into HPs? I don’t know if it’s possible, but it might be worth a try. If you’re brave, you might say, “MP, you seem down today. (You’re thinking: More like every day—heavy sarcasm) Why don’t you try some of these tips and techniques I learned from Brad Montgomery on how to be more positive in the work place. You see, it’s scientifically proven that positive, upbeat people live longer and are healthier than unhappy, negative people. You want to live longer, don’t you?”

It is true that those who report being more satisfied with life do tend to be healthier, which in turn, leads to longevity in life. (See this article on WebMD.  Moreover, negative emotions like anger and anxiety can lead to chronic health conditions like heart disease or stroke. (See this article at Harvard Public Health.

So I guess it’s true that misery loves company. The bad kind of company like hospitals and doctors and nursing homes.

If misery loves company, then what about happiness? Does it love company too? What I know for sure is that companies love happiness, because happy employees lead to bigger bottom lines. Happy employees have longer life spans, have better health, are more likely to be in happy marriages or partnerships, all of which complete the circle and make employees happier at work. (See this article in the Huffington Post. )

Best of all, meaningful work makes happier employees, which results in better workers and higher productivity. (See this article at the New York Times. ) This is called employee engagement. Employees who are engaged in their work are happier overall, and are the best kind of employees to have.

How do you get employee engagement? Well, one way is to use my fool-proof, time-tested techniques and tips of the happiness trade to both motivate and inspire employees to create the best kind of job satisfaction they can have. The kind that comes from inside. The kind that says we are proud of what we do and we want to share it.

So spread the news! Satisfaction at work creates satisfied employees, who are more productive and create satisfied managers. Satisfied managers create happier CEOs. And happier CEOs create better products, which lead to happier consumers buying more stuff, which leads to a stronger economy. (Why isn’t Obama’s or Romney’s team talking to me?!!!) And that’s the answer to the age-old question, “If misery loves company, what then does happiness love?” The answer? Happiness loves companies! And companies love happiness.
—

Get on board the happiness train today. Call Brad Montgomery, happiness speaker, motivational humorist, and all around great guy. He speaks on creating happiness in the workplace, creating positive work-life balance, and most of all, creating positive, encouraging, engaged employees who care about what they do and who they work with.  Call today to book motivational Speaker Brad Montgomery.