You Can Feel More Satisfied in Your Career - Exactly Where You Are Now

You have the power to feel happier in your job - today - exactly where you are now.  

It is a myth that we have to be in the perfect job, working on the most interesting project, with the smartest team, in some exotic location, before we can truly feel satisfied in our career.  When you look at the research on what makes an individual feel satisfied in their career, the good news is that many of the job satisfaction factors have more to do with how you perceive your situation, than the elements of the actual job.  

Here are three job satisfaction tips that you can use right now to bring more joy to your work.

Express your Values.  When you are allowed to express your personal values in your job, you enliven your sense of purpose.  Just starting out in human resources, I found the endless paperwork, which was the vast majority of the job, to be sheer drudgery.  When I was hired, I thought I was going to help people. It turned out, that entry level HR work was "helping people" by filing their health forms.  This was not my idea of helping.  So, at work, during lunch one winter, I organized a winter coat drive for a local homeless shelter.  This small volunteer initiative allowed my to express my values for helping people and spoke to my belief that companies should contribute to the communities in which they reside.  It also helped me to later on transition into the community relations department within HR.  

Build Relationships.  People who are satisfied in their careers, have fostered affirming relationships.   Seek out others who share your interests and actively build a relationship with them. You do not necessarily have to build relationships with people in positions to advance your career in order to increase your job satisfaction. A sense of isolation and feeling disconnected from co-workers has the effect of creating job dissatisfaction. If you and the security guard share a love of jazz, nurture that relationship.  People who are satisfied at work, surround themselves with individuals they can connect with. 

Use Your skills. Use a skill that you already have, in a new way.  You may think that because you didn't learn a particular skill at school or even on the job  that the skill isn't valuable.  We believe that every single skill you have developed - whether it's running a road race or volunteering in a soup kitchen- can be a valuable asset at work- right now.  For example, one client we know had an incredible ability to set and achieve athletic goals such as running a marathon in under 4 hours.  However, she never thought to apply these same skills to her work as a nurse in a busy hospital.  When she began using this goal setting strength in her job - setting small, specific, achievable goals for herself such "Today, every patient gets a hug" or "Today, I will get each patient to smile", she began to feel more accomplished at work and more satisfied in her job. 

Approach your current situation with the values you care about, connect with others, and bring your skills to work with you and there's no doubt you will feel happier right away with your current job.