“I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”- Jerome. K. Jerome.
After graduation, all of us dream of landing a job which lets us learn and earn at the same time, a job that offers scope for growth and at the same time lets us showcase our abilities. But what happens when within a few days of landing that almost elusive job, you are found staring at your computer for hours at a time, without getting any work done. Even worse, you are found working at break neck speeds to complete your never – ending work, so much so that you become a willing victim of job burnout!
Either ways it’s evident that you are not able to enjoy your work. Quite sad, isn’t it? The work that you dreamt of being able to do, is now finding you dreaming away! But there’s no need to worry about it, as with a few simple and easy tips you can drive the stress and blues and get back to enjoying your work.
But first a few signs that you might not be enjoying work
- You have to push yourself every morning to go to work
- You are sleepy all day long; on all the working days
- You can’t be bothered with participating in office activities
- You spend more time around the cooler or in the canteen than on your desk
- You are uninterested during meetings
- Lunch hour is the most awaited time of the day
While these are just some of the signs that you might not be enjoying work, the main indicator should be your satisfaction levels with your performance on the job. If you find yourself severely unsatisfied, then it’s time to look deeper into the reasons as to why you aren’t enjoying the job. But if you find yourself moderately satisfied, then maybe some simple and easy tips on how to enjoy work can come to your rescue.
Here are some tips on how to enjoy work:
Tip no. 1: Be Positive
Having a positive outlook towards your work will help you get out of the rut that is making work unbearable for you. To develop a positive outlook, all you have to do is focus on the positives rather than the negatives that your job offers! Try inculcating humor in your work as it will definitely serve to lighten up the gloominess that comes with dissatisfaction, plus a good laugh will help freshen you up and put you in a positive frame of mind that will benefit your work.
Tip no. 2: Time Management
Time Management is the one age old key when it comes to enjoying your work as it helps one to increase their efficiency and thereby performance. Both these factors can improve the quality of your work and lessen the time required to give an output; stress also becomes almost non-existent when you manage your time well. For better time management learn how to prioritize the tasks at hand and time yourself, say by giving each task a 4 hour deadline.
Tip no.3: Avoid procrastination
"Someday is not a day of the week."- Anonymous
Procrastination might seem wonderful; especially when it lets you push work far away from you! But beware of this very procrastinator hidden within you, who leads you to believe that ‘no work done is all the work done’. Procrastination can keep you from enjoying work and the challenges it presents to you. Often as is the case with procrastination, work piles up and no one enjoys going to work only to be greeted with a mountain of work awaiting them on their desk. The best way to start enjoying your work is to complete your work on the assigned day and leave for the day with a satisfaction of having achieved something rather than going home with a sense of foreboding what work tomorrow will bring.
Tip no. 4: Think out of your Job/Work
Disappointment due to some reason or the other can stop you from enjoying your work. Don’t let your work alone be the parameter of your happiness, as an unhappy mind will obviously lead to an unhappy worker! Many often people become obsessed with work and let it dictate terms to them i.e. a failure at work translates to an overall failure for them. To avoid this circle of disappointment, think out of your work; participate in activities which are radically different from your line of work such as training for a marathon, volunteering at charity event etc. The happiness and satisfaction derived from these non-work activities is bound to reflect in your work, making you enjoy it.
Tip no. 5: Be flexible
It’s human nature to adjust to his/her surroundings. The same applies to your workplace as most often people are often found to be unhappy with their work as they have difficulty in adjusting to their workplace. Every workplace has its own set of ethics and a unique way of working, hence being flexible and accepting change as it comes is another key to enjoying work. Keep yourself open to suggestions, accept constructive criticism and give credit where it is due from the management and you’ll enjoy work like never before.
Tip no. 6: Reach out
Working in an organization invariably means working within a team. Instead of being rigid and preferring individual work, reach out to your team members and be a good team player. Contrary to people’s belief that individual work gives better quality, working in a group where responsibilities are shared along with the work, can help you enjoy your work even more! Moreover if you find that you have plenty of free time left on your hands, it wouldn’t hurt to offer help to a colleague who’s seemingly bogged down with work.
Tip no. 7: Party!
Yeah, yeah we can hear you groan that work gives you no time to party and enjoy, hence you hate work for keeping you from the ‘real’ enjoyment! A simple way to enjoy work is to organize small after hour’s luncheons, festive parties and fun picnics involving your colleagues, these will not only provide you with an opportunity to let your hair down and enjoy yourself, but will also bolster your relations with your colleagues, thereby helping you to enjoy your work even more.
So now that you have the tips, are we still going to see a grumpy Joe/ Jane staring at the computer or a happy Joe/Jane smiling and enjoying work?
