How to Love Your Job

In my last blog I wrote about how you know when it is time to look for a new job – the signs. I also asked if your job was sending you as crazy as a US president! But today I want to flip the conversation and look at how to stay in your job even if it is less than prefect. 

Looking for inspiration on the subject, I stumbled across an article by Tim Herrera, who arguably has one of the best jobs in the world. Tim is the founding editor of the lifestyle section of The New York Times.  He edits and reports on stories for one of the best newspapers in the world. He would work with some of the world’s top writers, and he effectively created the job by establishing this breakout lifestyle section of the newspaper.

Tim Herrera may have started his career as a journalist, but he has strayed into feature writing. He essentially ‘re-invented’ his job and he says we should all consider doing it. Instead of looking for a new job, you just ‘re-create’ your existing job. Tim says a third of US workers are disengaged at work, but he argues it is possible to turn that around.

He cites a study from the Mayo Study, a not-for-profit medical centre that helps train doctors. The study found that doctors who spend about 20 per cent of their time doing ‘work they find most meaningful’ dramatically lower their risk of burning out at work. The study however found that if you spend 50 per cent of your time doing what you love at work your burnout risk doesn’t decrease – for some reason 20 per cent is the magic percentage.

“In other words,” says Tim, “you don’t need to change everything about your job to see substantial benefits. A few changes here and there can be all you need.”

Ashley Goodall, author of the book Nine Lies About Work, says the one thing you notice about people who love their job is that they didn’t ‘find’ their job through a classified ad but rather they ‘made’ their job.

 “We’re told in every commencement speech that if you find a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life. But the verb is wrong,” Goodall says. “They transform the contents of that job.”

Tim says it’s not easy to transform your job but it can be done. Here is his ‘how to’ guide.

Audit what you do and don’t like about your job

The first step towards changing your job, is working out what you do and don’t like about the work. Tim suggests carrying a notepad with you for a week, and laying out a page with two columns, marked ‘love’ and ‘hate’. Whatever you do at work, describe it under one of the headings. Think hard about how you feel when you are doing this task. Is it a chore or a joy? Do you do it willingly or keep putting it off?

This activity is recommended in the book Nine Lies About Work. The book was co-authored by Marcus Buckingham, from the A.D.P. Research Institute. This institute researches best workplace practices. Buckingham says writing down every task you do at work will help you better understand your job.

 “It’s a beautifully simple way to inventory your emotional reactions to the reality of your day or week at work,” Buckingham said. “Understand what it is that lights you up. Understand what you run toward. Understand where you are at your most energetic, your most creative, your most alive.”

Do more of what you like

Once you know exactly where your time is spent at work, you can begin trying to do more things that you like. Make a list of everything you like doing at work, regardless of how trivial they seem. Only you can say what makes you really happy.

 “If you don’t know what you’re like when you’re in love with your work, no one can do that for you,” Mr. Buckingham said. “This has always been in your hands, and it cannot be in anyone else’s.”

Once you know what you like doing, take steps to ensure that 20 per cent of your time is spent doing tasks you love, tasks that inspire you. 

Can you recruit your boss to support you?

Do you have a good relationship with your boss? Could you tell your supervisor about the Mayo study and say you want to boost your enthusiasm for work by spending 20 per cent of your time on tasks you love? Remember it would not be fair for your team to hog the best or most rewarding projects, but perhaps you have strengths in areas where other people are weak? Could you swap a few tasks with a co-worker? Could you convince your team to try the Mayo experiment? Everyone in your section could try devoting 20 per cent of their time to their favourite tasks.

You will still have to do the less enjoyable tasks

Every job comes with tasks or responsibilities that are not enjoyable. Maybe you hate answering emails or writing reports. Whatever it is, there’s undoubtedly a part of your day that you dread, and you are not alone. I like writing blogs, but I find starting to write difficult. Once I get into it, I’m fine, but starting is a problem. Even dream jobs have a downside. Travel writers have to do lots of research, actors have to devote hours to learning their lines.

There is no such thing as the perfect job. Every job has its upside and it’s downside. Remember, life is what you make it – so is work!