Do You Love Your Job?

I believe that to reach our full potential we need to find work that is challenging and satisfying, work that you can’t imagine not doing. I know, I know…that is a lot to ask for. Or is it? I mean, look at the amount of time you spend at work. For me, I can’t stand the thought of wasting that much of my life doing something I don’t love.

And while I’m not advocating that everyone should immediately quit a job they don’t love, I do council friends to ask yourself if you can find your bliss in your current work. If not, I urge you to begin designing your perfect job in your mind. Once you can clearly envision your dream job; you can begin to map out a realistic plan to make it happen. The first step is always seeing and believing.

As a manager, I love to coach and grow my colleagues. It gives me great joy to see them spread their wings and soar. Even when that means they leave. I can’t stand to see a caged bird.

So today, as one very talented developer, CJ Barker, leaves UT for Symantec, he reminded us of why people stay and why people leave. The original text is below. The text scratched out was added by my silly boss :)

Why People Stay (from Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em)

  1. Career growth, learning and development
  2. Exciting work and challenge
  3. Meaningful work, making a difference and contribution
  4. Great people
  5. Being a part of a team
  6. Good boss
  7. Recognition for work well done
  8. Fun on the job
  9. Autonomy, sense of control over my work
  10. Flexibility – for example, in work hours, dress code
  11. Money, Money, Money

Why People Leave (from Christian & Timbers study)

  1. Boredom or lack of challenge
  2. Limited opportunity for growth and advancement
  3. Lack of appreciation
  4. Low expectations and standards for the position
  5. Inferior / ineffective co-workers
  6. Lack of leadership or poor supervision
  7. Because they’re mean
  8. Because they don’t care

So, (looking you deep in the eyes), Do you love your job? if not, what are you going to do about it?

9 comments

  1. Yes, yes it does. Thus the reason why you won’t see me representing the “other” agency I worked at! You’ll find me now working south of the river with a bunch that deals with the state laws and has an elected offical as its head.

    AND I am loving it!!

    Hope to see you at AIR or Access U.

    Keith “The Owl” Townsend.

  2. Wow… strange that I would find this article while looking for information about a monologue I’m using for an audition. ‘Do you love your job? if not, what are you going to do about it?’ No I don’t. I love the people I work with (Ahem.. most of them) but I don’t love my job. And like I said, strange that I would find THIS while looking for something else, while looking for what I am ‘doing about it’. This just makes me smile, because, just barely two days ago my boss and I had a conversation about me and my job and how I SHOULD find what makes me happy, and that I shouldn’t waste time doing something I don’t love. I am so glad I’m doing something about it. :)

    xx

  3. @Keith – been far too long since I’ve seen you. Glad to hear you’ve found a great place to contribute :)

    @Natalie – it is amazing what you can make happen when you set your mind to it. Bravo to you for taking steps towards your passions!

  4. Wow, I agree with Natalie. How ironic that I would check your blog to see how you’re doing and here is a note on following your passions when I am contemplating yet another change. Good words to live by. Thanks for reminding me.

  5. Just checked my google reader for the first time in ages and came across this post.

    I would love to have any job at the moment but try as I might, I cannot get a job. I don’t have the luxury of wanting to like a job as I need a job. You are in a very priviledge position of being a job you love but most people end up in jobs because they need them not because they want to be there.

  6. Jacqui, I hope you get a great job soon. Trust me, I know the pain of unemployment. My husband is in the process of finding the perfect job.

    And while getting a job to support the basic necessities of life is not a luxury, I also want to suggest that YOU (and everyone else on this planet) are so very valuable that I want you to remember that in the end, you deserve the best. I hope that you find a job that enables you to reach your glorious potential.

    And sometimes…the work we do for money…is to support the things we do for love on our own time. I understand that…but still I hope that the work time is gentle and caring to who you really are :)

  7. No i don’t love my job. It’s not bad. It pays the bills. It’s steady. But xhtml/css work is boring. Even in a setting like my current employer.
    I know exactly what i would love to be doing, but that job doesn’t exist (multimedia/web/pr allroundguy at some organisation). So the dude abides.

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