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Español5 steps to achieve work satisfaction and do what you love
Whatever your feelings about your current work situation, one thing is certain: the majority of us will spend almost a third of our adult lives in the workplace. As we spend so much of our time and energy at work, learning how to be happy during those hours is surely well worth the effort. This article shows you how to get the most of your work and become a happier worker. Read on!
How to make the most of your work situation
We suggest a helpful way to think about work is to use our Happy Work-cycle. The cycle is designed to help you analyse your feelings about your employment, and to help you put your current work situation into a broader perspective.
The model encourages you to spend time thinking about your current work situation, and then more time asking yourself some important questions. In short, this model suggests ways to get the most out of your work.
The happy work-cycle contains the following steps:
- Do what you love, or…
- Do more of what you love, or…
- Learn to love what you do, or…
- Learn to live with what you do, or, if it comes to this…
- Leave what you do.
1) Do what you love
The cycle starts with a key question. Spend as much time as you need deciding what you’d love to do. What is it you’d gladly spend your working day doing? Next spend time thinking about how you can make your living by doing it. It might sound easy, but it’s almost certainly not – though you won’t know until you’ve at least given it some thought. Try to make the most of whatever it is you’re currently doing. Start by trying to do more of what you love.
2) Do more of what you love
Regardless of whether or not your current job is a stepping stone to other things, you could still benefit from trying to do the things you love whilst there. Here are some things to think about:
- In your current occupation, are there elements of your job that you love more than others?
- Do you have particular strengths that, when applied, give you extra job satisfaction?
- Could you arrange your working life so that you can make the most of these opportunities? See what you can negotiate with your manager. It would be to the organisation’s benefit too!
If it’s not possible to build more of what you love in to what you do, the next thing to try is to adjust your mental attitude to your job. Try learning to love what you do.
3) Learn to love what you do
Our attitude to life is largely our own business so there is much about our own happiness that we can control. Try applying this career tips to your work:
- Re-frame – Even if you can’t spend all of your time doing the specific aspects of your job that bring you the most happiness, try to adopt a positive mental attitude to all of your work.
- Re-kindle – Did you once love what you do? Try to rekindle the fire! Remember what it was that you once enjoyed and make a conscious effort to feel that way again.
- Good days at work – Think about the good things in your day – routines, surprises, relationships, small rewards. Focus on these positives.
- Contribution – Think about the overall contribution your organisation makes to its customers or to society in general. Focus on your own input to this contribution.
- Positive thinking – Try to consciously think the best about your work. Positive thinking, looking for the best in people or situations, can work wonders if you just give it a try.
4) Learn to live with what you do
Even if you can’t get enthused about your work, try to be positive about what your work does for you. Our situations vary greatly, but the majority of people work in jobs that contribute to at least a subsistence standard of living. Don’t forget that, however much we might dislike our jobs, they pay for the things we have in life. After all, you wouldn’t be working in your job if you didn’t get at least some rewards.
However, if even this attempt at positive thinking doesn’t work then it might just be time to think about leaving what you do.
5) Leave what you do
If all else fails, and if you can’t change either yourself or your work situation, then it’s probably time to look for something else. The ideal would be to take another step towards your calling but if that is not yet an option, don’t do anything hasty.
Explore any options that may exist within your current employment. Perhaps a transfer to another department may re-invigorate you. If not, maybe something a little more drastic such as a role change, or even a step down the ladder. Could you actually lead a happier life by doing less at work, or by taking on fewer responsibilities?
You will find all these career tips and more in the eBook “Careering Ahead – Getting by, getting on or getting ahead?” written by Apex Leadership Ltd.
