I have come to realize that the two most important things to find in the workplace are respect and joy. If you have both of these, everything else is easy.
Respect is defined by dictionary.com as: "esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability." If you are respected, the people around you generally say and do things that contribute to your feeling of well being. They recognize your efforts and understand the work you are doing is important. Imagine working in a place where people routinely diminish what you are doing as trivial or without meaning. Imagine working where people call you names, scream at you or even compare you to evil dictators just for doing your job. If you are respected, your colleagues will provide you with honest feedback, including information on your mistakes. They will tell you when you are off track in a way that allows you to get back on track. They will praise you for things you do well.
Like respect, joy is also critical to job satisfaction. Dictionary.com provides several definitions that speak to my need for joy:
1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
3. the expression or display or glad feeling; festive gaiety.
I love to be surrounded by people who see and feel the humor in all situations and are not afraid to express it. Laughter is a requirement wherever I work. I am not quite sure how people can go to work day in and day out without laughing. But joy goes beyond just laughter. Joy comes from doing things well, in an ethical way. Joy comes from doing things that help others. Imagine being in a workplace where no laughter is heard, where nothing but nastiness is valued, or where good work goes unnoticed. When joy is present, anything seems possible. People are just happy and not afraid to show it. There is an effort to help one another and make the world a better place.
If you are not happy in your workplace, look around and consider respect and joy. If it is not there, find a way to start creating it yourself. If your efforts to create it are regularly dismissed or destroyed, it is probably time to find another place to work.
Respect is defined by dictionary.com as: "esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability." If you are respected, the people around you generally say and do things that contribute to your feeling of well being. They recognize your efforts and understand the work you are doing is important. Imagine working in a place where people routinely diminish what you are doing as trivial or without meaning. Imagine working where people call you names, scream at you or even compare you to evil dictators just for doing your job. If you are respected, your colleagues will provide you with honest feedback, including information on your mistakes. They will tell you when you are off track in a way that allows you to get back on track. They will praise you for things you do well.
Like respect, joy is also critical to job satisfaction. Dictionary.com provides several definitions that speak to my need for joy:
1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
3. the expression or display or glad feeling; festive gaiety.
I love to be surrounded by people who see and feel the humor in all situations and are not afraid to express it. Laughter is a requirement wherever I work. I am not quite sure how people can go to work day in and day out without laughing. But joy goes beyond just laughter. Joy comes from doing things well, in an ethical way. Joy comes from doing things that help others. Imagine being in a workplace where no laughter is heard, where nothing but nastiness is valued, or where good work goes unnoticed. When joy is present, anything seems possible. People are just happy and not afraid to show it. There is an effort to help one another and make the world a better place.
If you are not happy in your workplace, look around and consider respect and joy. If it is not there, find a way to start creating it yourself. If your efforts to create it are regularly dismissed or destroyed, it is probably time to find another place to work.
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