"Ugh, still three more days till the weekend." "Thank goodness I'll soon be on holiday." Sentiments like these are common in people's working lives when you see your job as a chore to be got out of the way.
How can it be satisfying and enjoyable? Two experts weigh in.
The question of whether gainful employment should be satisfying and enjoyable is a subject of research by Hannes Zacher, professor of work and organizational psychology at Leipzig University.
"I believe that gainful employment doesn't necessarily have to be enjoyable," he says, although many people definitely find that attribute desirable.
In a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, Zacher and his team asked a sample of 678 employees from diverse jobs, aged 18 to 67 years, to choose what they saw as the most important dimension of a "good working life": "job satisfaction," "work meaningfulness" or "work psychological richness."
About half of the participants chose job satisfaction, a quarter each going for the other two options.
"So half of the employees want enjoyment from their work," Zacher says, while for the other half "it's certainly nice, but not the top priority."
Business coach Astrid Kaiser says it's partly a matter of how you define "enjoyment." "Since we spend a large part of our lifetime at the workplace, it stands to reason to want what you do for a living to give you a good feeling."
You don't have to experience constant enjoyment, she says. What's important is that your occupation meets your personal needs. "You should feel a connection, a certain vitality, when you're doing your job."
"As an occupational psychologist, I'd say, yes, that can be a goal," says Zacher, regardless of the job or the specific tasks it entails, be it working at a supermarket checkout counter or in an office.
There are various possibilities. Employers, for their part, can try to restructure the work to make it more enjoyable, for example by enabling - and fostering - the exchange of responsibilities, or by bringing job duties more in line with employees' interests.
Employees can enliven their workplace by taking the initiative themselves. "They can see if they can inject some fun into their work by holding little competitions with co-workers, for instance, or by trying to outdo themselves," suggests Zacher.
The main things, according to Zacher, are being open and having "the attitude that work can, and should, be enjoyable." Are there things you can take with humour? Moments when you can joke around? Are there opportunities to find a task enjoyable by changing how you look at it?
You could also consider doing certain tasks in a different order or together with a co-worker you get along with especially well. "By the same token, you should try to avoid people at your workplace who are killjoys or even toxic," Zacher says.
Kaiser also underscores the importance of having the right attitude. One way to experience more enjoyment at work is to make that resolution in the morning: "I'm going to start today with lightheartedness," for example. Or, "Everything I do today can be enjoyable." Or, "Today I'll focus especially on teamwork."
Another way to foster positive feelings, she says, is to make your workspace - be it on your company's premises or at home - pleasant, thereby creating an atmosphere in which you feel comfortable.
Not least, Kaiser advises paying attention to how you structure your workday. "It helps, for instance, in the morning to first take on a task you enjoy or that gives you a good feeling."
The positive feeling of having already accomplished something, and enjoying it, will give you an energy boost for the rest of the day, she says.
Your work needn't provide enjoyment for it to be fulfilling. Its meaningfulness - societal importance - and psychological richness - wealth of interesting experiences and interactions - are desirable attributes too.
Zacher notes that no matter what you do for a living, there can be days when all of these things may seem lacking. "That's not so bad though," he says. "Fortunately, work and one's attitude towards it change constantly."
Your job situation is truly problematic, Zacher says, if it's perpetually devoid of all of the three aforementioned dimensions of a good working life. "Then your occupational well-being is at risk, and it might be a good idea to think about looking for a different job or working for a different company."
Deriving no enjoyment from your job should prompt reflection, according to Kaiser. "Why don't you enjoy it, and what conclusions can you draw from that? What would you enjoy instead?"
Sticking it out is the worst thing you can do, she says. "It simply costs too much energy and joie de vivre." – dpa
