When we're in a lousy job, we tend to blame it on others ( our manager, coworkers) and the organization.
It's true that many teams aren't set up to create meaning, and there are some inferior leaders out there. However, the more we try to control and blame others or our circumstances, the further we move from meaning.
The real key to happiness is an inside job, and it relates directly to how we think and act at work. Many people find that when they are miserable at one job, changing organizations does not make them any happier.
Female motivational speaker, Annie McKee wrote the book, How to be Happy At Work.
To find happiness, she suggests paying attention to how you feel when you do different parts of your job. Some parts of your work will bring you more joy and some won't. Ultimately we can find more meaning in daily tasks and nurture healthy relationships to build more joy in the work.
We also want to know that our work is meaningful and supports a greater good.
The motivational leadership speaker suggests that when we don't feel engaged at work, instead we resign to suck it up and just do the job, even if we hate it.
Why People Stay in Jobs, they Hate
Over 40% of people are completely disengaged in their work. Here are the reasons why they stay:
- Security. A job provides a paycheck and pays the bills. This survival mode expects little from a job (except a paycheck ) and usually gives the minimum in return.
- It's not supposed to be enjoyable, That's why they call it work. They have been told; a job isn't supposed to meaningful, fun or fulfilling, so they don't expect that.
- Limited other opportunity. Some people believe they are just lucky to have a job and other alternatives are limited.
- It's our fate, and we have no control
- We do what we're supposed to do, even if we don't like it
The more we think our work is at the power or whim of others or the environment, the less we feel we matter. As soon as someone tunes out and decides to continue to work at a job they dislike, workflow and productivity suffer.
Also, pay attention to how you feel at work because we feel before we think, thus our emotions effect our ability to perceive and process information.
Thus, the key to more satisfaction at work is to accept that work matters and that joy and pleasure at work make us more successful.
