Do you love your job?  Or hate it?

It’s an important question that Clement Manyathela was asking on his show on 702 yesterday, and I got to join him and give some suggestions.

Monday morning is the most common time for people to experience heart attacks, as it’s when they have to face the stress of the job they don’t enjoy.  So there are health benefits to enjoying your work, as well as it energises you and spills over into your personal life.

Plus we spend so much of our waking life at work, so the quality of our experience of work permeates the quality of our life.

What helps to enjoy our work is that there is a good mix of challenge (it stretches you, and engages you in terms of being meaningful work) and competence (you get to share your strengths and do work you can do, yet still learn and develop as you go).

If you don’t love your job, then here are a few tips that I shared in the interview:

  • find meaning in the work you do – look for ways you can add meaning, or create it. It might be through helping your colleagues, or introducing some charity work if the impact of your job is not making a difference in some way.  Find a higher intention int eh work, workplace or in working with the people around you that will spark your passion and sense of purposefulness.
  • If you really can’t find meaning (it’s there, just keep digging!) then look for a way to bring meaning into your life outside of your work. Go volunteer on the weekend for a cause that is close to your heart, and then work becomes a means to allow you to add your value to that cause.
  • Remember what is within your control – and your attitude is yours 100%.  So choose an attitude that looks for meaning and value, and one that helps you to do what you need to go to improve your job- even if that means getting a new job.
  • Write a gratitude list about the work you have – what 3 things can you be grateful about related to your current job?  When we shift our focus from what we hate, to what we are grateful for, we find more joy in where we are and what we are doing.
  • Outgrow the position you are in – keep asking: “What can I do to improve this?” and watch how things start shifting for the better.

AUDIO:

So do you love your work? And if not what will you do about it?

PS- I love my job :)  I find it challenging and it pushes me to grwo and learn, and at the same time makes a big positive impact in people’s lives.  They get to live more courageously, and that is so worth it!