Are you happy at work … I mean, are you really happy? Or do you tend to say to your friends all is fine but deeply inside you feel demotivated, frustrated and unhappy? And what about your partner, family, children or friends … would they say that you’re happy at your work too? 

I was raised to understand that I can choose my profession. I naturally questioned what career is right for me and which job would be a good fit.

I was choosing my job based on a rather pragmatic approach:

• a job that offers security and that is needed,
• a job in areas and industries that interest me wouldn’t be bad to consider either,
• a job that gives me a good quality of life, of course. 

But there was one thing I greatly overlooked.

H-a-p-p-i-n-e-s-s!

I never discussed with my teachers, parents and friends the topic of happiness at work. It never crossed my mind it would even be important to consider it in my decision making until my mum challenged me. 

All changed when my mum surprised me with a simple question “What is happening with you my lovely, I no longer recognise the HAPPY daughter I used to know?!” 

 

It was this one word – HAPPY – that led me to question how I experienced my job.  

In a nutshell, I came to conclusion that while a well-established career looked good on the paper and gave me a sense of security, it can still leave me feel empty and lost. 

   Why was I not happy at work?

I chose my job based on my skills, capabilities and competences but I was afraid to tap into areas that filled my heart with pure joy – creativity and helping people to discover their gifts.  

I was trying to prove myself, my competence rather than express my talents.

This was the point that made me realise that including Happiness into my job search and career is equally important as making a pragmatic choice. And this is one of the main reasons why I included this Key among important topics in my holistic career coaching services. 

Being happy at work isn’t a coincidence or good luck

It’s an outcome of raised awareness and re-designing your job and career to experience feelings like joy, fulfilment, compassion, inspiration, awe and love.

Introducing this Key into creating Dream Job seemed for most of my clients a bizarre thing to do, yet it is a simple factor causing break-through discoveries. 

I won’t be able to cover the whole topic in this blog post. It takes time to adjust way of thinking on this topic.

But I would like to invite you to start exploring what can you do now to increase your happiness levels.

2. Key – Identify your HAPPY job 

If you don’t like your job how can you enjoy your life?

I mean yes, you can argue “Adriana, but I can be grateful to have a job that pays my bills, I can be happy because I have great colleagues altough I find my job boring. I work for a good reputable company and altough I don’t enjoy my job much, I feel like I am contributing to something bigger!”

Yes, all valid points.

But being happpy at work isn’t only about the work environment, right work and life balance or company’s reputation.

If you read my next lines you may be tempted to raise your eyebrows but imagine this …

Imagine that there are activities, industries and jobs that simply drain your energy, in worst case scenario leave you feel exhausted or overwhelmed. 

On the other hand, there are jobs, activities and industries that will energise you. These are usually aligned with your passion, values, talents and desires. 

So here is the question for you:

Helpful questions you can ask yourself if you want to be happy at work: 

• Define what does Being Happy in your job mean to you? How would it look like if you are happy at work? 
• How do you look at yourjob and career possibilities? What is your perception? 
• Notice what is making you feel good and positive at work? 
• Explore what in your working life brings SMILE to your face? (Yes, I mean this) 
• Explore how your talents manifest in your working day: 
  • How do your talents influence your mood at work? Which activities energise and which don’t? 
  •  What do you like doing and why? How do your talents influence your job choice? 
• Stop Autopilot! Challenge how you spend your working day. What could you do differently to bring more joy into your working day?  
• What about your interactions at work? Do you spend your day at work feeling worried, upset, frustrated or maybe even complaining? Or do you seek conversations with people who inspire and motivate you? 

These are just a few simple topics you can start exploring today. If you are keen to infuse your career with more happiness, head over to my private FB group – Zero to Dream Job Club – here I invite you to watch my FREE mini-training 3 KEYS TO ATTRACT YOUR DREAM JOB now.

And if you tried possibly everything to feel happier in your job but nothing worked, then feel free to reach out to me directly. You can book a call where we can discuss more about this topic and options that you have available.  

Contact me via LinkedIn or my FB page.

Professional and certified coach & founder of ZERO TO DREAM JOB ACADEMY

 

I work with employees, couples and organisations that care about

Stress reduction |  Talents and strengths development | Dream job