Book Description
Publication Date: December 31, 2013
Real Happiness at Work brings the profound benefits of meditation to an area where people could use it most—the workplace. And it’s written by one of the world’s leading meditation teachers.
A follow-up to Real Happiness, the New York Times bestseller, Sharon Salzberg’s Real Happiness at Work is a practical guide to improving work life through mindfulness, compassion, and ingenuity. It’s about being committed without being consumed, competitive without being cruel, managing time and emotions to counterbalance stress and frustration. It shows readers how to be more creative, organized, and accomplished in order to do better, more productive work.
Dividing the idea of workplace satisfaction into eight pillars, Real Happiness at Work is filled with secular wisdom; core meditations on broad themes like motivation, awareness, and seeing the good in others; and more than a dozen exercises, including Moving From Me to We and When Things Go Wrong. Sprinkled throughout the book are short “stealth” meditations, the kind that are quick, private, and doable anywhere—“Let the phone ring three times, follow your breath, then pick it up” and “For an upcoming one-on-one conversation, resolve to listen more and speak less.”
Even the best jobs are filled with stress, tough deadlines, impatient bosses, seemingly endless meetings—all the ills of harried life. But as science increasingly shows, meditation is the antidote.
Reviews
“This wise guide offers hope that employees can find meaning in even the most mundane jobs, learn to start over, and have a positive impact, however small. Among the many books that apply Buddhism to everyday life, this is a standout.”
—Publishers Weekly
(Publishers Weekly)
Review
“Sharon Salzberg has offered a gift of peace to the world.”
—Alice Walker
“Real Happiness at Work offers a practical and wise set of teachings on how to create a thriving work place. With sage advice for managing conflict, dealing with difficult people, driving team performance and finding more meaning at work, it is relevant to all of us day in and day out – from the most senior executive to the sole entrepreneur.”
—Amy Elizabeth Fox, CEO, Mobius Executive Leadership
“This is the best book I have ever read about managing stresses at work, and being creative, fulfilled, and successful along the way. Integrating both modern science and perennial wisdom and using a warm and helpful voice, Sharon Salzberg shows us how to be both happy and productive at work, even under tough conditions. Her book is unique in its heartfelt clarity about both our pressures at work and how to ease and untangle them. Reading it is like being with a caring friend who has the wisdom of forty years of teaching meditation along with lots of practical suggestions. I think it's a masterpiece.”
—Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence
“In Real Happiness at Work Sharon Salzberg brings her wise and kind sensibility to the work day, offering us practical tools to transform the zones of boredom, distraction and stress to opportunities for concentration, connection and even joy. Anyone who has a job will find treasures here.”
—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
“This is an amazing and very practical book that delivers an important message about how to overcome workplace suffering. I love the teachings—simple, understandable, inspiring and truthful without the new age jargon.”
—Casey Sheahan, CEO, Patagonia, Inc.
“I wish every boss, manager, and employee in the world had a well-read copy of Sharon Salzberg’s Real Happiness at Work to consult when things get difficult. Productivity would skyrocket, stress would plummet, and millions of people would have calmer, more creative, more joyful lives. Sharon has a genius for lending us the gentle wisdom of her presence. This book helps lead us out of the myriad torments of professional life into an infinitely kinder and more fulfilling way of being at work.”
—Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Own North Star
“Ghandi said that work was also worship, but you would not know it from most meditation courses. There is meditation and yoga for stress, health, body perfection or preparation for worship or spiritual life. But not much for that big chunk of time we call work -- the elephant in our calendar. Here, Sharon Salzberg elegantly and articulately guides you to bring it all together in the workplace and in the place of work in our lives.”
—Larry Brilliant, MD MPH, President and CEO, Skoll Global Threats Fund
“Keep this book next to your computer or next to your bed—you’ll be reaching for it regularly as you learn to become happier and more compassionate in the most challenging circumstances.”
—Mirabai Bush, Senior Fellow, Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
“Sharon Salzberg brings to the workplace practical techniques and practices that will help workers in challenging jobs survive and even thrive. It is highly recommended for both workers and their supervisors.”
—Reverend Dr. Marilyn Sewell, Minister Emerita of the First Unitarian Church, Portland, OR
“Real Happiness at Work represents the next revolution in achieving greater personal fulfillment at work. Sharon has captured the essence of compassionate workplace practices and how they can bring greater meaning and balance into our daily lives.”
—Peter J. Miscovich, Managing Director, Strategy + Innovation, Jones Lang LaSalle
“Real Happiness at Work is essential reading in a time when so many of us are plagued by periods of burnout and stress -- even when our work is meaningful. Wherever you work, whatever you do, the simple tools and techniques in this book may be the key to greater satisfaction, focus and peace of mind. Is there anyone who isn’t clamoring for those things?”
—Marci Alboher, VP, Encore.org and author of The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life
“Real Happiness at Work is filled with insights and practical skills that can enhance your life, shift your perception and create meaning in the work you do—all from the inside out. Her book offers the mindfulness tools necessary to help us navigate our work, manage our relationships, and develop a more emotionally sustainable life as a result.”
—Seane Corn, Co-founder, Off the Mat, Into the World
“In today's techno-saturated, always-on, 1000-mph workplace, sometimes it feels like the world is moving too quickly for mindfulness. Sharon's book is perfect for those just starting out meditating, those looking to deepen their practice, and experienced meditators who need a reminder of how to apply the teachings in this most stress-inducing of settings. I wish I'd had it earlier--it would have spared me so much stress in office situations.”
—Melissa Kirsch, author of The Girls Guide to Absolutely Everything
“An astonishingly relevant and important book for this time, when nearly everyone struggles to do good work in a crazed climate of overwork, overwhelm, and exhaustion. As our task lists grow, so does meaninglessness, thoughtlessness, fractured relationships, and cynicism. Sharon is a superb guide, offering practices that serve as a strong, trustworthy lifeline, lifting us from these drowning depths to rediscover how moment-to-moment presence offers us clarity, discernment, effectiveness, and joy.”
—Margaret J. Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science
“Real Happiness At Work offers simple and skillful advice that helps us to harness the challenges at work to cultivate happiness and promote well-being. May every worker and employer read this book! The world would be a better place!”
—Richard J. Davidson, Founder and Chair, Center for Investigating Health Minds University of Wisconsin-Madison
“As someone who works with extremely competitive people in a high stakes, highly charged and ego-driven environment, I found this book to be a lifeline to sanity. Real Happiness at Work is a personal field manual that teaches us that changes in the workplace begin as an inside job. By tapping into our inner-kindness, inner- compassion and inner-joy, we can gently bring those qualities out in our fellow workers. Sharon lays out how a personal transformation can make you happier at work, but it also has the potential to infuse your entire workplace with a spirit of joy and cooperation that can enhance the creativity and problem solving needed to meet all the challenges of a 21st Century workplace.”
—Tim Ryan, US Congressman, Author, A Mindful Nation
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