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Let’s start with an exercise. Think: Where have you most heard or read the words integrity and passion? Moral science classes at your school? Random coffee mug quotes or wallpapers and mission statements? Perhaps they were listed down as requirements for a job that you last applied for? ‘The Ideal candidate should be honest and passionate about their work.’ Relatable?
Integrity and passion are two qualities that define the character of a person. We are fed with their importance in everything we do, through various channels in our life — starting with lessons we pick up at school lessons or those we adopt during our day to day. Yet, why are these virtues not common? The answer is that they are not as easy to uphold, no matter their validity. These morals are the only foundation that may propel you to unparalleled heights in personal and professional fronts, making you more likeable and successful as an employee and as a person.
An integral person is one who demonstrates ethical values at work. Trustworthy and dependable, these are the people who follow the principles of honesty and truthfulness even when they are not being watched or evaluated.
Passion, on the other hand, is the power and love that you feel for doing certain things. Why is passion important in the workplace? Because you spend most hours of a day working. “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why,” said Mark Twain, emphasising the connecting fibre between passion and purpose.
If integrity is the hallmark of your moral values and conduct, passion is the scale on which your productivity depends. Look at both as different sides of the same coin, a coin that is your key to happiness and the ultimate value that we all as humans seek.
From Aristotle to Einstein and all the way to Steve Jobs, since times unknown, famous people have said and written a lot about the importance of virtues like integrity and passion in life.
Loving what you do and being truthful to your work boil down to one thing — happiness. Workplace happiness and well-being are subjective, but important parts of an overall workplace ecosystem.
A Danish term Arbedjsglæde sums it up. Arbedjsglæde as a word means the happiness that we derive from ‘doing’ something — reflective of a sense of well-being that is triggered when you feel good about your work and feel involved in professional commitment.
Happiness at work in integrated into various individual aspects like personality traits, perception, and complex multilayered factors like emotional intelligence, which together affects the degree to which one feels comfortable in a professional situation.
From the perspective of an organisation, happy employees are engaged, more creative, and more productive. In his book titled ‘The Happiness Advantage,’ Shawn Achor claims that a company with happy employees could increase its sales by 37% and productivity by 31%. This directly results in a high-performance work atmosphere and makes happiness a part of the performance culture.
From multiplying successes to building positivity and reducing stress, there are ample to be happy at work. It’s no wonder, then, that Google and McDonald’s now appoint Chief Happiness Officers along with Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and Chief Financial Officers (CFO).
Happiness is rightly called a way of life. Because workplace or home, we may seek it everywhere, but it dwells within.
Spark Makki is Head of English Content at Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me