If you believe all of the recent research on workplace wellness and satisfaction, then things just aren't getting any better out there.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  It would appear that the number of people actually having fun at work is decreasing at a steady and alarming rate.  Even worse is that many of us can't even imagine having fun at work.  Suggest to someone that work should be an enjoyable place, and there's a good chance you'll be met with scornful laughter.  "I don't know what you're smoking," I've heard more than cynical voice say, "but I need some of that."

        On one hand, I find this trend most disturbing.  Work shouldn't be a penance.  On the other, more mercenary hand, I console myself with the knowledge that as long as people insist on making the lives of themselves and those around them miserable, I'll never be out of work.

        Two good friends of mine recently turned down tremendously prestigious CEO positions, with salaries that would make a professional athlete blush.  Interestingly, they both had the same explanation:  they were enjoying the jobs they had, and the extra money wasn't worth the increase in stress.  One mutual acquaintance shook his head in bewilderment, saying, "Man, these guys just dont get it."  I, however, think they do get it - better than most of us.

        There's the age old question, Do you work to live, or live to work?  My question is, why not live while you're at work?  When you do the math, you'll find that you actually spend more of your life at work than you do anywhere else.  If you're not enjoying yourself, then what's the point?  There are way too many of us out there that take ourselves way too seriously.  Should you take your work seriously?  Of course you should.  But nowhere is it written that serious work has to be miserable work.

        I began writing the Winning at Work! series to help people figure out ways around the roadblocks to workplace happiness - those bosses, coworkers, customers and employees who drain workplaces of positive energy.   Shortly after I started, I added  the Winning with People, Winning in the Workplace, and Achievement and Success components.  The feedback, in the form of email responses from readers, has been tremendous.  

        In many ways, this outpouring of feedback has made my freely distributed Winning at Work! newsletter an even more rewarding endeavour than my four published books.  There is nothing like an inbox full of emails saying "this has really helped" to make one feel like he's making a dent in things.

        Have fun reading Winning at Work! Volume 2.  I had fun writing it.  And if things really start getting bad at work, remember the immortal words of Ferris Beuller: