If for you, the whole concept of the Joy of Work is just so weird that it almost makes you laugh, you need read on.
Why the Joy of Work matters
The world tells us that work is not allowed to be fun. That it’s what you do – reluctantly – so that you can pay for the bits of your life you actually like. I think that’s nonsense.
You are far better at your work when you’re having fun doing it. And you’re much more fun to be around. So it’s a much more pleasurable experience for people to work with you, which makes them more likely to engage you.
There’s even a theory that explains it:
Enjoyment-Performance Theory
So having fun at your work is good for you, it’s good for your clients, it’s good for … everyone!
And it’s good for your bank balance too.
The Joy of Work is a choice
The important thing to understand is that enjoying your work is a choice. A lot of people think of enjoying as a passive thing. Something happens and it’s something I love, so I enjoy it.
Well, I prefer to look at it as an active verb: en-joying. Bringing joy to, actively making something joyful. Rather like my Core Process is En-couraging Potential – giving people the courage to step up and live up to their potential. I see En-Joy-ing work as something active. An active verb – making a conscious choice to bring joy to your work and to find joy in your work.
Of course, before you can do that you have to know what joy is for you.
Different kinds of Joy
And this is another fallacy that’s out there: that there’s only one form of joy. You know, that exuberant, dancing-around-the-room kind of joy. The happy-clappy, kissy-huggy, isn’t-the-world-a wonderful-place kind of joy.
But it’s not necessarily that bouncing up and down childlike enjoyment. You don’t have to experience joy as a kind of childish glee (or I prefer child-like to child-ish). That incredible enthusiasm about everything that’s everything is full of energy and movement. That’s just one form of joy.
And for a lot of people joy is a very spiritual experience. Maybe for you joy is that quiet bliss, of just being in a fantastic environment that just feels right. That supports you to be everything you are. There’s such a joy in that.
For me, there’s an immense joy in sitting in the garden in the sunlight, feeling the warmth of the sun on me, as I write my blogs, or contemplate where I’m going with a particular client or project. I find immense joy in doing just that.
So the kind of joy that you bring to your work doesn’t have to be the same as everybody else’s. That’s the point I’m trying to make here. Your joy can be a quiet joy, your joy can be an exuberant joy. Either is just fine, or anything in between.
Because joy is a deeply personal thing. Each individual’s way of experiencing joy is different. And you can experience joy in different ways at different times too. There’s no one-size-fits-all definition (limitation!) for joy.
Infectious Joy
Whatever way you experience and express your joy of Work, the great thing about joy is it’s infectious. When you’re around somebody who’s experiencing joy, it’s very hard not to be infected by their joy.
And it cross-fertilises – someone who’s quiet in their joy can spark off an exuberant joy in another, and someone who’s exuberant in their joy can spark off a quiet calm joy in someone else.
Have you ever been working in an office or involved on a project where there was someone on that work, who just so clearly enjoyed the work? Whether they were bright and cheerful about it, or whether they were quiet and calm about it, you just knew they were enjoying their work.
They were bringing joy to their work, and suddenly everyone around them starts to exhibit those signs of joy, whether that’s loud or quiet joy.
I remember one experience on a particular project. There were challenges and people would be getting quite grumpy in the office. Myself included. Everything was all rather tense. And a guy came in, who just loved his part of the work.
He just sat down his desk and got on with it. There was something about the way he did that, you could tell he was enjoying his work. Every now and then he’d throw a quick question at somebody around the office. He wasn’t all cheerful-laughy, there was just something about it that was joyful.
And people started to respond to him. Then they started to banter a little bit amongst themselves. The loud ones got louder, and the quiet ones got calmer in their work. The overall energy in the office went from tense and tetchy to supportive and relaxed.
All of that from one person coming into the office in a joyful mood.
Finding your Joy of Work
So how do you get more of that in your work?
Make enjoyment a conscious choice. Make it an active verb. Seek the joy in your work. Consciously and deliberately bring joy to your work.
En-Joy it.
You will enjoy your work more. People will enjoy working with you more. And that means more people will engage you to do what you do so well.
If you don’t know what’s going to allow you to find the joy in your work, and bring the joy to your work, here’s what you can do. Take some time for yourself and think about times when work has been brilliant. When you’ve been brilliant. When you’ve felt alive and alight, like you were doing what you’re here on the planet to do.
That’s a very good clue to how to bring joy to your work. And if that’s not the kind of work you’re getting to do right now, think about what needs to change.
And then change it!
For tips on how to do that, have a little explore around the site, or get in touch.
Because the Joy of Work is something we can all have, When you choose it.
Until next time – keep up the great work!
You can watch the video version of this post on the Joyful Genius Facebook page.
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