Learn to love your job, the "Dr. Happy" way

By Pauline Askin

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Hate your job? At The Happiness Institute, you can learn to love what you do.

Psychologist Timothy Sharp, chief "happiness officer" at the Australia-based institute (www.thehappinessinstitute.com), teaches people how to get the most out of their work as well as helping organisations retain valued employees.

"We teach people to create an environment that people want to be a part of and also creating an environment where people can function at their best," Sharp told Reuters.

"In some organisations, it takes a one-off, one-hour lecture, but we've also worked with organisations for six, eight months."

Sharp, dubbed "Dr. Happy", says happiness at work is more than just having a good time -- it's about encouraging employees to take responsibility for their attitude and utilising their strengths.

"Regardless of whether we have a title or not, we can have an impact over our happiness and we can also impact people around us," he said. "There is no such thing as a perfect job."

"Although they can create the right conditions, an employer can't force an individual to think in a certain way."

Low unemployment in Australia has seen a trend in companies engaging organisations such as The Happiness Institute to help them attract, and keep, skilled employees.