How to Cheer a Guy Up After a Bad Day at Work

Listening can sometimes be enough to cheer up a friend.

When a loved one comes home from work after a bad day, those close to him are likely to feel compelled to cheer him up. While he may want to be alone and resist your efforts, reminders that you care about him and that life beyond work can be fun and pleasant are likely to improve his mood. Be sensitive and think of his needs first.

Instructions

1. Pay close attention to the body language of your loved one when he comes home after a bad day at work. He may want to talk about the situation or may wish to be left alone. If he doesn't make eye contact when you engage with him or mumbles his responses, it's best to give him some time to process the day on his own before attempting to interact with him.

2. Act as a sympathetic listener. Allow him to vent and tell you about everything that has happened to him at work. Don't interject with stories about yourself and don't provide criticism even if you're aware of ways he could have improved the situation.

3. Improve his self-esteem--which may be damaged if he received criticism at work--by reminding him of all of his positive qualities and how much you value his presence in your life. Receiving love and affection from family and friends will alleviate negative feelings that result from poor treatment at work.

4. Make an effort to make the rest of the day pleasant. Offer to cook dinner or take him out to his favorite restaurant. A fun outing or special treatment will remind him that people care about him and will help encourage him not to let work ruin the rest of his day.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't become frustrated with your loved one, even if he initially rejects your efforts to cheer him up. While it's unfair of him to take his frustrations out on his family, getting angry with him will only make the situation worse. Instead, give him some alone time to cool down and when he's in a better mood, ask him to avoid this tendency in the future.

References

• Love Panky: How to Cheer Up Your Partner
• Glamour: How to Cheer Up a Boyfriend (or Friend) Who's Feeling Down
• Dumb Little Man; 10 Things You Can Do To Cheer Yourself Up
• Gifts.com: Cheer Up Gifts for Men

Resources

• "Be Happy That..."; Melissa Heckscher et al.; 2009