5 Steps to Love Your Job
You can hate 20% of your job and still love your job. Over the years I asked managers how much of their job they could hate and still love their job. The number hovers around 20%.
Unrealistic expectations ruin satisfaction.
You don’t have to love your job all the time. Markus Buckingham explains to love your job you need to love the things you do at least 20% of the time. (Love + Work)
We do things we don’t love because we get to do things we love.
You’ll be a failure if expect to do fun stuff all the time.
The formula to love your job:
20-60-20
20% of your job is pure delight. Think about losing track of time. Reflect on things you can’t wait to do and want to do again.
60% of your job can be ho hum.
20% of your job feels like rocks in your pockets. What drains you? Perhaps it’s paperwork or terminating employees.
Tips to love your job:
- Focus on the 20% you love. Negative thinking obscures love.
- Don’t procrastinate on the 20% you hate. Brian Tracy said eat the frog first. (Eat that Frog)
- Have a best friend at work. People with a best friend at work get more done, engage with customers and employees, share ideas, and have fun at work. (Gallup)
- Maintain a “what’s next” attitude. Turning toward the past is an anchor. Turning toward building the future is fuel.
- Develop yourself. Stop worrying about fixing other people! Get better at what you do. Better yet, get better at what you hope to do.
What does it take to love your job?
Here’s more on loving your work: 5 Ways to Love Work
Dan, terminated two employees this week – needed to read this, apprecaite you and your wisdom. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Scott. It’s one of the hardest things leaders do. Terminating someone often keeps people up at night and shows up as a knot in your gut. Steady on my friend.
Dan, I bet you love 80-to-90 percent of your job.
When I was a college teacher, I loved preparing lecture and being in the classroom. Correcting exams and some of the administrative stuff was tedious at times. So, I would say my ratio was 90-10.
I’m with you, Paul. I’m doing more of what I love and less of what I don’t all the time. We’re fortunate.
Really appreciated reading this post as I’m struggling with some challenges in my current role and trying to figure out what makes me happy at work. I think we often hear messages that we need to find our ‘true calling’ and feel very happy in our roles and if not, it’s not the right fit but these are unrealistic expectations. The 20-60-20 creates much more realistic expectations for job satisfaction and focusing on the things within your control.
Thanks, Pam. Unrealistic expectations make life harder. When we expect every day to feel like Disney Land the real world is depressing. One danger is tolerating the suck so long that we get stuck. Another danger is “bad is stronger than good.” It’s easy to lose sight of the good stuff. I wish you well.
I always think of it as 20-80. I get paid to do 20% of my job that I hate and I do the 80% I love for free.
Brilliant approach. If you love your job pay is a bonus. (Of course it’s a necessary bonus.) If they pay you for the 20% you’re making a pretty good wage. 😉