It’s that time of year when people make resolutions galore and then seem to break them within weeks, if not days (hours???) of making them.

Be honest, how long did the ‘Give up alcohol’ one last?

If number one on your list is to get a new job that’s a biggie – especially in today’s difficult climate.

You may or may not achieve it, but if you do you want to be sure you’re not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. How awful would it be to give up one job for another that made you even more miserable after the honeymoon period was over?

So what’s the secret to a happier working life?

Whether you end up going or staying there is one way to make sure you and those around you are happier at work. And the key lies in your values and that of the organisation you’re working for.

Quite often when we run one of our workshops and we look at the values of the individual and the company we find a number of people who have an epiphany as they realise that this is why they’re miserable in their working life. The values simply don’t match up. In particular, some of their core values are taking a pummelling at the office.

If this happens for any length of time you can end up feeling as if you’ve taken a physical beating – exhausted, upset and trying to escape.

So if your values and the values of the organisation don’t match does that mean you have to leave?

Thankfully for those that can’t, for whatever reason, the answer is no.

A clue to the solution lies in a quote from Mahatma Ghandi

Be the change you want to see

It’s a popular quote but not many people truly understand it.

Ghandi was upset with the way things were in his world but rather than escaping he set about changing things. That’s not to say that you need to start organising civil disobedience sessions and non-violent sit-ins in your workplace.

It’s more about deciding which of your values are not being honoured and then looking at how you can introduce those yourself into the workplace through your own behaviour.

So, for example, if you feel people are not being open in their communications, rather than complaining, clamming up or talking only to your chosen few, you choose to be open in your communications, while at the same time upholding other values you may hold dear, like respect.

The very powerful human driver, reciprocity, quite often means that if you give a particular thing then the people you give to will respond in kind. You see that quite often with negative behaviour, like aggression. The good news is that it often works for positive behaviour too. So if you persevere in your positive behaviour the likelihood is that those around you will respond eventually.

Try it in a small way – with a smile.

Then try it with one of your values and see if you can start a ripple in your pond that may one day become a wave.