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I came into my first (and current) job with a lot of wariness: Not wanting to rub people the wrong way as the newbie; careful to self-censor my random quirks for fear of judgement. Just treat it as a workplace and be as professional as you can, was my guiding thought for the first few months. With time, however, a welcoming team sets you at ease, and the freedom to express yourself comes out a bit more. More than two years in, I finally did it: Bought a desk shelf, and fully embraced the thought of personalising my workspace. (Again, a caveat before we proceed - I am new to this entire work desk decoration situation, and am not putting pressure on myself to craft the world’s best personalised workspace, or clinch any design awards in the office. Please pardon me if all this sounds very trivial.) Cleaning - and building - up Even in our old office, I always had little bits lying around on my desk - a 1:32 diecast of the Volkswagen up! bought in 2019, to commemorate my first (and only - thus far) Frankfurt Motorshow visit - then as we moved here, other items like a small plushie of the ebi fry character in San-X’s Sumikkio Gurashi series, gifted to me by family. But for fear of my desk growing messier than it already was, never dared to venture further out in adding more items on. I don’t recall now when it was that the urge to simultaneously clean things up (sorry Des/Denise) while entertaining myself a bit more kicked in - but right at the dawn of 2024 (my Lazada order history indicates 5 January), I finally decided to get a shelf to house everything. Things have been changing - I’m still figuring out what items I want to see daily - but following a team bonding event that we had over this past week, a new tenant resides on the shelf’s top floor: A terrarium of my own making, which stares right back at me now whenever I need a break from my screen. Flanking the other end of my designated work area, bits of what put a smile on my face have also gotten stuck into my name tag - my participant number for an unforgettable media event last year, a picture of a car I adore, and a card from a good friend that… basically calls out who I am as a person. (Here, I have no shame.) All of this is still work in progress, naturally. But anyhow, the point is that injecting my work space with small yet significant parts of my soul has brought me invaluable joy, even if the act doesn’t seem significant in itself. Unsurprisingly, this topic has gotten its fair share of discourse online too. The office is inherently an un-private, and perhaps rather intrusive space - you’re basically at the beck and call of whatever or whoever requires your attention in a professional setting. In counteraction, a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology noted that “higher personalisation at work reduced the adverse effect of the experience of low levels of privacy on emotional exhaustion”. On a less verified internet-sleuth level, however, I personally enjoy this take by a commenter on Quora, who singles out notions of control, connection and consistency as some of the driving forces behind why we like to personalise our workspaces: “Personal objects give a sense of control in an environment where people often complain of having less and less of it. They offer permanent connection to familiar and reassuring symbols in an environment which increasingly pushes people apart even though they might be in the same open-plan office. Their presence provides consistency in an environment where unpleasant surprises can occur at any time.” I’d like to think that specific material objects - when carefully chosen - can be powerful storytellers for their curators too. When I look at the POPMART toy, for instance - permanently frozen in a stance of faux-attack - I think of last year’s roundtable of blind-box opening at Christmas dinner with my siblings and cousins; laughing at the corner of my sister’s place over red wine and potato chips, while singing along to 2000s mandopop hits. The single, isolated hour of terrarium-making also counts itself as one of my more treasured memories over this tiring week - and I have no doubt the feeling of warmth it gives me will continue to wear well in the months to come. Something to hold onto No matter how much we love our jobs, the undeniable fact remains that work will often confuse and frustrate. In turn, any source of joy we can hold onto - whether small or big; human or inanimate - is of inexplicable comfort. Things don’t have to be static either. As life brings with it routine changes, so too, will new objects of joy fall into frame. In turn, embracing this state of flux - knowing you are in full control - is exciting. Among the decisions I know I will not regret from 2024, buying this shelf will most certainly be one of them. But for now, I think I’ll get cracking with narrowing down its next tenant… - Matt

USD 500k per annum.. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/money-does-buy-happiness-but-up-to-670k-only-survey

Asia One In pursuit of happiness By all accounts, Madam Karen Khew is fairly successful. The financial controller in an MNC earns $12,500 a month and heads a team of eight people. Her husband runs two alfresco cafes - one in Jurong and another in Orchard Road. The couple, who have a nine-month old baby boy, live in a semi-detached house in the East. He drives a Mercedes and she a BMW. But Madam Khew, 39, claims she is unhappy. "How can I be happy when I do nothing but work all day? What's all the money if I can't enjoy myself?" she laments. "Erm, your statement is likely to raise a stinker," I point out to Madam Khew, "especially among those who are less successful. "But really, what will make you happy?" She leans back into her plush $4,500 sofa and ponders the question. "It's easy actually," says Madam Khew. "I just want to work about four to six hours max and spend the rest of the time with my baby and my husband." With no pay-cut. Madam Khew's unhappiness seems to support the survey findings by marketing communications agency Grey Singapore early this week. The top reason for unhappiness among 30- to 44-year-olds is their work-life balance, with more than 18 per cent indicating they were very unhappy with this. The survey of 200 citizens and permanent residents, aged from 18 to over 60, found that baby boomers between 45 and 59 were happiest with where they lived, their closeness with family members and their spirituality. The least happy group were those between 18 and 29 years old. They were most disgruntled with their savings and expenditure in the past six months, and with their job satisfaction. Ah, happiness. It's been a hot button issue in the past week, with MPs locking horns in Parliament over how to measure it, and claims that Singapore is too focused on economic progress, at the expense of citizens' happiness. But well before the debate became national, The New Paper on Sunday had, in its humble manner, introduced its own Happiness Index, based on the week's good and bad news (See page 3). Our Happiness Index is hardly scientific. Admittedly, it is often arbitrary. How do you measure happiness, really? It's relative, really, says Mrs Michelle Leong, 47, a housewife. She quit her job five years ago when her daughter's grades began to slide drastically three months before the PSLE. "Really, if you ask me, I'd tell you I was unhappy. But now, my girl is in a good JC and she is doing well," says Mrs Leong. "That makes me happy. Very happy." Indeed. What lights up Madam Neo Ah San's life is when her two children pop over with her four grandchildren, aged between two months and seven years old. "Nothing beats having everyone sit down together for a meal," says the grandma in Khek. "Every Sunday is like a reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's eve." For hardware stall owner Siew Khim Teng, he's happy as long as he can make a sale, it doesn't matter if it barely covers the daily $50 rent. Mr Siew, 50, whose stall is in a Clementi wet market, says: "Business is bad. I'm happy as long as I can make a sale before the shutters come down." Nasi padang stall owner Madam Narimah Mustafa, 48, considers herself relatively happy even though she is divorced and childless. She reckons it's a blessing that she's healthy and does not have to depend on handouts. Madam Narimah says: "Not only can I feed myself, I can cook and feed others while making money." For Mr Brandon Ang, his unhappiness stems from his inability to set aside money for his wedding. The 28-year-old salesman, who earns $3,000 in a good month, says: "More than half of my pay is gone the minute the money goes into my bank account. "There are bills, bills and more bills to pay." He has proposed to his girlfriend, a 27-year-old teacher, but they have yet to set a date. "How to? I don't even have enough money to pay for the downpayment of a flat." If the gauge from all the 40 people randomly polled by Ground Zero is any indication, happiness is indeed almost impossible to measure. Sometimes, it's the simple things in life, and the way we see it. Not enough money? Too little time to smell the roses or raise the kids? Take a leaf from how Bangladeshi conservancy worker Balakrishnan Hassan, 22, sees it. Says the man who has been working in Singapore for almost a year: "What makes me happy? "As long as I can finish my shift without having to clean any vomit or adult's urine at the void decks or in the lift."

Any idea what is Singapore Happiness Index ? Read it somewhere but cant remember liao.... but I think the score was pretty bad , really cant remember liao .. Do you guy prefer Singapore to score world no 1 in GDP growth or You prefer Singapore to be rank No 1 in the Happinese Index ? Please note also note that GDP growth does not necessary translate to happy citizen This is a new gauge to gauge how well a country is run beside the usual GDP gauge . Just like wideband AFR gauge in modern car, the most important gauge to made your car happy !

Do remember to enjoy the journey and treasure time with your loved ones as net worth won't buy you happiness! I remember the time when my net worth was probably 1,000 to 10,000 times lower than today. Those were actually some of the best days of my life as well. Even starting a career years ago with all the evolved challenges faced today, there were many great days I relished as well. Reflect on your changes in net worth. How have they made you feel? Although Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is currently worth $91.1 billion, he recently said that having more money isn't the key to happiness. In fact, the business mogul admitted he enjoyed the days when he had a mere fraction of his current net worth. "I wasn't unhappy when I had $10,000 when I got out of school," Buffett said during an interview with Becky Quick on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "I was having a lot of fun." Buffett said people tend to think that having more money will make them happier. He gave this example: If you have $100,000 and you're an unhappy person and you think "$1 million is going to make you happy, it is not going to happen." Even if you earned that million dollars, your happiness will disappear when you "look around" and "see people with $2 million," Buffett added. "You will not be way happier if you double your net worth." Warren Buffett is worth $75 billion but says he would be 'very happy' with way less Instead of letting your happiness be defined by what you don't have or how quickly you make money, Buffett said "you can have a lot of fun while you're getting rich." Echoing Buffett's sentiment, research shows that people assume having and spending money will make them happier, University of British Columbia psychology professor Elizabeth Dunn explained to CNBC Make It. In a study Dunn co-authored and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that "time is the new essential currency for many people." "In terms of our happiness, time is really the fundamental currency," Dunn added. "People do not have unlimited money, so buying one thing means not being able to pay for something else," she added. "Shifting the focus to not just say 'let me make more income' but let me just spend my money in ways that are actually making me happy is a really promising strategy." In 2017, Buffett said he would be content making $100,000 a yearpartly because he already has an investment that's made him happy: a house he bought in 1958, which he still lives in. "If I could spend $100 million on a house that would make me a lot happier, I would do it. But, for me, that's the happiest house In the world. And it's because it's got memories, and people come back, and all that sort of thing," Buffett told PBS Newshour. "The truth is, I have got a lot of wealth, little pieces of paper [that say] Berkshire Hathaway on it. They are claim checks on all kinds of goods and services in the world. They can buy anything. I can buy 400-foot yachts and have 20 homes and all that," Buffett said. "I wouldn't be happier."

Met up with an old friend from school last weekend and catching up over some beer. Have not seen him for a few years and when I last talked to him it was back when he was a struggling engineer driving a beat up Nissan. Back then when he was lowly paid he always keep telling our group of friends that money can't buy you happiness. Now he had ventured out to do his own business and is very successful driving a BMW. So i asked him about his favorite line and he told me with a straight face - 'knn that's what poor people say la, do you ever hear rich people say that?' At least he is honest and I can tell he's very much happier than he was a few years ago. So the question is what the bros here think about the statement? Do you think money buy happiness for you or have it already bought you happiness?

sharing this article by local blogger Gintai find it very refreshing and inspiring it's so true that when a door closes on you in life, another door opens life is difficult, but don't give up

I only remember what Uncle Ben said: With great power comes great responsibility [laugh] Seriously we all want a caring, understanding and most important of all, a generous boss But the fact is most of the time we do realise there is no such a boss or they rarely in existence and we make do what we have. Bosses pay us to provide a service for them so most basically deliver but some of us do really excel either for self pride or to get more reward i.e. bonuses. From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-...piness-20130321 Bosses' role in ensuring workplace happiness Published on Mar 21, 2013 THE workplace, if anything, is not a social laboratory for human endurance. It is an incubator for growth and productivity. The compelling need to retain staff and ensure workplace "happiness", as advocated by Mr Lawrence Loh Kiah Muan ("How to retain staff and keep them happy"; Monday), cannot be a zero-sum game. Too often, the root cause of workplace unhappiness lies in intangible things like the abuse of power, the absence of fair procedures, the instilling of fear that prevents debate, favouritism and the lack of action against bullies. Perhaps central to workplace unhappiness is the mutilation and interpretation of power dispensations. Bosses need to change their mindsets and ensure that power becomes a vehicle for reform, with the concomitant drawing up of definite parameters for its exercise. As a large percentage of Singapore companies are small and medium-sized enterprises, this guiding principal seems to have been lost in the rush to boost bottom lines. Power is greatly coveted everywhere. Perhaps former United States president Abraham Lincoln was right when he said: "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." Jaya Prakash

Have to find a way to measure happiness.... Once that's settled, can we look back and say which things we spent money on are giving us the max HAPPINESS per $ spent? A good dinner of $200 per head made you happy for 1 hour of 8/10 of happiness? (10/10 means total happiness): this gives $200 divide by 8 = 25points.... A good tie for $100 but you wear it only say for 3 ocassions of 2 hours each and it gave you 8/10 happiness (total happiness = $100 divide by (2hrs x 3times x 8) = 100 divide by 48 = 2.08points... 2.08points means less dollars per happiness point compared with the $200 dinner........... win liao A flashy car costing $20k per year depreciation, add rdtx, insur, petrol etc, say $15k pa, giving us total cost 20 + 15 = $35k pa this is approx $3k per mth, $100 per day. Lets say we use the car 4hr a day, this gives us $25 per hr of use. If we derive 8/10 happiness from using the car, 25 divide by 8 = 3.13points.... cant beat good tie!! moral of the story: a good tie you like gives you max value for money in terms of HAPPINESS... (even if you only use it trice...)

What role can/should the govt play, and so far what definitation they have for this? I feel the first thing a p5 or latest by sec1 student must learn and think for himself is this question. He may take quite a few years to find the answer, hopefully most of us here have already found it, or exceed it??

Happiness is seeing my daughter, knowing she is healthy and happy. Nothing else seems to matter anymore.

Guys wish to let you all share my happiness, I just won TOTO! I am a winner!!!!!!