The mystery method to loving your job

Working day in and day out can take a toll on even the peppiest and most passionate employees.

If you’re at a job that you either don’t want or don’t care about, your happiness is likely even scarcer than average (which is pretty low).

But we live in a society where you have to work to live, and so you inevitably live to work.

Because I can’t change that paradigm for you, allow me to give you some insight how to turn your job from a dreaded pilgrimage to a satisfactory destination.

There’s a mystery method to loving your job, no matter what you write on the “Occupation” line.

Since the day you’ve started, I’m sure you’ve dreamed about asking for a raise.

Or maybe you have your sights set on a big promotion that promises more money and work you’re more interested in.

But the key to your happiness while at work doesn’t lie behind a pay raise or change of role.

Even if you come in Monday morning excited to work on a project, that energy will burnout by the time your lunch break comes around.

The same goes for waiting for a raise or promotion to make yourself happy with your job.

Counting down to a landmark that you think will make you happy isn’t going to increase your job satisfaction.

And your productivity as an employee often suffers because of it.

A recent study shows 85% of employees aren’t engaged, and it costs the economy approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity each year.

Whether or not you care about financial output, I think we can agree that’s a massive loss on employees that are going to work anyway.

But that doesn’t motivate you to try and find happiness in your job.

So where are you supposed to look? Besides the promise of a raise, promotion, or going home at the end of the night, where can you find happiness at work?

The answer lies in the mystery method I’ve uncovered.

These tactics are tried and proven to improve workplace motivation and satisfaction.

The first is simple, but controversial.

I know that a job is a means to make money, but it’s also where you’ll spend the majority of your time (40 out of 168 hours a week!).

And because you spend the better part of your life as an employee, the purpose you serve there has to become greater than money in order for you to ever feel an iota of happiness.

The first tactic to love your job is to not take a higher-paying job you hate.

Research shows that once your salary breaches $75,000, your happiness increase comes sputtering to a crawl.

While you may think that making six, or even seven, figures will make you happier, I’m here to confirm once and for all it’s not true.

So, if you’re offered the promotion that makes north of seventy-five grand, but comes along with massive amounts of overtime and an overwhelming amount of responsibilities, politely decline.

You’ll be doing your mind and your happiness a favor.

The second tactic is simpler, and perhaps easier to implement into your life.

Longer commutes to the workplace used to produce results that showed unhappier employees.

Recent replications of those results show that the length of the commute no longer has an effect on employees’ happiness, but the mode of transportation does.

If you’re feeling down about your job and money isn’t in sight, try walking or biking to work.

Those who walked to work reported an 85% satisfaction rate with their job.

Cyclists reported 77%.

Even bus and subway riders reported satisfaction levels in the mid-seventies.

Perhaps driving to work is an unnecessary stress that weighs on your already unhappy mind.

Maybe biking and walking expose you to vital fresh air and interaction.

No matter your choice for upping your work satisfaction, remember this method next time you’re sitting at your desk in despair.

Your job should be a source of joy, but with these tactics, you can optimize your happiness in and around the workplace.