People like to do work that scores highly on fun, freedom and fulfilment. Those who hate their jobs feel imprisoned and frustrated. Let’s explore these themes in your work.
Fun
Looking back on your life, can you think of a time when you did work that was fun? Certainly there may have been some tough times, but overall you really enjoyed the work. What made it fun?
You may have been following your vocation, doing things you loved, spending time with positive people or whatever. You may have been doing work that involved your heart, head and hands.
Sometimes it can be challenging to find or create such work. One person expressed this in the following way.
“I’d like to do work I enjoy, but it is so difficult.”
Perhaps so, but try doing work you hate. That is more difficult. What the person may mean is:
“I would like to do work I enjoy, but it is hard to find somebody to pay me for doing it.”
Great workers often begin their professional journey by doing work they love. Later they develop the savvy to get paid for using their strengths to help customers or employers to achieve success.
Some people feel stuck in roles they do not enjoy but then decide to move on. They make a serious plan to find more satisfying work and earn a salary. One person explained this in the following way.
“I decided to go back to my specialism rather than do general management. It took six months to make the shift.
“I began by leading more specialist projects within the business. Eventually this led to me giving up my director title and but leading projects in different countries across EMEA.
“I feel happy focusing on what I do best. General management was just an endurance test. Now I have much more fun in my work.”
Let’s assume that, for the time being, you want to focus on your present work. If you wish, try tackling the following exercise. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the extent to which you have a sense of fun in your work. Rate this on a scale 0–10. Bear in mind that anything below 7/10 is a danger signal. Describe the specific things you can do to maintain or improve the rating.
Freedom
People want to feel in control of shaping their work. Daniel Pink highlighted this theme in his book Drive. Here is an introduction to his findings regarding what motivates people to do good work.
Autonomy – this is the desire to direct our own lives;
Mastery – this is the urge to get better and better at something that matters;
Purpose – this is the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
Great organisations therefore focus on managing by outcomes rather than by tasks. At the same time, however, it is vital that people fulfil their part of the professional contract and contribute to achieving the employer’s goals.
They therefore take the following steps to give people freedom – within parameters – to deliver the goods. They aim:
To communicate the organisations aims and the specific outcomes to achieve;
To make clear contracts with people about their contributions to delivering the outcomes;
To encourage people to deliver high professional standards and achieve the agreed outcomes.
Daniel Pink’s work provides many pointers to how we can enable people to take charge of their working lives and deliver the goods. Here are some quotes from the book.
“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.”
“The science shows that the secret to high performance isn’t our biological drive or our reward-and-punishment drive, but our third drive – our deep-seated desire to direct our own lives, to extend and expand our abilities, and to live a life of purpose.”
Many fulfilled people have a freelance mentality. They may or may not be freelancers, but they feel in charge of shaping their futures. One person expressed
“I now feel more in control of my professional life. I still work for the same company. But I now feel more in control of my diary and contribution to the business.”
Looking ahead, how can you feel more in control of shaping things in your work? There will always be parameters. But it is important to feel that you can follow your own principles providing you deliver the picture of success.
Start by describing an activity where you like to shape things. This could be a specific kind of project, a piece of work or tackling a certain kind of challenge.
You can certainly do such an activity in your personal life. Different rules apply, however, if you want to get paid for doing such a project in your professional life. You may then need:
To find or create such a project;
To show the potential benefits to your employer, customers or other stakeholders;
To perform superb work and deliver success.
People who take these steps often move from project to project. They may do this as a freelancer or as a full-time employee. They find that delivering the goods gives them more freedom to shape their future work.
Let’s return to you own work. If you wish, try tackling the following exercise. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the extent to which you have a sense of freedom in your work. Rate this on a scale 0 – 10. Describe the specific things you can do to maintain or improve the rating.
Fulfilment
Looking at your present work, imagine that you would like to shape it into something fulfilling. Bear in mind, however, that it can take time to craft your perfect role.
As mentioned earlier, there may come a point where you want to move on to find another role. Before doing that, however, you may want to explore some of the following themes regarding your work.
The Fulfilling Parts
What are the fulfilling parts of my work? What are the specific projects, tasks and other activities that I find satisfying?
Who are the kinds of customers and colleagues with whom I enjoy working? How can I use my strengths to help these people to achieve success?
How can I craft a role around my strengths? How can I get my first three customers – internal or external – and help them to succeed?
How can I produce some tangible successes – financial or otherwise – that show my employers the benefits of doing this work? How can I keep producing successes and develop my perfect role?
The Other Parts
What are the other parts of my work? How can I manage these parts more successfully? What percentage of my time do I spend on: a) the fulfilling parts; b) the other parts?
What percentage of my time am I prepared to spend on the other parts? At what point will I decide it is vital for me to focus on the fulfilling aspects of my work? What may be the trigger that gets me to look elsewhere to find another role?
How can I be proactive? How can I explore the potential future roles rather than be reactive? How can I do my best to find or create a fulfilling role in the future?
Creative people recognise that stimulating opportunities are not always advertised. They often create such roles by being savvy and showing the tangible benefits. This calls for developing win-wins for both for themselves and their employers.
People who take this step are more likely to enjoy a sense of fun, freedom and fulfilment in their work. This can make a positive contribution to their wellbeing.
Let’s return to you own work. If you wish, try tackling the following exercise. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the extent to which you have a sense of fulfilment in your work. Rate this on a scale 0 – 10. Describe the specific things you can do to maintain or improve the rating.
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