For those who HATE their Work- there’s still hope!
YES! Enjoying your work!
Putting in the effort
1. Explore your feelings
If you’re not happy at work explore your feelings and find out SPECIFICALLY what you don’t like. Is it something related to:
- The tasks that you do (which task specifically?)
- Is it due to the system of your organisation (what specifically?)
- Is it because the organisation’s values do not resonate with yours (what values specifically?)
- Is there a lack of career advancement opportunities? (do you feel unable to grow in your work?)
- Is it the working conditions (salary, working hours, work/life balance?)
- Is it due to the leadership styles (what behavior bugs you?)
- Is it lack of teamwork (what’s missing? Why?)
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2. Commit yourself to your work
Look within your heart and ask yourself how committed you are to your work. Deep down do you wish that you could put your heart in your work and career? Do you wish you could really have passion for the work you do? If conditions were ideal in your workplace would you love doing the work that you do?
If you decide you can never be truly committed to your work because the questions you asked above, indicated total incongruence between your Values and ideals of what work should be and your actual career - then you’d better start looking for another job!
If on the other hand you feel that deep down you intrinsically like your work, then there is hope! If it’s only external situations that are causing the problems, you can put yourself in a resourceful state and commit yourself to your work. It’s time to put your intention and focus on consciously doing so.
When you are at work – focus totally on the work that you are doing. Don’t start thinking about the new kennel you have to buy for your dog! Focus on each task you are doing and put your heart and awareness fully in it.
If you commit yourself to work and give 100 percent of your effort and intention to the moment and task at hand you will notice a change in the way you start looking at work.
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To bring about any change you require to hone your skills in communicating effectively. First of all put yourself really into the shoes of the other persons involved. Can you see the situations from their perspective? Could you give a presentation about the perspectives of the persons you may be having problems with? Do you listen enough without thinking what you are going to answer back?
On the other hand, can you clearly explain to others what your perspective and your needs are?
Are you giving and receiving fair and specific feedback about your work from your boss/colleagues. If not what can you do about it? Will you ask for feedback on a regular basis and agree with your colleagues to listen without being defensive and ensuring that all feedback is constructive?
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6. Don’t rat on your colleagues
Yes, we all love to bitch about our colleagues at times don’t we?
But trust me, it’s not worth it and what goes around comes around. Establish a zero-tolerance for talking behind another person’s back and avoid negative people.
Agree beforehand with your colleagues that if you have an issue, you’ll just address the person concerned calmly and immediately before things get worse. Make ground rules and formal agreements about this and make sure you give honest feedback to each other with a genuine interest to improve your work environment. Discuss this with your boss (or if you are the boss, do it yourself). Try to create a trusting and open environment where everyone feels included and where backstabbing is unacceptable.
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7. Create Work Life Balance.
It could be that rather than lack of love for your work, you could be getting burned out. Maybe you are being overworked or taking on too much. Make sure you have a good work life balance and leave space to totally cut yourself off from your work and do relaxing activities when you are away from work. Learn to say ‘no’ if required and create clear boundaries at work that are communicated to others. Make sure you are managing your time well and avoid having to repeat jobs or to do tasks that should be delegated.Remember, although multi-tasking is a skill you need to have a clear demarcation line between your work and the other areas of your life because if you don’t focus on the specific task at hand you will not succeed in anything.
It’s like the Zen story where:
A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question. “I’d like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to learning from you, I’d like to study with another teacher in order to learn another style. What do you think of this idea?”
“The hunter who chases two rabbits,” answered the master, “catches neither one.”
Leave your home situation at home and your work situations at work. Really focus on your work when you are working but truly enjoy the moments when you are recreating yourself.
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Going beyond what your job description requires will serve you in many ways. If you pitch in and help others at work without expecting rewards it will help you to increase your knowledge and your trust account with your colleagues. Offer to share the load with good humor. Help someone who is struggling with a deadline. Also make sure that you keep commitments. Some people spend more time making excuses for failing to keep a commitment, and worrying about the consequences, than they do performing the tasks promised. So before commiting yourself make sure you can keep your promise. By underpromising and overdelivering you will be able to gain more respect and your own personal satisfaction will increase – and other people, especially the important ones will start noticing too.
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If you put yourself in the service of those around you–your family, your colleagues and your customers–you will gain a sense of purpose and meaning in all that you do. If you have done even one good deed during your working day – something which was not necessarily expected of you, something that helped a fellow colleague, you will go out in the evening and feel so much better.
Make sure that you celebrate and acknowledge every worthwhile victory you achieve at work. Look back for the positive aspects that work is giving you and every time you make a positive contribution make sure you acknolwedge it. Sometimes, we just tend to focus on the half empty glass.
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