Make Your Job More Fun!

[Daniel E.]

Make Your Job More Fun!
About.com blog: Stress Management
by Elizabeth Scott, M.S.

November 7, 2009

Yesterday I went to Magic Mountain, a fun theme park, with my kids and some friends. As we walked (well, scampered, really) through the park and rode various rides, I noticed something that made me think of a blog I wrote just a few weeks ago about enjoying your job more. Unlike Disneyland, where everyone who works in the park generally stays 'in character' and focuses on the enjoyment of the guests and nothing else for their entire shift, there was a variety of commitment that most other park employees showed toward their jobs, mirroring what we find in most fields, especially customer service-oriented ones.

Some of the park employees were friendly enough, but obviously watching the clock. These people were pleasant, but not really smiling. They did their jobs perfunctorily, and were nice, but were obviously 'working'. Many people approach their jobs this way--they manage to get by, and do a decent job, but they look forward to breaks and days off, and would quit their jobs immediately if they didn't need the money. The can't imagine things any other way.

Contrast this with the guy who ran 'The Scrambler'--I didn't catch his name, so I'll refer to him as "Scrambler Guy", or "S.G." for short. S.G. acted like he was having as much fun running the ride as we were having on it! Where other people might turn on the ride and turn it off after several minutes, staring off into space and imagining being at home while the ride was running, S.G. was constantly keeping things interesting: asking us if we want to go faster (of course!), reminding us that there are churros to be had (yum!) and providing us a soundtrack with his "beat boxing" (which wasn't great, but I had to admire his effort). His energy was infectious, and I found myself happy to ride the ride three times in a row and hear his commentary throughout. I made the comment to him that he seemed to really enjoy his job, and he replied something like, "Ya gotta make it fun, right?"

Well, actually, not everyone does approach their job like S.G. does, but those who do--those who use their creativity and energy to go beyond their basic job description and create a better experience for themselves and those around them--tend to enjoy their jobs more, experience less job burnout, and generally enjoy life more.

The good news is that most of us have the ability to change our approach to our jobs, and make the job more fun. And with an extremely competitive job market out there, that's usually much easier than switching jobs, so it's a good route to pursue if possible. Think about it: if S.G. came to work at your company, how would he approach the job to make it more fun? How might you approach your job differently?

More Job Satisfaction Resources:
Make Your Job More Fun
What Makes A Job Great?
Respond: How Can You Improve Your Work Experience?
Find Satisfaction At Your Current Job
Poll: What Causes You The Most Stress?

 

[Banned]

This is a great article, on so many levels.

As an employer, I've also learned that the more fun my staff are having, the more they are thinking and being proactive, they more they are engaged in the entire business (not just their "job"), and the more everyone benefits - customers, staff, me.

When I first bought my business (it's a dog daycare) I ran it the way I was told to by head office. As a result, I had monthly turn over and very unhappy staff. I was also horribly unhappy and wondered every day why on earth I thought this would be fun.

Over the course of several months, I tried to change several things, and walking into my business now has a completely different feel than it did two years ago, when I didn't have a clue what I was doing (I'm a fan of "fake it til you make it"). I also have a waiting list of people who want to come and work for me because working at my daycare is FUN.

Bottom line - when your employees are having fun, it's great for employee AND customer retention, overall morale, sales, and brings vibrant energy into the workplace. All are assets that cannot be bought with money.

 

[Daniel E.]

Study: Why It's Good To Get More 'Weekend' In Your Week!

 

[Daniel E.]

This reminds me of an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" where Larry David is selling cars at a car dealership as a hobby:

Why is selling real cars to real people less interesting than watching a reality show? Why is working as a nurse in the hospital less interesting than watching a medical drama on television? It's the actors' engagement in their work that makes those shows interesting; actors who aren't engaged or engaging can sink a well-scripted show. No job is uninteresting, no matter how dull it may sound. There are only uninterested people.

Engage | Psychology Today

From the same blogger:

We have a tendency to divide work into the categories of meaningful versus meaningless. How do we arrive at these conclusions? Is being a nurse more meaningful than driving a taxi? Is managing a store more meaningful than being a gardener? Is being a homebuilder more meaningful than being a homemaker? Who decides? What are the criteria? We differentiate jobs based on their desirability, prestige, and financial rewards. Do we confuse these things with meaningfulness? When you're in pain, a doctor or a dentist is invaluable; but if you are hungry, they are useless. An architect may loom large in your eyes when designing and building your house, but he isn't going to take care of the house afterward. You'll need a housekeeper for that. There is no such thing as meaningless work. There is work that is easier or more difficult, less- or better-compensated, and there are occupations that are stressful or enjoyable.

You may be bored with your job; you may feel exploited and mistreated. This is not because the work is meaningless. You may have a difficult boss; you may not be fit for the job, lacking the skills or aptitude required; or you may be unhappy for reasons unrelated to the job. The work itself, however, is not meaningless. I have seen men working at the fish market show camaraderie toward other workers as they clean the catch with gusto. I've noticed orderlies sweeping the floors of an operating room, gathering bloody tissues, bandages, and pads with singular attention. I've observed a kind, elderly doorman's devotion to the comfort and safety of the tenants in his care. These people were hardworking individuals who didn't question whether their jobs were meaningful or not. It is a matter of how you look at it. If you change the way you view a thing, the thing changes.

Meaning Is Inherent In All Work | Psychology Today

 

[Daniel E.]

Feeling Bored At Work? Three Reasons Why, And What Can Free You
by Douglas LaBier, Ph.D., The New Resilience

Are you feeling bored at work these days? Workplace boredom can be as stress-ful and damaging as overwork - perhaps more so. Sometimes it creates embarrassing situations, as it did for Joel, a mid-level executive. He felt so bored that he sneaked out of his office one afternoon to take in a movie. When it was over, guess whom he ran into coming out of the same theater? His boss.

If you've been feeling bored with your work or career, you're not alone. Curt W. Coffman, global practice leader at the Gallup Organization, has confirmed that: "We know that 55 percent of all U.S. employees are not engaged at work. They are basically in a holding pattern. They feel like their capabilities aren't being tapped into and utilized and therefore, they really don't have a psychological connection to the organization," he said.

Similarly, the Corporate Leadership Council surveyed 50,000 workers around the world, asking them such questions such as: "Do you love your job? Do you love your team? Are you excited by the work you do every day?" Thirteen percent said no, no, and very much no. "They are disaffected, because they are basically completely checked out from the work they do," said Jean Martin-Weinstein, managing director.

It doesn't take much of a leap to conclude that employees who are better utilized feel more fulfilled, more engaged; they work more productively. For example, this survey by Sirota Consulting LLC of more than 800,000 employees at 61 organizations worldwide: It found those with "too little work" gave an overall job satisfaction rating of 49 out of 100, while those with "too much work" had a rating of 57. Jeffrey M. Saltzman, chief executive of Sirota, said "When you say you have too much work to do, other things are happening in your head: 'I'm valued by the organization. They're giving me responsibility.' That's better than being in the other place where you say I'm not of value in this place."

I think boredom with your work and career is also one of the biggest contributors to work-related stress -- even in today's environment of economic downturn and career uncertainties. The less you work at work, the more internal agony you will feel.

Up to 70% of all illness is rooted in stress, and much of that is workplace related. It results in $300 billion in lost revenue, and $200 million in lost workdays. Whether you are an employee or employer, boredom hurts. It casts a pall on the whole organization and creates a demoralized de-energized atmosphere. Furthermore, it blocks creativity, which will undercut a company's ability to stay abreast of the marketplace competition, especially in these tumultuous times.

Why Do You Become Bored At Work?

So what causes boredom, and what can you do about it? I think there are three specific sources in the workplace, but also some broader, behind-the-scenes reasons. In this piece I'll speak about the three sources. All of them are debilitating. But knowing what they are can help liberate you from the prison they create. In a later post, I'll address the broader reasons -- a growing shift in what people look for in their careers today. I call it the emergence of "Career 4.0" in our culture.

For now, let's take a look at the three sources of most boredom at work today:

"I just don't belong here" -- Julia said that to me, after realizing that she had "never really meshed" with her job. She wasn't critical of her company or her boss. They just worked in a way that was too plodding and methodical for her. For someone else, it might feel just fine. This source of boredom results from major disconnect, a mismatch between you and your work. It might be between the job functions and your talents, your experience, your values - those features of yourself that enable you to perform at your best. Or, it might include that job's potential for future opportunities. If the wrong mesh exists between you and your work - your role, the job environment, the manage-ment culture -- prepare to be bored.

What would help in this situation is, first, curtail the tendency to get hung up on feelings of frustration or resentment about the fact that the situation is what it is. This is where you can use the practice of "indifference" that I described in relation to intimate relationships. It means indifference to your own internal reaction to the external situation.

That, in turn, opens the door to becoming pro-active. And that's an important part of building resilience, as I wrote about in my initial post for this blog. For example, start looking for a different situation; one that provides better mesh between you and your job. That might be within the same organization or somewhere else. Seek out helpful advice and direction from others - maybe within the company or from others in the same career. And it doesn't matter whether they're peers, more senior people, mentors, or even people at lower levels.

Put your energy in the service of creating a positive change rather than trying to rectify an obvious mismatch with a situation that's not going to change. When you view your situation impersonally, with "indifference" in the sense I've described, you're more likely to spot a no-win situation pretty accurately.

"I've Become Invisible" - Elaine was at mid-level in the marketing area of large media corporation. She fell out of favor with a new boss because of changes in company poli-tics above her. Now she found herself essentially sidelined - assigned work beneath her skills and experience. This kind of boredom results from underutilization. You're rendered invisible because your talents, skills, and capabilities are not being utilized. Moreover, they may be misused or stifled.

Elaine's response to her situation illustrates what can help in a proactive, resilient way. She sized it up as a problem to be solved, not a "poor-me" situation to be lamented or feel victimized by. She began calling attention to the situation by asking for new assignments or reassignment. She stressed that she wanted to contribute more to the company as a collaborative member. At the same time she sought out support from others in her network within the company. She became determined to find out what prospects existed to change the situation. "Either it changes," she said, "or I'm out of here. I'm not about to coast along, hoping for something that's not going to happen."

Contrast her behavior with Bruce's, an economist who worked for a federal government agency. He told me he had become "shelved" and was given no substantive work, because of a political squabble higher up the ladder in his government agency. So he de-ided to read books, write academic papers which didn't get published...and collect his paycheck. That's typical of negative coping, which can fuel depression and diminished self-worth, rather than healthy, resilient action.

"I need more ?space'" -- Lack of opportunity for new learning and development creates feelings of confinement, a third source of boredom. Today's career professionals want opportunities for new learning, continued growth and having impact. When there are too few of those opportunities, you don't have room to stretch. You will feel mounting boredom. Resilience here is scouting out opportunities for expanding and enlarging your skills, whether in the same company or somewhere else. If you're afraid to consider doing that, you're keeping yourself on a dead-end street.

A good illustration of proactive resilience when you're confined is what Roger, a 35 year-old engineer in an aerospace firm, told me: "I'm always looking for a challenge that I think is just beyond what I'm capable of. It's a little scary, but fun at the same time, to stretch myself. That's what I need to keep growing."

Karen's another example. "I'd been feeling pretty stagnant and uncreative," she told me. As an experiment, she decided to stretch beyond her existing skills in a new direction within her organization. "It was a little risky," she laughed, "because I volunteered to take on a project that I didn't know anything about." It was a gamble for her, "plunging headfirst," as she put it. But her boss was supportive, and she saw that it was an op-portunity for new growth. It paid off. She did well, and senior management rewarded her for what she had achieved. She learned that putting herself in a situation in which she had to use herself in new, creative ways produced new growth.

Steps You Can Take To Liberate Yourself

The first step towards freeing yourself from any of these three kinds of boredom is seeing your situation with a clear eye. Step outside of your own narrow vantage point, rather than becoming trapped within it or blocked by feelings of frustration and resentment. When you use "creative indifference" you're better able to direct your energy to-wards finding a better situation. That's the "creative" part. For example:

? List any situations, jobs, or creative projects from the past where you felt you were at your best, when things went really well. Identify the resources or conditions you had going for you that supported your success. What kinds of people were your co-workers or boss? Did they help or hinder? From that information, identify the specifics of the career and work environment that you really need to be at your best, including which to avoid, and make a list of all of them.

? Scope out any opportunities for more stimulation or greater challenge that you can spot within your present situation or organization. Ask around, or network to find things you may not have noticed yourself. Craft a strategy to pursue them.

? Meet with your boss and explain that you want to take on a greater challenge; or that you want to stretch in a new direction. How do you read his or her response in terms of your future there?

? Seek out an opportunity outside of work, maybe through a course, a seminar or workshop, or a volunteer opportunity, in order to learn something that enhances your existing skills or that builds new ones.

As you put together all of the above information and feedback, aim towards identifying the kind of work environment, people, organizational culture, or type of work you need that energizes you. List them, and compare them with your present situation. This will help you not only with dealing with boredom. *It also helps prepare you for the "Career 4.0 upgrade" that I'll describe in a future post.

My blog: Progressive Impact -- Douglas LaBier
Web site: Who We Are

 

[Daniel E.]

Job satisfaction: How to make work more rewarding - MayoClinic.com

 

[Daniel E.]

Avoiding the Groundhog Day Syndrome | Psychology Today

Try new things. Go to a new place for lunch or dinner. Try a new sport or form of entertainment, or take a trip to somewhere you have never been before.
Do something unique at work each day to make that workday special.
Meet new people, or get to know one of those "acquaintances" you pass each day at the coffee stand better.