Fri, November 20, 2009 - 10:57:03

Americans are Unhappy at Work, but Thinking Small Can Help

With joblessness at its highest levels in years, many Americans are grateful just to be employed.  And although they appreciate their paychecks, new poll results released today by job search website CareerBuilder.com reveal that a large number of people say that they are feeling unhappier at work than ever before. 

Unfortunately, with today’s difficult job market, finding a new position might not happen as soon as you would like, but by discovering the small “joys” at your job, you can dramatically improve the quality of your work day.  After all, as we like to say, negativity is like a virus and it can quickly infect the way you view every aspect of your job.  The more you concentrate on how much you hate it, the more unpleasant it will become.  But, by simply finding one little thing to smile or laugh about, you’ll find your job will become a whole lot less painful. In fact, you may even discover that the job you thought you hated isn’t so bad after all.

And contrary to what you might be thinking, it isn’t easier said than done.  All you have to do is shift your outlook and focus on the small positives instead of the big negatives.  For example, if simply despise creating complex spreadsheets, but spend a large portion of your day working on them, stop thinking about how boring it is and relish the feeling of accomplishment you get when you complete it.  Then, the next time you open up a dreaded Excel file, remember the rewarding feeling you had the last time and use it as motivation to complete the task at hand. 

Although the recent economic crisis and subsequent recession brought on the nation’s current job woes, those surveyed by CareerBuilder said it wasn’t to blame for their unhappiness at work.  Instead, they claim that the true reason was that they felt unappreciated by their employers.  So, as managers it’s our duty to make employees feel valued, especially in today’s tough economic times.

While an annual bonus is one way to show your appreciation, small, kind gestures made all year long are another powerful way to make your employees fee valued.  And one novel idea to go about it is to sweeten the deal… literally. 

A few years ago, we rented an ice cream truck and parked it behind our offices at the Kaplan Thaler Group.  Much to everyone’s surprise, they were all treated to a few scoops of the sweet stuff to provide a much-needed afternoon boost.  And even though it might seem insignificant, you would be amazed to discover how a little cup or cone of rocky road could smooth out the kinks in a coworkers otherwise rough day.

So, whether you’re a worn-out worker or a manager looking for new ways to motivate your team, now is the time to start thinking small and celebrate.  After all, when you find the beauty in the small things, it makes the big stuff look a whole lot better.

Posted by Linda and Robin