Wanted: Fun at Work
5 Tips on Ensuring You Enjoy Your Career
Enjoying your job shouldn’t be a perk but a requirement. If you’re not having fun doing your job, then something is wrong. In an article published by the Chicago Tribune, Julie Jansen, a career coach from Stamford, Conn. was quoted as saying, “It shouldn’t be a luxury to enjoy your work, it should be a given - regardless of the economic times.” But is that easier said than done?
Jansen, in her travels speaking to countless professionals, estimates that approximately 70 percent of employees are unhappy in their jobs. Jansen went on to explain, “It’s important to be in a job that makes you happy, because you spend so much time at work and it affects you emotionally, physically and professionally,” said Jansen, author of I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not This: A step by step guide to finding gratifying work.
But how do you infuse more passion and enjoyment into your career? Here are five tips that will help you get on the right track:
1. Determine what’s making you unhappy
There are lots of reasons employees don’t enjoy their jobs. Some don’t like the people they work with. Others find themselves in a monotonous position that isn’t challenging or fulfilling. While others still may feel they’ve picked the wrong career track. Before you start making any changes it’s important that you determine exactly what’s making your unhappy. You may not need to quit your job as much as your need to make some changes in the approach you’ve taken with your current employer. Would a promotion or department-change rectify the problem? Evaluate your current situation and determine exactly where you’re dissatisfied.2. Determine what you enjoy
It’s important that you be passionate about your work. It’s also important that you feel challenged. When you’re not, you’ll find yourself unhappy and bored. What impassions and challenges you? When you can pinpoint those elements that enable you to feel satisfied in your career, then you better understand what steps are necessary to achieve that satisfaction.3. Consider all your options
Don’t limit yourself by only considering the possibilities as they exist in your current position. Perhaps you should change occupations, change employers, or start your own business.4. Trust your intuition
It’s important that you listen to that inner voice that informs you when you’re headed in the right direction. Often that requires you to ignore naysayers and follow your heart. Your intuition will often be the best guide and provide you with the necessary confidence to move forward and take those actions that will enable you to achieve career satisfaction.5. Make it happen
If you decide that changes must be made you can’t wait around for the Universe to drop them into your lap. You must take action to advance your career goals, whether that be getting the training you need, expanding your expertise and skills, or learning how you might finance your own small business, you must be proactive in advancing your career.
You don’t have to settle for dissatisfaction and unhappiness in your current position. While it may take some effort, you can make changes that will find you more fulfilled and your family better off financially. Take the time to evaluate your career and determine what you must do to achieve true personal and professional success.
References
Kleiman, Carol. “The Fun Factor.” The Chicago Tribune.
