Want To Fall In Love With Your Job?

First, check your pulse

The hours fly by. You’re in the zone. You’re filled with a sense of well-being. You’re full of energy. Your breathing is accelerated. Your heart is racing. Too much caffeine? Maybe. Not enough sleep? Maybe. Or maybe you’re just in love.

Sure, too much Red Bull can cause these episodes too, but they are also widely recognized to be symptoms of what the urban dictionary calls “love.” That phantom phenomenon releases feel-good chemicals into our brains. That feeling of affection, attachment, or devotion that occurs when we’re around someone or something we find pleasurable. That four-letter word we use to describe how we feel about everything from children to cheese, from pets to pasta, from fashion to football teams. But how often have you heard the word “love” used to describe how people feel about their jobs?

 

You Can Get There from Here

I am optimistic enough to believe that most jobs can be more stimulating and rewarding than they are, but I also believe that job satisfaction, like love, is a two-way street that demands initiative and effort from both parties. Further, I’m convinced that with a few well-chosen steps, employees can fall in love with the jobs they already have.

The events of the last three years have caused workers to re-think both their value and their values. They are experiencing a new determination to get more of what they want out of work. They have gained more power than ever before, launching the Great Resignation and more recently coining terms like “quiet quitting.” But what if employees didn’t have to quit quietly? What if they could stay where they are and love it? What if employees could actually fall in love with their work? And why put the onus for achieving this on the shoulders of the manager alone? Can employees and managers work together to create more love in the workplace? I say they can -- by adopting a strategy I call PULSE.

PULSE is an acronym (yes, another one!) that stands for 5 keys to falling in love with your job.

Find Your PASSION

What if the thrill is gone? What if time at work drags on? What if you can’t locate “the zone” with a GPS?  What if your heart hasn’t raced since your morning coffee? What if “All is well” becomes “All is hell”? Then, get the thrill back. Discover your passion and share it!

Look around you. Notice what you notice. Get a feel for the kind of work or workers that you feel comfortable with. Explore where they are. Find out what’s going on with them. Figure out where you might “sit and fit” there. Then tell your boss about it. Share what excites you about this kind of work and environment and ask for help finding it where you are – or someplace else in the organization. What’s the worst that can happen if all is hell anyway?

Build Your UNDERSTANDING

What if you don’t feel particularly committed to your organization? What if you no longer understand its purpose? What if you can’t figure out where you fit? Then, find out!

People will always be more committed to their organization when they understand what it is trying to achieve and how they can personally contribute to those goals. Managers need to help employees understand these things, but what if they are not sure of them either? Then you might have to grow your own understanding and your managers at the same time by asking questions like, “What is our team trying to accomplish here and how does it relate to the overall organizational goals?” “How does my work – and yours – contribute to those?” “What do you and my internal customers expect from me?”  It can’t hurt to ask, as they say.

Create LINKS with Others

What if you don’t have much in common with those on your team? What if you deal more with heuristics than with humans? What if your company is more competitive than collaborative? What if you’re the only one on the team who does what you do? Then, link up!

There will always be those who can survive and even thrive in isolation. But if you’re not one of them, listen up. Research tells us that one of the top reasons people are happy in their jobs is because of the relationships they have formed with others – and that these “links” add to their job satisfaction. If you don’t have them, you can feel disconnected, isolated, dare I say “unloved”? So, if you want to feel more in love with your work, link up with more of your colleagues. Even if you work remotely, communicate with teammates at least once or twice a week. Ask one of them to partner with you on an interesting “gig.” Ask them for feedback on an idea or project. Linking to others will help you get more of what you want at work. Maybe even love.

Expand Your SPACE

What if you’re feeling fenced in, controlled or caged? What if you want to question the rules, suggest solutions, or just figure things out on your own? What if there’s just not enough room for all of you in your job? What if you want to stand up and shout, “I like this place, but I want more space!” Then, make your case.

The solution to feeling cramped in your job is not to shrink-to-fit it. That will only make you feel small and undervalued. But you might be able to make a case for the benefit your added freedom would provide to your boss and to the organization. Suggest and quantify how much more valuable a contributor you could be to your boss if you had a little more latitude. (“The rest of the team will see how open-minded you are,” “The less time you spend supervising, the more time you’ll have to do more important things.”) Point out how greater autonomy could allow you to develop an innovative process to break a current organizational logjam. If none of this closes the deal, then suggest that you both try it for a month – and explain what you will do to generate the benefit you’re promising.

Re-Charge Your ENERGY

What if you’ve lost enthusiasm for your work? What if you can’t find a way to recharge your psychic battery? What if you’re convinced that the only way to grow is to go?” Then, think again!

There’s a good chance you can energize your work right where you are. First, ask yourself what aspects of the job you actually love or just like. It might be your teammates or even your boss. It might be the day-to-day tasks you perform or the opportunity you have to mentor others. Then build on the energy that comes from those parts of your job. Look for ways to leverage them in a broader context. Ask yourself where you might apply your most energizing skills to other tasks or locations. If learning energizes you, find a mentor, sign up for a class or just read that book that’s been languishing on your bedside table. If you’re energized by challenges, then do something that scares you. Ask to lead a task force. Present a proposal to a senior leader. Invite an executive to lunch. In other words, take charge, re-charge as necessary and, like the best batteries, hold your charge. But don’t wait for your manager to call AAA.

Fortunately, checking your pulse has never been easier. You can do it yourself. Even if you only focus on one or two of the ideas above, you will get closer to falling in love with the job you already have.

Author Bio

Dr. Beverly Kaye is recognized internationally as one of the most knowledgeable and practical professionals in the areas of career development, employee engagement, and retention. Her contribution to the field of engagement and retention includes the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay, which is now in its 6th edition. Her recent books in the career development field include Up is Not the Only Way and Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, which provided overwhelmed managers with a way to blend career conversations into their everyday routines. Connect Dr. Beverly Kaye