So much is written about happiness at work — yet judging from Gallup statistics that show 85% of employees aren’t engaged, few know how to attain it. Given that the average person spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, it’s important to figure out how to feel better about the time you spend earning a living. Here’s the catch, though: If you set happiness as your primary goal, you can end up feeling the opposite. This is because happiness (like all emotions) is a fleeting state, not a permanent one. An alternative solution is to make meaning your vocational goal.
Why You Should Stop Trying to Be Happy at Work
Find meaning in your job instead.
July 26, 2019
Summary.
What are we really searching for when we say we want more “meaning” at work, and how does it differ from happiness? Philosophers, scholars, artists, and social psychologists have struggled to come up with an answer to that question for years. According to research by psychologist Roy Baumeister and colleagues, five factors differentiate meaning and happiness. The author describes them and then offers practical advice on ways to find more meaning in your work.