Workplace Wellbeing: Finding happiness in the workplace is an ongoing balancing act

Contentment has little to do with keeping up with the Murphys, getting a job promotion or winning awards. However, it’s all about identifying your values and finding your sense of purpose

What constitutes success? What is the true definition of work-life balance? And how can we go about deriving genuine satisfaction from our work? Picture: iStock.

What constitutes success? What is the true definition of work-life balance? And how can we go about deriving genuine satisfaction from our work?

Many of us ask ourselves these big questions occasionally. As the end of the year approaches and we reflect upon our resolutions for 2025, we may even be pondering them right now.

There are experts whose full-time job is to study these topics, and The Irish Examiner asked them to share the lessons they have learned and applied to affect their lives positively.

Dr Christian van Nieuwerburgh is a coaching and positive psychology professor at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). He shares two lessons, the first of which involved changing his perception of time.

Dr Christian van Nieuwerburgh: "I realised that most of my time wasn’t being allocated to the things I valued highly, so I decided to do something about this."

“I used to feel as if I never had enough time and that it was always slipping away from me,” he says. “But during the pandemic, I started to think about how I allocated my time and became far more intentional about how I used it.”

He started by prioritising what was important to him. “Then I looked at how I spent a typical day,” he says. “I realised that most of my time wasn’t being allocated to the things I valued highly, so I decided to do something about this. 

"To the extent that it’s possible, I try to be intentional about how I allocate time at work, and I apply that same approach to life outside of work. For example, if I’ve got five minutes to spare, I know that a WhatsApp interaction with a family member is a far better use of my time than scrolling social media.”

Van Nieuwerburgh’s second lesson is a strategy we can all use to enhance our wellbeing at work. “I’ve found that instead of focussing on my own happiness, it’s more beneficial to focus on my colleagues’,” he says. 

You tend to be more generous towards others and do things for them that you wouldn’t do for yourself.

He does things like bringing treats into the office and aiming to finish the meetings he chairs ten minutes early. “The side-effect is that what’s good for my colleagues also ends up being good for me,” he says. “I get appreciation and feel like I’m adding value. Focusing on what I can change in my workplace, things like how I allocate my time and how I treat others, ultimately improves my wellbeing.”

Look inwards, not outwards

Dr Yseult Freeney is a professor in organisational psychology at Dublin City University. She believes we would benefit from looking inward instead of outwardly comparing ourselves to others.

“These days, social media amplifies social benchmarks like titles, salaries and accolades,” she says. “But this can fail to capture individual fulfilment. True success stems from aligning one’s career with personal values, aspirations and the desire for meaningful impact. 

"What matters is pursuing work that resonates with one’s sense of purpose, not striving to outpace peers. By focusing on intrinsic goals like personal growth, creative impact or contributing to society, individuals can craft a unique narrative of achievement. In the end, success isn’t a competition, but an enriching journey we can enjoy in life.”

Dr Yseult Freeney: "These days, social media amplifies social benchmarks like titles, salaries and accolades."

Chartered work and organisational psychologist Leisha Redmond-McGrath has arrived at a similar definition of success. “I determine what success looks and feels like for me,” she says. “I learned a long time ago that success on others’ terms wasn’t what I wanted.”

As someone who enjoys her work, Redmond-McGrath can find it difficult to switch off. Reminding herself of the value she places on family and friends helps.

“They are what it’s all about for me,” she says. 

“I’m passionate about my work, but my loved ones come first. So at this time of year, I consciously choose not to work and to focus instead on rest and quality time with them.”

If this proves challenging — and Redmond-McGrath admits that it often does — she views it as a sign that she should take preventative action in future. 

Leisha Redmond McGrath: "It goes against my natural inclination to push on, but I need that time to percolate."

“Sometimes, I can find it hard to relax after a busy year, so I let that influence how I set myself up for the year to come,” she says. 

That usually means putting more white space in my diary and more time between scheduled tasks. It goes against my natural inclination to push on, but I need that time to percolate.

Dr Wladislaw Rivkin is an associate professor of organisational behaviour at Trinity College Business School. He believes that becoming aware of the importance of managing our mental energy during the working day would help many of us.

“It fluctuates considerably, and research shows that these fluctuations determine our work performance and wellbeing,” he says. 

Dr Wladislaw Rivkin: "By focusing on managing our mental energy as well as our time, we can stay happy, healthy and productive". Picture by Edward Moss.

“Identifying the times when we have the highest levels of mental energy and scheduling the most demanding tasks accordingly can help us to capitalise on these peak levels and boost our work performance while sustaining our wellbeing. 

"By focusing on managing our mental energy as well as our time, we can stay happy, healthy and productive.”

Overhaul of what success means

Dr Melrona Kirrane is the academic director of Let’s Lead, Dublin City University’s leadership development programme for women. She advocates a complete overhaul of our view of success.

“There are four components of authentic existence,” she says. 

Dr Melrona Kirrane: "Rather than focussing on work and professional life as the only domain in which we can be successful, we need to think of all the domains we inhabit as human beings."

“Professional achievement is one for sure. But so is happiness and taking pleasure in life; significance and the sense you are making a positive impact on people you care about; and legacy or the feeling that you are making your world, work team or family unit better for those who come after you. 

"How we piece these four tiles together is the route we take to meaningful satisfaction and work-life balance. 

Rather than focussing on work and professional life as the only domain in which we can be successful, we need to think of all the domains we inhabit as human beings.

Kirrane also urges us to take on our harsh inner critic. “We need to silence that unforgiving voice and cultivate our inner mentor instead,” she says. “Listening to a voice that encourages us to stay in the game, not lose heart and persevere will make us all far more resilient and ultimately lead to more success.”

Dr Jolanta Burke is a wellbeing researcher at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. She believes that everyone should follow their own path to a satisfying life.

“For some, wellbeing comes from travelling the world, meeting people and challenging themselves,” she says. “These are people who thrive on change.

Dr Jolanta Burke: "There are those who derive wellbeing from a quiet and understated life and those who, like me, are driven by a passion for their work."

“For others, it comes from a life filled with meaning, so they spend their days helping people. There are those who derive wellbeing from a quiet and understated life and those who, like me, are driven by a passion for their work. Work is a significant part of their identity.”

Speaking for herself, she thinks she would struggle if she tried to impose strict boundaries between her work and her personal life. That’s why she aims for work-life harmony rather than work-life balance.

“In my life, work seeps into my personal life and vice versa,” she says. 

“They complement each other and are in harmony. I often do my thinking while I cook, clean or pick my son up from school and then later, I write an article or design research based on the ideas I came up with. Work and life support each other regardless of the time of day."