The slogan, “Smile, you are in Sharjah.” was printed on a signboard installed in the main street of Sharjah, named Al Arouba Street by late His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah, back in 1971, and his wish was to see a smile on the face of everyone who lives or comes to Sharjah. This has positioned Sharjah in the whole region as the smiling city, and when His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan took over in 1973, he supported the idea by laying down a bed of roses with “Smile, you are in Sharjah” engraved on it right next to the two largest bridges in the city.
Thank you, Your Highness, for positioning Sharjah as the city of smile and happiness. I strongly believe that smile is the most peaceful yet powerful language on earth which does not need any medium of translation to be conveyed. Max Eastman’s quote, “A smile is the universal welcome,” sums up my view; and as far as my personal contribution is concerned, I have pledged to spread peace and serenity around my every walk of life. And for this, on the eve of the March 20, 2013International Day of Happiness—the United Nations recognized me as one of a hundred UAE nationals who contributed immensely to the “happiness” of the UAE and created a motivational work environment. I am so glad to share with my dear readers that the 2017 Voice of Kerala (VOK), on the grand finale of their music festival Middle East Super Duet, recognized me as the Ambassador of Peace and Happiness in the Arab World.
Happiness is the enjoyment of life, also called “subjective well-being” or “life satisfaction.” An enjoyable life is not always a good life, though it is still something worth striving for. The United Arab Emirates has declared that they want to become the world’s happiest country in 2021. They took one more step towards that goal by announcing that Ohood Al Roumi would be the Minister of State for Happiness on February 10, 2016. In her new role, she created and enforced laws and regulations to improve the well-being of the population. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister, ruler of Dubai, and vice president of the UAE tweeted: “National happiness isn’t a wish. Plans, projects, programs, indices will inform the work of our ministries to achieve happiness.”
While it may seem elusive to some, happiness in the workplace is far from fantasy. On the contrary, it only takes a glance at initiatives, such as Great Places to Work, Dubai Parks and Resorts’ employee happiness fund, to realize that many companies and individuals are helping create offices where happiness is a key aim. Research shows that laughter can help solve problems by making it easier to think, and a lighter mood leaves a lot of room for that eureka moment.
With the International Day of Happiness being celebrated around the world on March 20, Gulf Business examines how countries across the Gulf are striving to make themselves among the happiest places on earth. The following are their studies:
But what exactly can businesses and, more specifically, the people working in them, do to create happier workplaces?
Here are the top tips for a happier office by Linda Chaccour, founder and happiness consultant at Emerge Coaching, Lebanon.
Dubai South has been billed the “city of happiness” built around the needs and desires of the people. The acting CEO of Dubai South, Ahmed Al Ansari, explains why and how the city has become a model for cities of the future.
What if there is a dynamic new city, fundamentally different from any other place else on earth? A city centered on the human and designed around you? A values-driven, community-based city rather than a product-driven one. A city that understands the way you live, work, commute, and do business?
Dubai South is the first master-planned city in the world that is centered around happiness and purposely built as the city of you.
Rooted in the overarching social themes of Dubai Plan 2021, at Dubai South they are reinventing the urban ecosystem and experience, offering a city primarily designed for the happiness and well-being of its people, with the aim of providing solutions for everyday living. Ultimately, it aims to host a population of one million, as well as create half a million jobs and numerous investment opportunities. And for those living, working, or operating within Dubai South, happiness has been placed at the core of the city’s development and core offerings.
“The battle for the shape and soul of cities is reaching critical mass,” said Al Ansari. “We are rewriting and reorganizing the systems that hold cities together and rewriting the rules that dictate the shape and function of our processes and offering.”
A manifestation of the government’s happiness agenda, Dubai South promises to be an example of how happiness, well-being, and prosperity can converge in a thriving urban environment.
Really, it makes me feel good to hear that the UAE has been ranked the happiest Arab country in the world in a recent 2017 United Nations report, and 14th happiest overall. The World Happiness Report, released by Columbia University’s Earth Institute, found that “the world has become a slightly happier and more generous place over the past five years.”
The report considers multiple factors to look into nations’ level of happiness by studying people’s mood and overall life satisfaction. The study found that six factors affect people’s well-being: per capita GDP, life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.
WAM (official news agency of the United Arab Emirates), quoted HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, as saying, “Our goal is to achieve the happiness of our people, and their satisfaction is the gauge of our success. All development plans that we approved, all initiatives that we launched and all the government policies and laws, have one common goal—achieving the happiness of our people. Countries can only be built with happy and satisfied people. Happiness of individuals is only the start for a stable, productive, and safe society.”
Global Happiness Organization (GHO) is a major partner of the United Arab Emirates in achieving the country’s happiness goals. GHO is a nonprofit organization that implements scientific approaches to promote happiness across the world. The organization is based in the United States, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, and the UAE.
GHO presented the Happiness Promoter Award to the Emirati philanthropist Muna Harib on March 22, 2016, for launching and managing different humanitarian initiatives, including her latest initiative, Breathing Numbers. The annual award recognizes individuals for their contributions in spreading happiness and for their positive impact on the community. “Muna Harib is definitely a worthy winner. Her work is aligned with our mission to spread happiness across the globe,” said Ludvig Lindstrom, president of GHO.
Muna Harib, a 38-year-old Emirati from Dubai, launched Breathing Numbers in 2013 to document the lives of Syrian refugees at the Al Za’atari camp in Jordan. The initiative successfully helped a number of refugees to settle their medical bills and provided them with material and moral assistance.
Commenting on the Happiness Promoter Award, Muna Harib said, “I’m honored to be awarded. I learnt so much about happiness and how it can be achieved. I’m always willing and eager to apply my knowledge to my community and spread those stories through my work. I’m grateful that the UAE recognizes the importance of happiness for its society. I look forward to sharing my findings and experience for a happier UAE.”
Further, contrary to the popular belief that success brings happiness, I believe it is the other way around; it is happiness that brings success. This means that if we wait to be happy, we delay our success. As simple as that. So just be positive and optimistic, and then success will follow. This view of mine is based on research studies conducted around the globe. One such research conducted by Shawn Achor, stated, “When the human brain is positive, you’re three times more creative, intelligence rises, and productivity rises by 31 percent.” So let us reframe our way to happiness at work (at home too!).
The Kingdom of Bhutan has taken the happiness of its population as its growth policy. Instead of GDP, they have GNH (Growth National Happiness). It is their way of showing commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s culture based on its spiritual values.
The latest announcement made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 15, 2016, made Madhya Pradesh the first state in India to set up a Happiness Department. He said that the department would work to ensure “happiness in the lives of common people,” a concept borrowed from Bhutan, which uses a “happiness index.” He also added, “Besides the basic necessities of Roti, Kapda aur Makaan [food, clothing, and shelter], people need something more to be happy in their lives.”
The aim of the new department is to encourage citizens to take up yoga, spirituality, and meditation in a bid to combat stress. “Normally, happiness is measured with the economic growth rate, which is not entirely correct as our country has otherwise believed. There is something more which can bring happiness in the lives of the people,” the chief minister said. He believes that happiness will not come into the lives of the people merely through materialistic possessions or development but rather by infusing positivity into their lives so that they do not take extreme steps, such as suicide.
In one of my visits to New Delhi last year as chief guest speaker in the global summit on MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), I came across the Laugh Out Loud program in almost every part of the city. The objective for this was to infuse positivity in and around the people, and of course, the health benefits of a hearty laughter are undeniable.
I am happy to see that the UAE model for happiness implemented through the Ministry of Happiness has received regional and global acceptance. The Ukrainian government has decided to employ a minister for happiness, a move that was spearheaded by Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, who visited the United Arab Emirates. Matviyenko told Russian news agencies on April 13, 2016, that it was a concept worthy of a study for Russia. “The idea is that you have to make each person happy, to build happy schools, to provide services to the population in order to make each person happy,” she was quoted by TASS (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union), a major news agency in Russia.
So, we see that spreading happiness is a global agenda and not confined to a particular race, caste, color, or creed. I really appreciate these initiatives taken by the governments of different countries to make their place happy and welcoming.
