Finding meaning in your work, even if you don’t love it, is a different perspective from the belief that you should choose a job you love and you will be happy doing it. But in reality, many times you don’t have a choice.
Many people grow, study, and overcome countless obstacles to get themselves into the career or path of their dreams. But the reality they face is just “making a living” in a job that they can do, can do, or do well. That doesn’t mean that those jobs are necessarily jobs that they like.
“Why did you choose this job?”
Many of us office workers find that after work, while riding the bus home, or before going to bed, we often question what we are doing. What meaning does the work we have chosen mean to us? Or does this work we are doing align with any of our aspirations in life? This is especially true if we are in an environment where we are overlooked, ignored, ostracized, or made to feel insignificant by our boss or co-workers.
“You don’t have to save endangered animals or cure cancer to find meaning in your work.”
According to a global survey conducted by Gartner, 56% of employees said they wanted to be more involved in the communities in which they live. However, with time spent at work, the search for value or inspiration in life has become a search for meaning in the work that they are doing. And this meaning has a significant influence on the mental and physical health of employees. For this reason, there has been a study on the work that contributes to the devaluation of employees.
How to Find Meaning in Your Work, Even If You Don’t Love It
1. Toxic workplace:
If your boss or leader is not setting a good example in the workplace, fostering a culture of bullying, favoritism, workplace politics, or simply seeing people being treated badly everywhere you look, this is the first warning sign that you can’t tolerate this type of environment anymore.
“Coworkers who gossip, unfair bosses, and a corporate culture that never helps anything.”
Solution : If you are an employee who is exposed to pollution in your workplace, tell your manager or leader. If they are also contributing to the pollution in your workplace or are not able to eliminate the pollution, it may be time to look for a new job. If you are working in a company that you like but your department or section is heavily polluted, ask your leader or someone who has the authority to approve transfers within the organization to a better department, such as one where you will be more appreciated and valued for your work.
2. Not respecting personal time:
Another work culture that some people may mistakenly think is about diligence or try to define it as a matter of dedication. But doing this for a long time makes their lives gradually gnaw at their personal life or family time. This is a matter of not respecting each other’s personal time. Most of us only work 8 hours a day, but the work is often not finished at work. Sometimes you have to go back to your home computer to continue working on tomorrow’s presentation, or answer the phone while sleeping because your boss called to discuss the meeting tomorrow, etc.
“I was replying to a company message for my boss while sitting in the hospital waiting for my husband to leave the ICU.”
Solution : If you find that your work hours are often interfering with your personal time, it’s time to talk to your manager or supervisor about setting clear boundaries that you can’t work 24/7. You need to remind them about the work-life balance, and there should be clear lines. This will not only respect your employees’ personal time, but will also help them be more productive.
3. No career path:
There are times when you feel like your efforts have been in vain or that no one notices you. A promotion, becoming a boss or getting the chance to own a masterpiece never comes your way. When you look at it, everyone in a position above you is a morning-night worker who lacks enthusiasm for their work. But they are in this position only because they have worked there longer than you.
“I was just rejected for a promotion. Every employee sitting together had a sullen look on their face. Their eyes were tired, indicating they had worked hard and were aging fast. This made me think that I would never accept that.”
Solution : If you’ve been denied a promotion, first consider the reasons for the denial. Figure out where you can improve in a role to make your skills more noticeable or meaningful. If your career path has been disrupted, consider moving to another location, such as a new department, company, or other type of work that allows you to be more flexible and fits your lifestyle or interests better. Simply having a career path to look forward to can make each day of your life more meaningful.
4. High-stress and unsupportive environment:
The working environment always affects the employees. Especially if you are in a company where there is continuous work, everyone is serious about their work, every conversation, every action that occurs has work as a part of it. This kind of environment may cause you high stress or anxiety.
“I manage a grocery store and work 60 hours a week. The store is available 24 hours a day, every day.”
Solution : Employees can’t be productive and efficient if they’re constantly under stress. If this is the case at your workplace, talk to your management about getting help with stress relief at work, and find a balance between seriousness and relaxation at work.
5. Not listening or responding to comments:
The work that comes out of the company can be called the work of every employee. Because the company can be driven by the sweat of every employee. Therefore, when there are any opinions or suggestions that are not listened to or those opinions or suggestions are ignored, they will feel that they are not important to the team or the company, which may affect their enthusiasm and the work efficiency that they can do.
“I had an appointment with my boss to discuss some ideas. When I started talking about finding solutions to the problem, my boss said the only thing I should do is to care less.”
Solution : Not all ideas or opinions are winners. If you want to help drive change in your company in a better direction, but every idea you offer is rejected, talk to your manager or supervisor to find out why. Ask for details and find solutions to the ideas. You can use those details to improve the ideas so that your next ideas are accepted.
6. Separation:
Although there have been many campaigns for inclusion in this century, we must admit that sometimes inclusion is just an abstract concept that has never been brought to tangible results. Many discriminations still occur, whether it is based on gender, appearance, status, university, or even skin color. Many people still have prejudices about these things in their minds because they do not understand them, but they just hide them from others.
“I am a quadriplegic and use a motorized wheelchair to commute to work. The bus that arrives does not have a wheelchair lift. I cannot get on the bus. I feel ashamed, upset, angry and quiet. Why is no one thinking about my needs?”
Solution : Diversity and inclusion shouldn’t just be a campaign on a company website, but a commitment to action that creates a positive impact on society. Everyone should start to understand and accept each other better in all aspects of diversity, including age and gender discrimination.
Conclusion
According to a survey, 86% of employees would prefer to work for a company that cares about the same things they do. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut every day, where you can only stare at the wall with no path forward, consider what’s causing these mental walls to build up. You may need to start thinking about ways to fix them or look for a new job that gives you meaning and inspiration. Meaningful work gives meaning to your life, and it’s an important component of living a fulfilling life.
“Meaningful work will make your daily life filled with “career”, not “just work”.
Reference:
How to find meaning in your work (even at a job you don’t love)
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