How to Make Your Job Meaningful Work

How to Make Your Job Meaningful WorkHow to Make Your Job Meaningful WorkWhen you think about meaningful work, you think about Mother Theresa or Princess Diana or maybe Peace Corp workers or school teachers and nurses. All of these are great jobs that are meaningful. But, not everyone can raise money and attention to help get landmines cleared, nor can (or should) everyone try to teach second grade. And if blood makes you faint, nursing isnt a great idea for you either. So, how can you make your job meaningful work, even when its not directly making anyones life better? Here are five suggestions for changing your job from tedious work to meaningful work. Look at the Big Picture Why does your job exist? You could be an HR manager, a grocery store cashier, or a CEO of a tech company. Each of these jobs is necessary to make the world a better place. Because this is no longer an agrarian society, you need the grocery store cashier to get food. CEOs of well-managed companies provide no t only goods and services to the community but jobs with paychecks for many people. And HR managers can make peoples lives much better by helping them progredienz in their careers, finding and providing the best benefits, and hiring great people. If you just look at the tasks in front of you, youll forget how you contribute to the community as a whole. Treat Each Other With Kindness A kind person can change everyones day from drudgery to fun. Yes, work is still working, and sometimes its hard, but working with the right people can make you look forward to going to work even if the job is hard work. One man who worked for a brewery as a delivery man could have seen his job as hard work and drudgery. After all, his job duty was to drive from restaurant to restaurant, carrying huge kegs of beer and taking out the old, empty ones. But, the people in many restaurants cheered when the beer guy came in with the beer kegs. Their act of kindness changed his job from drudgery to one that he loved. If you stop and inquire about someones day, or follow up on how their new kitten or the new baby is doing, youll make them feel loved and appreciated. Thats meaningful right there. And the advantage of this for you is, as you are kind to others, the kindness spreads and people will be helpful to you. Work Hard How does working hard make a job meaningful? Well, hard work often equals success. When you succeed in your job, you help others in your department succeed in their jobs. When your whole department succeeds, the company succeeds. That is pretty meaningful. Additionally, hard work is easier than avoiding work. Think about it when you have to worry if your boss knows how much time youre spending wellenreiten the internet, that adds another layer of complexity to your job. When youre working hard all of the time, and your boss drops by, its not a big deal. When you keep on top of your work, you have lowered stress levels. Now, of course, some people are over-burdene d and cannot accomplish everything. You might start feeling like I cant get everything done, so why bother? These feelings of stress and failure can pose a huge temptation, but dont give in. First of all, youll start to feel like your job just isnt meaningful- its just work. Second, that adds additional stress ontop of your head. What you do instead is go to your boss and say directly, I have five tasks on my plate right now. I can do four effectively, or I can do a lousy job on all five. Which would you prefer? or I have five tasks on my plate right now. I only have time to get three of them done. Which two should I skip? Look Outside of Your Job Does your meaningful work have to be your day job? Of course not. Sometimes your day job can fund your meaningful work. Work-life balance means having a life. Whether its through your family, your church, your charity, your art, or whatever is important to you, you need a paycheck to support that. You may consider your job as one that doesnt contribute to the community and doesnt make peoples lives better, but if it provides for your family, then it is meaningful. If it allows you to donate to the poor and support meaningful causes, your job is meaningful work. You dont have to fulfill all of your needs through your paid job. You dont even need to feel guilty that youre working for a large corporation rather than a small non-profit. Its not bad to earn money. You find your meaning in how you can spend that money. Consider Changing Jobs If you just cant see how your current job is meaningful, and you cant figure out a way to make your job meaningful work, then perhaps its time for you to move on. If your job doesnt bring you joy, doesnt allow you to support your family or essential charitable causes, and doesnt help the community, then maybe its not the right job for you. No one has a skill set that is so tiny and so unique that there is only one job in the world that would suit them. And if you have no market able skills, get training in new skills. You dont have to invest in a college degree if thats not your goal. You can take online courses. Many MOOCs are free or low cost. You can enroll in a technical or vocational training class. There is no job more meaningful than a plumber, for instance. Think how the world has changed for the better due to running water and functioning sewer systems. No matter your age, youre not stuck, even if you think you are. You may have limitations based on your current situation, but youre never truly stuck. If you want to find meaningin your job and work, figure out what you would need to have for it to become meaningful to you and then go find it. Meaningful work doesnt have to be synonymous with charity work. Every single person can find meaning in your work and your lives. Hopefully, your work and purpose can overlap, but if not, you can still manage both. Dont limit yourself to your current situation. Change only happens when you want something bett er. If you want something better, a job that is more meaningful to you, do what it takes to find more meaningful work. - Suzanne Lucas is a freelance writer who spent 10 years in corporate human resources, where she hired, fired, managed the numbers, and double-checked with the lawyers.