National Seminar on "Happiness and Well-Being at Workplace" organised at IIM Sirmaur
Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur organized an online one-day National Seminar on 'Happiness and Well-being at Workplace' on 20th March 2021 to commemorate the International Day of Happiness. Professor Neelu Rohmetra Director IIM Sirmaur inaugurated the Seminar and delivered the inaugural address. While speaking with the delegates, Professor Rohmetra emphasized that happiness is a state of mind. The choice to be happy lies in one's own hands. Happiness is a function of behavioural outcome of one's activities. Happiness is dependent upon our line of thought and thus our actions , she said. She opined that since behaviour is never random, happiness can therefore very well be controlled at level of Self' to some extent. She further explained that if we are clear what we want in our life or at least conscious about the choices we make, we can be happier in our lives. In this way, individuals can channelize their happiness by working on the Self'. She further elaborated that one has to remove the mental blocks to make the workplace and society around happier places, for any interpersonal or social transactions. She raised if happiness is synonyms for satisfaction or contentment!
Earlier, Dr Rinki Dahiya, the convener of the event and faculty at IIM Sirmaur welcomed all the panellist. Dr Sanjay Singh, faculty at IIM Sirmaur gave the opening remarks on the essence of the seminar. The seminar comprised of three-panel discussions handled by esteemed panellists from various elite Institutions including IIT Delhi, IIM Indore, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bombay.
The seminar started with the first-panel discussion on 'Happiness and mental well-being by Dr Aruna Broota, and Prof. Sushanta Kumar Mishra. Prof. Aruna Broota, Psychologist Doctor and Mental Health Expert highlighted the fact that joy and positive well-being are missing among the individuals and that one needs to work upon augmenting the 'strength of self'. Later, Prof. Sushanta Kumar Mishra from IIM Indore highlighted the significance of maintaining a balance between positive and negative emotions.
Focusing on the theme Role of psychological resources in enhancing well-being, eminent panellist Prof. Kamlesh Singh, IIT Delhi enlightened the participants with the understanding of multidimensional approaches of happiness and how technological apps can be utilised to eradicate stress and anxiety at the workplace. Further, Prof. Rabindra Kumar Pradhan, IIT Kharagpur explained the ways how people can cope with stress and how hopeful thinking is important in achieving goals and objectives in life.
The third panel discussion focused on the theme of 'Workplace spirituality, organizational culture and spiritual well-being'. The panellists included Prof. Rajen Gupta, Research Advisor, IIM Sirmaur, Prof. Santosh Rangnekar, IIT Roorkee, and Prof. Ashish Pandey, IIT Bombay. Prof. Rajen Gupta emphasized the significance of spirituality and shared his experience on the connection between spirituality and Indian culture. He also talked about vedantic traditions in India. Further, Prof. Santosh Rangnekar highlighted the significance of spirituality and factors of spiritual well-being. He also elaborated on the characteristics of spiritual organizations. Afterwards, Prof. Ashish Pandey emphasized that organizations could leverage consciousness models to foster high spirituality and can boost their spiritual capital. Dr Parul Malik, Event Co-Convener and faculty at IIM Sirmaur presented a formal vote of thanks.
