Gee, wouldn’t it be great to be that battery bunny in the Duracell ads? Then we could saunter up to an electrical outlet, plug ourselves in and wham! Re-energized. That’s not going to happen, so we’re on our own to find ways we can even “like” much less “love” our work and find the level of job satisfaction we did early in our careers.
Consider these as 3 Moments for Job Satisfaction Momentum:
1. Learn something new on the job.
Mary is a sales client who was stuck in a rut of doing the same ol’ same ‘ol daily grind of sell, sell, sell; then next year up the ante and do it again. The joy of the sale was gone—replaced by boredom and near burn out.
Mary learned the company was putting together an innovation task force. The idea was to get people thinking outside the box and thus—yes, you guessed it—SELL MORE. Nevertheless, the topic of innovation was intriguing to her.
After four months on the task force, everyone was taught a process to think more creatively, recognize how innovation could help them in their personal lives as well as at work, learn what skills were necessary to take action on great ideas and identify where innovation was successfully being used in other companies.
This possibility thinking was exciting to Mary. She took all she learned back to her district to share and use in their respective markets. The results did, indeed generate additional sales. More importantly, Mary’s excitement inspired others to embrace possibility thinking both at work and at home.
2. Refresh your environment.
You know how you feel with a new hair style or new outfit, right? So why not increase job satisfaction by refreshing your work space with a new “do.”
I love the color red. It energizes me. I like to wear it when giving a speech. We even chose red as the main color on our website. Last year my office seemed dreary to me. All I did was add in red pillows on my wheat colored soft, red candy dish, a red frame for a favorite picture of the family and a red pen I love to use writing thank you notes. Not a lot of money. Just a touch here and there.
See what YOU can do—and send me pictures to post.
3. Speak up.
Does your boss know what you like and don’t like about your job?
It would be super delicious if you have the kind of boss who asks you. But if you don’t, you owe it to yourself to have a candid conversation about areas that could be changed if you both could find ways to do that.
Jill is the kind of person who has a hard time saying no. People love her because she is so accommodating. While being accommodating can be positive, she realized that it was becoming a barrier to her work load. The boss was included in those who kept piling on the work. It was time to make a change.
After thinking through HOW to confront her boss, Jill decided she had to speak up. In her gracious style, she told her boss what was currently on her plate and asked if these were his priorities as well. With agreement, it was easier to share what else was being asked of her that could interfere with her expected deliverables. She admitted she wanted to be accommodating and asked for help in letting his team members know what was and was not her responsibility.
It worked. She was relieved. The boss had no problem with the discussion, and even commended her for speaking up.
Great lesson to all of us. Speak up more often, show your brand, and get ready to love your job again!
