We all go into the career field wondering if we’re going to love the job we have. Many people spend their whole lifetime and their whole career dreading their job or hating their boss, miserable till the day they retire, quit, or get fired. Is that what we spend countless hours studying in school for? Is the job search for work just a one-and-done ordeal, or are we entitled to finding a job we love? Of course we all search for the work we know we can accomplish. The point of a job is not to be doing the same thing we hate every day. We naturally are drawn to the jobs that help us achieve a sense of fulfillment and personal growth.
An enjoyable workplace is made by the people who work there. It’s a proven fact that people who love what they do are more productive and more likely to stay at their jobs for longer periods of time than people who don’t like what they do. How do we love our jobs? Do we love what we do before we start, or do we grow to love it? Can a good boss make a difference in loving our jobs, or is it the work that draws us back every day? The answers vary for everyone, and in today’s job world, these questions are huge factors in the initial job search.
Why we should love our jobs
Steve Jobs stood in front of a class of graduating Stanford students in 2005 and told them, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” This leads to the thought that being happy at work and loving what you do improves performance and productivity. What boss can hate an employee who is optimistic and who works faster, harder, smarter, and efficiently everyday? As we rise every day to prepare for a new day of work, is the focus towards how much we dread the workday, or are we looking optimistically to a new day of success and fulfillment?
We spend half of our waking hours at work. If we spend it full of hate, on average you’re going to be a sad person and no one can be productive in that kind of mindset. A career full of loathing and hate is not a lasting career for anyone. Love for our jobs is crucial to not just the average employee, but also to the company of employment. A thriving workplace is filled with employees that love what they do. Love for what we do and the things we can accomplish in a work day will directly reflect a boosted level of work performance that will never be matched by a company with employees who hate what they do.
3 Essentials For A Job We Love
Finding #1: Financial Security and a healthy money relationship
We work to be able to make money to pay for the things we need and want in our lives. Our job searches often include a look towards the paycheck and the security we feel in the pay for the level of work being asked. No one wants to work for less than what they’re worth and an employee that loves their work is more likely to be financially compensated appropriately because of the level of work production due to their love for the job. Of course it’s only natural to find work that will provide for our basic needs, as well as the comforts that fit our individual lifestyles.
Having a healthy money relationship is essential to loving the work we do. It is easy to often fool ourselves into thinking we love the work we do because the paycheck is big. This mindset will only lead to dread and hate toward the job we once loved. There is also a flipside to this as well. We can love our jobs but not get compensated well enough for the work we do. This can also lead to hate and dread.
Finding #2: Connection and gratitude
One of the best ways to love our jobs and the work we do is by having a connection with what we do. An employee who loves the purpose of the company is and will always be a productive employee. We often are drawn to people in the workplace, and finding a boss or coworker who encourages us to work harder or more productively will always help in loving the job. Finding things to be grateful for at our workplace will help us maintain a love for our jobs, and the things we achieve there, which leads to more accomplishments and success.
Finding #3: Personal Growth with a stable work-life balance
How can we love what we do knowing we aren’t learning more or gaining more skills? Personal growth and the search for it is essential in helping us love the jobs we have. A good boss is one who allows some level autonomy in the workforce. A healthy amount of autonomy has been found to help employees love the work they do. Numerous employment opportunities are found in a job search that call for levels of self-motivation, which leads to an amount of autonomy that enables employees to be able to “steer their own ship.”
With the personal growth we find in the workplace, many places of employment find value in encouraging a healthy and stable work-life balance. An overworked employee is not a happy one, and an undervalued employee will often go home unhappy. Job searches will tell us the kind of hours we’re expected to work, and the best way to make sure we will love what we do is choosing the type of work that will enable us to have a healthy amount of personal time away from our jobs. Love for our jobs will only go so far if we’re not happy at home because we work too much. Knowing and having that balance is essential to creating and keeping the love of our jobs, our coworkers, and even our bosses.
How Can We Help?
Here at Ascend Education, we love what we do. We know there are a lot of things to prepare for when taking that leap into a new job or even a new career. Our interactive curriculum will not only train and lead you to industry certifications, but we believe it will also create a love for your future job. Let our courses show you the way to becoming the next industry leader.
Grow at Ascend Education. Succeed in your career. Click the link below to learn more.
