Happiness @ Work

I noticed a certain trend with the posts of many of my friends in Facebook since last week. Many of them had broadcast statuses of unhappiness in their current jobs or wanting to resign from their posts. They have different kinds of reasons to which I can very much relate to when I was still holding a regular office job. So I asked myself, is it really impossible to be fully happy with your job even if it’s paying for all your bills?

To get the answer, I reminisced the times I was still working in the office and also evaluated my current situation as a freelancer. Because since I have started in the corporate world and even now as a freelance writer, I am one of the few who often say ”I’m happy with my job.” If not for personal and family reasons, I would not have resigned from my previous occupations.

Here are a few tips from my umbrella of experience which I hope will help you find your happiness in your current employment and function:

  1. Be Positive

Think positively about your work especially its benefits to you and your family. This will make you realize that you should be thankful that you are employed and are able to provide for your needs. Wouldn’t that make you happy? The Philippine Unemployment Rate saw an increase to 7.4% last January 2011.This means 7.4% of the population are having a hard time providing for their needs. Are you not then proud to be part of the 92.6% who are employed and productive and whose skills and knowledge are being utilized or even developed?

2. Do Something You Love Everyday

 

Find something in your current job which you love doing and do this everyday. If there’s nothing you really love with your job then make sure you find time to do something which you love before or after your job. This will refresh you and will make your mind and body ready to face your job. What I loved with my previous office jobs were my co-workers. I’m a home body and my workmates are my social life. So I always find time to have a good talk with workmates with whom I’ve developed friendships already so I can be refreshed. But don’t get me wrong, lets keep in mind our office policies and ensure we just talk with friends when its allowed. If your office or workplace has restrictions about this, then do follow that first and just talk with your workmates during break times. Another thing I love doing is surfing the internet and going on social networking sites like Facebook. During breaks or after office hours, it became my habit to browse the internet  to get some news about the world and about my friends. This is refreshing again.

3. Take Hold of Your Own Personal and Professional Growth

 

Be in charge of your professional and personal improvement more so, of your climb on your career. No one else is more interested in your growth in your job and as a person than yourself. Find opportunities to learn new things even just simple ones. For the longest time, I considered myself stupid for not knowing how to use the photocopying machine when I started working in the office, then I once chanced by an online article saying that even the simplest skills can be written in your resume and will add to your reliability profile as an employee. So I looked for a way to learn how to operate the photocopying machine and when I learned it, my bosses knew they can rely on me to help with some photocopying tasks. But of course, it’s not my main job and they know it :-)

4. Seek Feedback From Your Boss

Feedback is very helpful for many and will allow one to see where and how else he or she can improve on the job, go up the career ladder or make any other kinds of contributions to the company. Ask for feedback from your boss even if it’s an informal one, for either big or small projects and tasks you’ve done especially within a month. If a criticism is given, take this constructively and view it as a stepping stone to be better at your job.

Feedback is very important to freelancers. This reflects on our profile and is seen by other employers who want to hire freelancers. Feedback makes us look back on how we did at our previous jobs to ensure we do better and give more quality output in our current jobs. Clickhere to view one of my previous post which will give you an idea how I became one.

5. Face Conflicts Professionally

Professional courage is needed in today’s corporate world because conflict is just rampant just like in marriage :-) But face work related conflicts professionally. View conflicts as opportunities for development of yourself and of better business ideas such as customer service strategies. You will learn a lot from conflicts so face them and don’t run away from them but face it with a professional air keeping work ethics in mind all the time. More often, your supervisor will always be there for you anyway if things get out of hand :-D

I hope somehow this post has helped those contemplating about their occupations and somehow they stay in their jobs or if they do decide to find another one, to find their happiness in their new job.

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