There is an old saying--Don't take your emotions to work with you, but it's nonsense and not at all emotionally intelligent. In fact, it denies the whole process upon which emotional intelligence is built, that is, that emotions matter and are valuable.

Happiness at work can be of enormous benefit, not only to an individual, but to a team and a whole organization. In fact, if you want to have an emotionally intelligent team or organization, you need to be able to promote happiness as one of the ingredients of your culture. A happy workplace benefits productivity, boasts the sales, it is a great branding strategy, lower staff turnover, boost creativity, lowers costs, stops gossips, and prevents stress, depression, and burnout.

Let's learn five simple techniques that help to build a happier workplace:

• Stop negativity: When you have a stressful job, and especially, one that you don't like, your negativity gets the better of you. Why? Because, you keep talking to yourself about what is bad about it, and talking to other people about what is bad about it. You are making your own misery. Having miserable people at work makes a workplace toxic and can lower employee engagement, buy-in, and productivity. Instead of being miserable at work transform how you feel into something more productive. My work is very stressful and tiresome, but pays my bills and let me help others: friends, family, and so on. I am grateful. This is emotional intelligence in action.
• List 10 good things about your work: Practice recognizing, acknowledging, and saying good things about your work. This is one way to transform your emotions. At first, if you are not used to noticing the good things about your work it can take some discipline. OK! You can argue with me that you cannot find one good thing to say about your work, never mind 10! But you can do it! Start with basic things like, your income every month and the things you can do or buy with the money. The good things that your work enables you to do for your co-workers, or for your clients, customers or stakeholders, your family, and society. We are all cogs in the machine, so whether you empty dustbins, put data onto computers, you are helping others. How does your job help you serve? Be grateful for that.
• Make your workplace nicer: If you are not happy at work, then make your workplace a happier place for you to be in. Listen to gentle music through headphones, getting a plant for your desk, bring cookies to your colleagues, whatever will bring you some cheer. And cheer is contagious.
• Praise yourself: Happiness comes as a result of our actions, not from suffering in silence hoping that it will arrive. Being emotionally intelligent is not about waiting for others to help us feel happy. It is about taking responsibility for our own emotions. One of the reasons you may not be getting the praise you deserve is that everyone else is busy and is not noticing what you do. What you can do is: let them know about your good work. Jot down in a success journal, the things that worked well. Tell your family and friends of your success.
• Take a break: Break up your working day by doing something that boosts your mood. Find something that is easy to do at work and helps you refresh. Some people simply wear themselves out at work and deplete their energy so badly that it is hard to stay happy simply because fatigue is so strong.
• Have a bank account of positive emotions: Imagine you have just dropped and broken your mobile phone, and find it's going to cost you $200 to repair it. The unexpected bill will cause distress and other negative consequences for weeks if your bank account is depleted. It is the same thing with emotional situations. If your emotional bank balance is full of positive emotions and you have to draw on some of them to counter a negative emotion, there are still plenty of positive emotions left. If the emotional bank balance is depleted and there have been no recent deposits of positive emotions upon which to draw, then the negative emotions will make a bigger dent on your emotional wellbeing. Increasing your balance of positive emotion builds your resilience, creativity, and ability to be solution-focused.