How Do You Find Work That Makes You Happy?
Have you spent years searching for jobs that will make you happy?
Only to find, that time and time again you come up short?
After years of coaching, I have seen 8 components that make people happy in their work.
I share those in this blog.
You can think of these like a clear check list for understanding what’s needed for doing work you love.
If you’re not happy in your work, it’s likely you’re missing one, some or all or these components.
Which one’s are you missing?
4 minute read
1. Happy Environment
“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behaviour. Despite our unique personalities, certain behaviours tend to rise again and again under certain environmental conditions. In church, people tend to talk in whispers. On a dark street, people act wary and guarded. In this way, the most common form of change is not internal, but external: we are changed by the world around us. We become a product of the environment that we live in."
The internal states of others - from joy and play to sadness and fear - directly affect our own state of mind. Scientists call this emotional contagion.”
If you spend your work day surrounded by happy people, the chances are higher that you will be happier.
If you spend your work day surrounded by miserable people, the chances are higher that you will be miserable.
It’s that simple.
Environment has a huge impact on your happiness.
You need a workplace where people smile, laugh and have fun.
2. Being Yourself
“Authenticity is an essential need. To be authentic is to be plugged in to an inner GPS and to navigate from it. It’s knowing our gut feelings when they arise and honouring them.”
First, your workplace, job, business or boss must encourage you to be yourself - to “speak your truth.”
Second, it must then value you for “speaking your truth” - by valuing your opinion, your point of view, your way of thinking, your way of doing things and by giving you a ‘voice’ at the table, so you feel like you belong for who you are.
This fulfils your need to be valued, authentic, respected, accepted, appreciated, included and belong.
3. Control Over Your Work
“Control is the dream-job elixir. Control over what you do and how you do it, is one of the most powerful traits you can aquire when creating work you love. Control increases happiness.”
- So Good They Cant Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion In the Quest for Work You Love
“There’s a common denominator in happiness - a universal fuel of joy - its that people want to control their lives. Control over doing what you want, when you want to, with the people you want to, is the broadest lifestyle variable that makes people happy.”
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, And Happiness
Control feels like liberation from shackles.
First, because by having control over your work, you eliminate the external demands (the shackles) placed on you by others, which reduces stress.
Second, because control gives you the power to shape and direct your own life.
This fulfils your need for autonomy, independence and freedom.
4. Time
“Controlling your time is such a key to happiness. Having more control over your time is becoming one of the most valuable currencies in the world.”
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, And Happiness
Control gives you time.
First, it’s time to spend with people that matter most to you - family, kids, loved ones.
Second, time gives you the freedom to be creative and push the boundaries of your potential.
Third, time gives you the space to reflect, understand and make meaning of your life.
This fulfils your need for connection, freedom, creativity and growth.
5. Meaningful Work
“One who possesses a sense of meaning, experiences life as having some purpose or function to be fulfilled.”
My recipe for meaningful work:
First, understand your life story and “find your fight.” The thing that you fight for because of something that’s happened to you, something you’re pissed off about or something that threatens what you care about.
Second, locate work that aligns with your fight - that the work you do “rights the wrong” usually by bettering people or planet. This work will align with your values and morals - doing what you believe is the right thing to do.
Third, see evidence that your work makes a difference to people or planet.
Fourth, share that evidence with others that matter to you.
Lastly, that when you’re gone, have faith that those that mattered to you will stand up at your eulogy and say “You made a difference to the world.”
This fulfils your need for your life to have meaning.
That your life mattered.
6. Supported By Others
Our life doesn’t mean much if we don’t have people around us to share and celebrate it with.
First, you need to be supported by your boss or your team.
Second, you need people around you; friends, family, peers, mentors, who support you, who inspire you, who you can share your life with and who encourage you to continually express your true authentic self. In short, you need ‘cheerleaders.’
This fulfils your need for connection, community, support, belonging, understanding and celebration.
7. Under 20 Minute Commute
No one likes a commute. A commute sucks the joy out of your job.
First, living close to work will make your life easier.
Second, by living closer, riding, walking or scooting to work will feel like freedom.
8. Earn Enough Money to Meet Basic Needs + 30%
We tend to focus on earning more money to make us happy. In my experience the opposite is true. The happiest people are the ones with low expenses and no debt.
Think about it, one of the biggest stresses in life is financial stress - repayments every month; car, phone, mortgage, loans, credit cards.
It makes logical sense that removing the financial stress will make you happier.
There are two things to focus on to do this: expenses and debt/credit.
Expenses
“Everyone needs the basics. Once they’re covered there’s another level of comfortable basics, and past that there’s the basics that are both comfortable, entertaining and enlightening. But spending beyond a pretty low level of materialism is a mostly a reflection of ego - a way to spend money to show people that you have (or had) money.”
“Learn to be happy with less money.” “Have lower expenses.”
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, And Happiness
Debt / Credit
“In order to buy something you can't afford, you need to spend more than you make. To do this, you essentially need to borrow from your future self. In doing so you create a time in the future that you need to spend less than you make in order to pay it back. People push it — they have an inclination to borrow and spend more instead of paying back debt. Because of this, over long periods of time, debts rise faster than incomes.”
These are my golden rules for expenses and debt:
Don’t spend more than you make.
Don’t buy things you cant afford.
Don’t put anything on credit.
Then follow these steps:
First, reduce your basic needs expenses - roof over your head, bills and basic living costs to the bare minimum and pay off debt (or find a way to get out of the debt). This frees up the financial stresses.
Second, only earn enough money to cover basic needs expenses plus 30%. Written another way: money in, covers money out + 30%.
The 30% gives you the money to enjoy the things that uplift or inspire you, such as music, art, time in nature, weekends away, holidays or travel… whatever it is for you. These aren’t just ‘extras’ in my book - they’re your connection to creativity, beauty and wonder.
This fulfils your need for safety, security, protection and adventure.
Outcome: It Makes You Happy
These 8 components will make you happy in your work.
But the word “happy” doesn’t quite capture the full story for me.
Instead, my clients use the feelings “content, sustainable, balanced, nourished, energised, uplifted and alive” to describe how having the 8 components in their work make them feel.
If you’re not happy in your work
it’s likely you’re missing one, some or all or these components.
Which one’s are you missing?
