Do you wake up on Monday morning dreading the week ahead or do you pop out of bed with a feeling of zest and vigor? Do you have the same sense of pride about your company that you do with your dog or children? Can you walk away at the end of the work day on Friday and know you made a difference?

These are all vital questions to ask yourself when you evaluate your current company, and the role you play in its success. Your job and your company should be a direct extension of yourself and your personality.

Ask yourself this, what type of personality do you have? What type of culture do you thrive in? What type of workforce are you compatible with?

Some have a start-up mentality while others thrive in a conservative structured environment.

Here is where we stand, when we look back at our lives while we sit on the rocking chair, sipping tea and watching the grass grow, we are going to come to the realization that over 40 years of our lives were spent working. Hopefully, those will be fond memories. Do you really want to look back in regret? I think not.

Finding Workplace Happiness – The Quiz

That is easy. If you can look at yourself in the mirror and see what brings you personal happiness, then you can easily translate that into the workplace.

Let us start with a self evaluation quiz.

Get your number two pencil and a piece of paper…..

1. Do you play well with others in a teaming environment or run as a well oiled individual contributor?
2. Are you an innovator or a status quo provider?
3. Do you thrive in a small family oriented setting or a large global entity?
4. Do you like to create or be told what to do?
5. Are you passionate about your company’s mission, products and services and vision for the future?
6. Do you feel your are maximizing your strengths in your current role?
7. Do you have room to breath and grow?
8. Can you walk away each day with a feeling of fulfillment?
9. Do you feel your company is an extension of yourself?
10. Do you feel like you will look back at your time spent and smile?

Each of these questions take a critical look at yourself and your perceptions of your relationship with your company. Based on the responses you will begin to understand your feelings about your company and its impact on you emotionally. You are in a marriage or a binding contract to be with your company through “better or worse, richer or poorer.” With any marriage there will of course be compromise, but in the end, it is about personal happiness, enrichment and fulfillment.

How do I ensure I am finding happiness in the workplace?

I know this is difficult to say during a recession that will have a sustained lasting affect for a number of years to come, but one should never stay with a company that is making them feel discouraged, emotionally drained or upset. Those negative feelings carry past the workplace into the home and the social setting. Continuous flow of negative energy could have a detrimental affect on physical and mental health. None of us want that. If you are truly unhappy, actively find a home that will turn that frown upside down.

Surround yourself with people that share the same positive energy as you. That includes personality, demeanor, passion, drive, ambition and challenge. As human beings we are bread with the pursuit of making a difference in the world. Your job should be no different. You need to know that you are making a significant contribution to your own development and to the success of the company. That is vital.

Treat each day like a new adventure. Keeping it fresh, spontaneous and zesty will make any career experience worthwhile.

Be expressive. The culture of a company is built on the brand, the products and service, the infrastructure but most importantly the human capital; You!

You are the ultimate foundation of everything your company stands for. You can look at yourself in the mirror and smile. Can you look at your company in the mirror and do the same? I hope the answer is yes. It is a part of you.

Never stop learning! Work is like school, a platform of learning. As we continue to grow, we continue to learn. Each day, each week, each month should be filled with moments of learning and growing.

Be true to yourself. Don’t hide behind a paycheck or a false sense of responsibility. If you are not having all your needs met, don’t stay with company. Remember earlier, we made the metaphor that you and your company are a marriage. Would you stay in an unhealthy marriage? I hope not.

There you have it, some of the keys to workplace happiness.

Find a company that makes you feel alive and cherishes each and every moment. That will be the one that will bring you the greatest personal happiness and sense of achievement.