If you've woken up today with a sense of dread about what awaits you at your desk, you're not alone. A 2019 Gallup poll found that out of the world's one billion full-time workers, only 15% of people are engaged - which means 85% of people are unhappy in their work.
If your job really sucks, I want you to find a new one. Life is too short to hate what you spend most of your waking hours worrying about.
But if you suspect a job change would just be the same sh*t in a different place, it might be a purpose issue. If you don't care why you're doing things, it's hard to care how.
Earlier this year, I reached out to Wednesday Wisdom readers to ask how you can find a sense of meaning in your work. Here's what you told me.
Meaning Matters
When I asked how important a sense of meaning was in your work, and the results were an average rating of 9.0/10. Woh.
Then I asked how to rediscover meaning, when it's lost. There were heaps of incredible answers and suggestions - and most of them centred around three key areas:
1. Shift your perspective
"Look at the big picture. Your work will be helping somebody indirectly which is so cool!"
"I think zooming out and zooming back in. Checking out the big picture of how your work fits into the grand scheme of things, and then maybe digging around in nooks and crannies to consider the tiny little ways you contribute and make a difference."
"Shift your focus - go big or go small. It's easy to get stuck on aspects of our work such as endless emails, meetings, same routine day after day. Meaning can be found by focusing at a different level, for example the one on one interactions you have with others that can make a difference in their lives (going small) or the ultimate good that results from your contribution to a bigger whole (going big). Play around with different perspectives until you find even a glimmer of meaning or purpose and focus on that. What you focus on will expand."
2. Focus on how you help others
"Remembering how their work impacts the lives of others, no matter how small."
"Talk to others you work with or provide a service/product to. They may appreciate your work more than you do!"
"Flip that question on its head, a realisation that your contribution, no matter how small makes other wheels go around. Also it’s about humility and a strong belief in ‘service to others’. Believe in your team or community and strive to serve. Don’t look to be recognised, it will come when the people say, “we did it ourselves”
3. Connect with your personal vision and values
"In my experience when this has happened it is generally because I have gotten caught up in stress or too much mental activity and am operating from my head rather than my heart - I have lost my connection with myself. So in the first instance I recommend taking steps to reconnect with yourself first."
"Undertake a values exercise, it forces you to consider aspects of yourself you don't often notice, pay attention to, or are aware needs nourishment. This helps you focus when it really matters for you."
"Find a cause you can PERSONALLY support by your work. Create a personal vision and mission bigger than the company, bigger than the self."
What to do next
It's OK if you hate your job today. But if you know it matters, and you just need to shift your thinking, try doing these three things.
1. Zoom out and remember how you're helping others. Notice the small things you do that contribute to that difference.
2. Talk to people who've been impacted by the work you do. Start saving emails and comments where people express their gratitude, so you can refer to them on dud days.
3. Remember what you care about, and what your personal values are. Draw the link between that and your job. Put it on a post it note on your monitor for the day.
Til next week,
Alicia McKay
