Then there are some jobs that take your tools away from you, giving you an entirely new set of tools. This can make you uncomfortable with your tasking, it can make you bored with your new job, or it can give you a new challenge that you had not yet faced.
I have experienced the whole spectrum. I have had jobs that challenged me from my work ethic to just my ethics. But, the job that gave me the most satisfaction was the job that I had the most problems with.
The company I worked for was cutting employee benefits while demanding that the employees work "extra" hours (off the books). The selling points were either "you're lucky to have a job" or "you won't get promoted if you don't play the game." Both of which did not sit well with me, and is part of the reason that I left and accepted a job elsewhere.
The job was the best job that I have ever had though, and here are the reasons:
- It demanded that I learn new skills, AND apply them daily.
- It challenged my belief system.
- It contained some manual labor.
- The responsibilities of the job were very apparent.
- It meant working on exciting stuff.
Those just happen to be my five keys to an enjoyable job. I didn't even know that number 2 was in my best interest or would make a job more enjoyable, but they all help.
Number 1 meant that I was constantly challenged. I cannot be happy in a job that doesn't challenge who I am and demand that I get better.
Number 3 (we'll get to number 2 in a minute) meant I got out of the office and got sweaty. This may not be a key for everyone, but I grew up in an oil field town so manual labor is just part of the daily grind. Theodore Roosevelt said:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
I can't even try to put it better.
Number 4 is key to someone that like responsibility and strives to achieve. The job had military planes, foreign planes, projectiles, and protesters. When people protest your job, you are either doing something wrong or right but either way its important. Having a job that requires you to be accountable means that you feel like the work you are doing is meaningful. That can be the difference in a 40 year grind or a life of happiness.
Number 5 should be a key for everyone. I worked in airplane hangers that could house Air Force One. I worked on things that required me one up the Mythbusters. I was never not excited to go into work, even if it meant a 60 hour week. I loved it.
Number 2 was the most shocking to me, and was not apparent until after I left. When a job challenges your beliefs it gives you a reason to complain, but more so it gives you a reason to be invested in your lively hood. Being able to complain about something meaningful means your not just a whiny little bitch but someone that is informed and cares. It gives you purpose at your job, and if gives you a sense of "fight the power." Even if someday you might be that power, you feel like you can makes changes.
If you are not happy in your current job, take a look at my keys to a good job. Maybe you can borrow a few of them and make yourself happy.
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