Work is just that, work, but that doesnโ€™t mean it should be joyless and lack meaning. Being fulfilled and inspired is important not just for you, but for the company as well because this is one of the foundational components of growth.ย  Research from Gallup shows companies with highly engaged employees had 18% higher productivity and 23% greater profitability.

What is joy?ย  Joy isn’t just being happy which is a short-term emotion, it is finding satisfaction in contributing meaningfully

Here are three things you can do to find more joy in your work:
1. ๐——๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜
Being frustrated and wanting change are not the opposite of joy; these feelings mean you still care. What will keep you from finding joy in your work is indifference. Indifference means accepting the current situation as it is and not striving to make it better. The response to broken processes, poor customer experiences, low performance etcโ€ฆย  shouldnโ€™t be, โ€œThat is just the way it is.โ€
2. ๐——๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜€
Choose to tackle the big challenges rather than just working on small items. It is easy to just cross off the small items from your to-do list, but the accomplishing great and meaningful things in your job comes from taking on the big challenges.
3. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—›๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜€ ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜„๐˜€
Every job has challenges and aspects you dislike, and sometimes those things are significant. Thereโ€™s no way around that. But when you win, when you succeed, that feeling should be greater than the negatives.

These points can help you understand if you are in the right role.ย  If you arenโ€™t given the opportunity to fix broken process or take on bigger challenges or the company doesnโ€™t celebrate the wins, you are likely not in the right place.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ Leaders ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐——๐—ผ
There are many layers to driving growth but one of the key components of the foundation are engaged and inspired employees. If you are a leader within a company, you should ask yourself:
– Have we given employees the opportunity to fix broken processes?
– Have we given employees real challenges to accomplish?
– Have we taken the time to enjoy the wins as an organization and recognize strong contributions?

No matter our role, we need to understand work isnโ€™t always fun, but we should be able to find joy and meaning in the work we do.