Q. What makes this workbook different from others?
A. It is written by a practicing mental health clinician and not someone with a background in personnel management or industrial psychology. As a clinician is always concerned with the health and well-being of his client, this workbook is written with the best interests of the individual employee in mind.
Q. Is Be Happy in Your Work effective for everyone?
A. Yes, the material is written to be beneficial to a wide range of personalities and situations.
Q. The working conditions at my job stink. How am I supposed to be happy about that?
A. The main premise of Be Happy in Your Work is that responsibility for being happy at the job is yours, not your employer’s. Which would you rather do: be happy in your work or blame your employer? You get to choose.
Q. How does this workbook work?
A. The workbook consists of four sections: the text, an illustrative fictional narrative, questions to ponder and supplemental readings. The text provides the information and the narratives illustrate and augment the text. The food-for-thought sections and supplemental readings reinforce critical take-away points.
Q. When I feel I’ve been badly used at work, I find some way to get even. Everybody does it. What’s wrong with that?
A. What’s wrong is that you create a dilemma for yourself: when you, a decent person, takes it upon himself to cheat someone else, you’re bound to feel bad about. Getting even is a bad strategy, even in the short run.
Q. I’m not committing grand larceny, just bending the rules a little. What’s so bad about that?
A. Without being moralistic about it, what’s bad is that you cheat yourself of the joy and satisfaction that comes with doing and giving your best. Be Happy in Your Work devotes an entire section to this topic.
Q. Shouldn’t I try to improve working conditions rather than just meekly accepting them?
A. Yes, by all means. Be Happy in Your Work teaches that you’re more likely to be successful at it coming from a place of satisfaction and contentment than from a place of frustration and resentment.
Q. It seems to me that if I were happier on the job, I’d be more in line for pay raises and promotion. Do you agree with this?
A. Absolutely. Being happier correlates highly with being more productive and therefore more likely to be acknowledged and rewarded.
Q. From where are the course materials drawn?
A. From two sources: my own thirty-five years of clinical experience and a thorough review of the latest psychological studies on the subject.
Q. What qualifications do you hold for writing this workbook?
A. I have a Master’s Degree in counseling, am a licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of New York and have over thirty-five years of successful clinical experience.