5 Years of our Happiness Ambassador
5 Years of our Happiness Ambassador
Happiness Ambassador Amy celebrates half a decade at Boo.
Some moments in life make emotional imprints so strong that just by thinking about them, you can feel it all again. Six years ago, one of those moments occurred on the way to my former workplace. I passed a bird in a tree and thought “I wish I was that bird, so I didn’t have to go to work.”
It seems strange to imagine myself back in that space and wonder why I would tolerate anything that made me want to be a bird to escape it. I had a happy life, ‘just’ a toxic workplace. Why didn’t I leave?
Another such moment was when I’d just finished listening to Becci speak about the kind of leader she was and the organisation she led. The room went quiet and I realised my jaw had dropped – cartoon style. At this point she’d already invited me to join Boo, and I hadn’t yet leapt into her arms. Why not?
When I’d closed my gaping mouth, I noticed many others in the room reacting in a similar way – how would I feel if one of them got the job at Boo instead? What if my worst enemy got it?
Maybe we stay in toxic workplaces for similar reasons that we stay in other toxic relationships.
- Because of all the work we’ve put in so far that we don’t want to go to waste
- Because this isn’t how we imagined it would end
- Because we feel we need to fight to change things
- Maybe we have unfinished business
- Maybe we don’t feel we deserve better
- Maybe we have something to prove to ourselves or others
- Perhaps we feel shame
- Perhaps we lack the energy and motivation to make big decisions and to move
- Perhaps its misplaced loyalty
What is certain is that how we are led has such an impact on how we feel about work, and how we feel about work has such an impact on our health and happiness. So if you’re currently staying in a job because of any of these reasons, could you let them go, for your health and happiness?
There are lots of ways my life might be different if I hadnt joined Boo, but had I stayed in that toxic workplace I would not be the person I am, nor the parent I aspire to be.
I’m also pleased not to be a bird.
