Center for Workplace Happiness

Tomorrow is May Day. It’s also Beltane, a holiday that you may not be familiar with unless you’re from County Limerick or County Wicklow in Ireland, where the Beltane tradition has been constant from the earliest writings in Irish literature. Beltane/May Day marks the midpoint between the spring and the summer solstice, a time where the earth starts producing food, flocks start producing babies, and the heavy summer work of providing for the community and putting up for the cold months of winter begins in earnest.

Humans have observed and celebrated the changing of the seasons throughout recorded history, and that continues today. The winter holidays are wrapped around the winter solstice. Easter, Passover, and Carnival occur near or on the spring solstice. Summer solstice in June is when school winds down and vacations ramp up, and the fall solstice is when vacation season winds down and school ramps back up. Toss in an election, a spooky holiday and a food-laden one,...

In Latin, the word for spring is “ver.” Add an “nal” to it and you get a word that translates to “of the spring.” Tonight at precisely 11:06 Eastern time, the northern hemisphere moves into spring with the official-sounding term “vernal equinox.” Day and night are each approximately 12 hours long on the vernal equinox, meaning that for a moment, at least, we can say we’re living in balance.

There are a lot of ways our lives can get out of balance. Sometimes we don’t realize we’ve over-committed ourselves until several important deadlines coincide, making it tough to make time for anything but those commitments. Sometimes a person in charge of an important project gets sick and you get deputized to pick up their workload, along with your already full one. Sometimes we think we want something – job, relationship, child, whatever – and then when we get it, realize that the responsibilities and time commitment...

One twelfth of the year is over. Done. Finished. How much of your comp time, PTO, and vacation time did you take this month? Have you thought about how you’ll use your vacation time this year? And have you calendared it and maybe even planned it down to the itinerary and ticketing?

America is a young country. If you’ve ever been to Europe or Asia, you’ll understand just how young America is. The continent isn’t young and there have been civilizations and people here far longer than there has been an American form of government here – I’m talking about the government and customs. America is young and was founded largely on the Puritan ethos of education for all, hard work, and sacrifice. While the Puritans era in the US ended by 1740, the ethos still drives many people today.

And too often, what ends up being sacrificed by most – yes, MOST – Americans is their paid time off.

Why is it bad to be all work, no play? Let me count the...

To start the new year off on the right foot, I attended a presentation about setting intentions and committing to them. Around the halfway point, when he had walked us through a couple of exercises, the speaker asked us to say aloud, “I am committed to my goals.” Throats opened and the room rang with loud, happy voices. Then he asked us to say, “I believe in my ability to achieve my goals.”

Totally different story. The response was more of a group mumble as people said words about themselves that they didn’t believe. The speaker then mentioned the late MLK Jr., asking us if social change would have happened had his level of commitment in the “I Have a Dream” speech been the same as what we just demonstrated.

The point was made – in order to lead and effect change, in order to achieve our own personal goals, and in order to be believed when we speak, we need to embody commitment. It can be tough to believe in ourselves –...

Do you have a pet? Do you know how influential you are, you pet-owner, you?

As people spent more time with their pets during the pandemic lockdown, and as those without pets realized the value of non-human companionship, all categories of pet purchases – food, veterinary care, training, boarding, you name it – have had booming bottom-line increases. The pet industry, which encompasses all things that pets need, is exploding financially. What is now a nearly $250 billion industry is projected to be pushing $370 billion in just six years.

You, with your care and concern for your pet or maybe multiple pets, are driving that. Meanwhile, your unsuspecting pet is doing what pets have always done – providing companionship to the extent you allow, being as good as you’ve helped them learn how to be (at least they’re good most of the time) and becoming a bigger line-item in your monthly budget as prices of everything goes up. While some people are making the...

Do you even know what day of the week it is? This year, at least Christmas and New Year’s Day both fell on Mondays, so maybe they just showed up as regular three-day holiday weekends for you.

If you have a job that requires staffing 24/7/365, like first responders, health care workers, transportation industry, the media, etc., then maybe you even worked on one or both of the last two Mondays. If so, thank you! With three decades in major market radio, I know how it feels to be away from your family and friends on a major holiday.

Did you do the usual New Year’s resolution thing? Did you get up and go to the gym this morning, down a protein shake instead of a drive-through breakfast, and you’re on track to be a non-smoking vegan rocket scientist by this Thursday?

Yeah…I’ve put that kind of pressure on myself before, too.

Goals are wonderful – they keep us focused and moving forward. Behavior changes are often attempted this time of year in pursuit...

Unless your eyes are just now opening for the very first time today, you already know today is Giving Tuesday. Today’s newsletter is short and sweet – if you’ll be giving today, please share the link to the organization you’re supporting. If you give at other times of the year, share the link. If you’ve got a group you’d like to give to and are waiting for the perfect time, share the link. 

If you're on Linked In, share your links here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6983192207608479744/

If you're on Facebook, share your links here: https://www.facebook.com/SandyJWeaver

Whether you give time, talent, or treasure, please share the group, organization, or cause you support. And on this Giving Tuesday, please remember to give to yourself, too. Here are three episodes of the world’s second-shortest podcast to help you remember that you matter, too.

Are you giving away your own power? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!

Need to stop...

In the United States, Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. In the early 1600’s, when the first Thanksgiving celebration featuring Englishmen in the New World happened, “giving thanks” was how people expressed their gratitude for surviving a tough year, or for bringing in a bountiful harvest.

The tradition of “giving thanks” was, and still is, a big part of the Wampanoag tribe, who were part of the early celebrations, though not quite as the story is told now. In the middle 1800’s, when the Civil War had ended and President Lincoln was looking for a way to bring the nation back together, Thanksgiving was cemented as a national celebration designed to reflect, gather, and share a communal, traditional meal. The “traditional” meal itself was made up at the time, as was the pastoral story of the early dinners with Pilgrims and tribesmen.

It was called Thanksgiving. Would we still celebrate it if it had been called Gratitude Day or Appreciation...

Are you afraid to stand up in front of an audience and give a presentation? Most people are, including some professional speakers. There you are, unguarded, vulnerable, and relying on your memory and your personality to move the audience to think in a new way, act in a new way, and hopefully not throw rotten fruits and veggies at you!

There’s a word for the fear of public speaking – glossophobia. Nearly half of adults are affected by it, at least a little bit. Why it’s so common isn’t known yet, except researchers postulate that it could be rooted in the primal fear of being seen by predators. You never know who might be lurking in that audience, just waiting to pounce!

In reality, audience members want speakers to succeed. They’re on your side, not against you, so instead of imagining everyone as naked, try imagining they’re all your very best friend, that person you could say anything to and they would still love you. Use your imagination to...

Full disclosure – today’s post is just for fun. OK, you’re right – fun is important for team cohesion, stress relief, and for mental wellbeing, so today’s newsletter might be useful, too.

And it’s mainly for fun, and yes, there’s a prize involved!

Do you love Halloween? I love Halloween – always have. Mom made our costumes because she loved Halloween, too. My two brothers and I were all sorts of craziness as we headed off to school on costume day, and as soon as I was old enough, I helped Mom with the make-up and accessories. There was that one year when I was sent home because my I Dream of Jeanie outfit was deemed too risqué for 5^th grade, so I put on a pink t-shirt under the top, tucked it into the harem pants, and went right back and won a prize in the costume contest.

Fast-forward to adulthood, when Halloween got even more fun when the candy came with a side of adult beverages and semi-suggestive fun. (Yes, the leopard...