Could You Have Your Dream Job Now? It’s Easier Than You Might Think

Could You Have Your Dream Job Now? It’s Easier Than You Might Think

Sadly, most of us are not satisfied with our jobs. According to a recent study by the Conference Board, only 45% of us like our jobs, down from 60% in 1987. There’s a popular theory that dream jobs require discovery; if you’re lucky you find the job that makes your heart sing. Most people, however, don’t manage this feat.

For the rest of you, consider the work of Amy Wrzesniewski, a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management at Yale University. She’s studied what does or does not make people feel fulfilled at work and argues that most of us can engage in what she calls “job crafting”, the ability to tailor our job so that it creates more satisfaction – with or without the organization’s support.

She studied a hospital cleaning staff, for example, and found that both their level of satisfaction and how they defined their roles varied wildly. Some staff defined themselves as “cleaners” while others considered themselves “ambassadors”, or even “healers.”

What Should You Do?

If you want to change how you or your staff feels about work, Wrzesniewski suggests the following:

Think about what part of your work you enjoy and how it contributes to the world. What tasks give you the most satisfaction? How does any of your work contribute? The cleaners in her study, for example, went above and beyond their job descriptions by interacting with patients and their families, noticing if someone seemed sad or had no visitors, and reporting those findings to nurses or doctors.

Redefine your relationship with others. Work relationships can be the source of our greatest joy or the most frustration. Almost everyone, however, can find a way to improve relationships at work, spend less time with those they loathe or forge new friendships with people who seem interesting or fun. The most fulfilled cleaning staff, for example, loved being a part of a team and developed deep relationships with doctors and nurses.

Reframe the way you think about your job description. Cleaners who saw themselves as “healers” found the most satisfaction in their work.