I love my job - and you can too
I love my job. Sadly, that is not a phrase you hear often enough.
Getting back into work after a year’s maternity leave has made me reflect on why I do what I do. Back when I was an undergraduate psychology student I had planned to get into industrial/organisational (I/O) psychology, but then found clinical psychology papers fascinating as well. I was torn. Should I continue down the path I had intended, or switch to the subject of the human mind and mental health?
I was very fortunate to be in a position where I had two potential career paths ahead. Both paths offered meaning and purpose, a stable income, and ongoing opportunities for learning and development. Many people do not have the opportunity to make such choices when it comes to their work.
That is why I chose to continue to studying I/O psychology.
The vast majority of people have to work and spend a great deal of their lives doing so. But many don’t enjoy work - often dreading Monday morning and spending all week counting down to the weekend. I felt strongly, and still do, that there must be a better way - a life where people enjoy their work and derive satisfaction from it. A life where work adds to one’s sense of happiness, rather than detracting from it. Life is, after all, too short to spend such a large chunk of it miserable.
So I decided to qualify as an I/O psychologist - a field where I could create jobs, careers and organisations that people derive enjoyment and satisfaction from. I/O psychology is all about workplaces. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines I/O psychology as:
“the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the work place. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work.”
You’ll notice from the above definition that I/O psychology operates at an individual, group and organisational level. Ultimately all three are intrinsically linked. Too often I see individuals who love their work being held back by their organisation. Many people work tirelessly for an organisation that doesn’t provide them with the recognition, safety or opportunities to truly reach their potential. And on the other hand, all it takes is one actively disengaged team member to pull an otherwise motivated team or organisation into a downward spiral. This is a particularly acute risk when that person is in a leadership role.
If some of this resonates with you, and you think you could get more enjoyment and satisfaction from your work, the questions below can provide a starting point for change. For some, a change of career might be needed. For others only minor tweaks could significantly improve job satisfaction.
Ask yourself, what are your values? What are those three or four key things that get you out of bed each day to go to work? Perhaps it is caring, i.e. looking after others, or a sense of status, i.e. being important and having influence. Perhaps it is stability and financial security. The values activity here (https://www.cmu.edu/career/documents/my-career-path-activities/values-exercise.pdf) might be a useful start.
Then ask yourself, to what extent does your work align with those values? Where there is misalignment, what could you do to change that? For example, if caring is a core value for you, but you don’t get to look after people in your job, could you take on a mentoring role for someone in your organisation? Keep in mind that gaining better alignment with your values can be done without making fundamental changes to your job if your role aligns with some of your core values but not others (if there is no alignment between your job and your values, a bigger rethink might be needed).
Secondly, ask yourself to what extent you get a sense of mastery, autonomy and purpose from your work. Mastery involves learning and developing new skills that apply to your job. Autonomy is the extent to which you can direct how you undertake your work. And purpose is feeling like you contribute to something bigger. If you can pinpoint which of these you feel is missing or not strong enough in your work then you have a starting point for making changes. It may mean asking your boss for more say over what you’re working on, or doing an exercise to better understand how your job contributes to what the organisation achieves. Or, perhaps, if you feel your job gives you some autonomy and purpose but not enough mastery, you could start a course to learn something new.
Finally, whatever the outcome of this exercise for you, remember that there are aspects of your job satisfaction you can control. Not enjoying your job is frustrating, so if you can’t make big changes immediately, identify small things you could do to increase your satisfaction at work more generally. Steps like working with a mentor, building a strong relationship with a coworker, or starting a new activity during your lunch break (if you get one!) can make a difference. Identifying what’s important to you in your work and the gaps in your current job is a great first step. Remember that a job or career change might take time but even if your current job is a means to an end, having a longer term goal to work towards could provide the sense of purpose you need. And most likely, there are skills you can develop right now that will ultimately help to take you in the direction you want to head. Or perhaps you have identified some minor tweaks you can make with your manager’s help to improve your job satisfaction now. That’s great! Whatever the case, you have taken a very important step by recognising the importance of being happy at work and not accepting less.
Keep in mind that finding meaning in your work does not mean every day will be nirvana - like everything, there will still be ups and downs and aspects you enjoy less than others. But your sense of understanding of why you're doing your job and how it connects with your values will help you to ride those out.