Joy can help us be better at work – here's how to find it
- Written by Tina Kiefer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Attributed without much evidence[1] to Confucius, this quote has been featured on email signatures of workaholics for years.
Recent research[2] has found “passion” is becoming a regular part of job listings. At the same time, younger workers (millennials and Gen Z[3]) have been stereotyped[4] for protecting their work-life balance, with critics saying they are not interested in working hard and have a sense of entitlement about work.
The rise of quiet quitting[5] and calls for better work-life balance suggest that falling in love with work and following our passions is unattainable, or at least out of fashion. But research shows that finding joy at work doesn’t have to come at the expense of doing good work. In fact, it can even help.
There also seems to be a deeper running concern. For decades, company leaders and managers have strived to enhance productivity, make work more effective and cut costs. They might view people having fun at work as not taking the job seriously or not wanting to work hard.
This is very much in line with traditional thinking of the early days of management writers. Frederick Winslow Taylor, a pioneer of management consulting, saw emotions as a distraction[18] from the main goal of work, which was to get the job done as efficiently as possible.
The puzzle of autonomy and flexibility and home, with belonging and socialisation with colleagues, is one that will likely take more experimentation with hybrid working to solve. Some companies have ordered[19] workers to return to the office, but the magic doesn’t just happen by putting people in the same place. This is particularly the case when there are so many advantages to working from home.
Instead of worrying that joy and fun at work will distract people, managers should know that feelings of belonging and other positive emotions can also make people more creative and motivated. And if you’re struggling at work, try talking to a colleague – even a short interaction could remind you that you’re part of a team, and that joy is possible.
Quarter Life[20] is a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s.
References
- ^ without much evidence (quoteinvestigator.com)
- ^ Recent research (www.sciencedirect.com)
- ^ Gen Z (standard.asl.org)
- ^ stereotyped (www.forbes.com)
- ^ quiet quitting (theconversation.com)
- ^ The Joy Of* (theconversation.com)
- ^ Quarter Life (theconversation.com)
- ^ Positive emotions (psycnet.apa.org)
- ^ can improve (psycnet.apa.org)
- ^ enhance teamwork (www.annualreviews.org)
- ^ have fun (www.sciencedirect.com)
- ^ broaden our horizons (royalsocietypublishing.org)
- ^ buffer against the many negative experiences (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ great resignation (www.bls.gov)
- ^ My research (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
- ^ called “flow” (mktgsensei.com)
- ^ G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
- ^ saw emotions as a distraction (www.taylorfrancis.com)
- ^ ordered (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ Quarter Life (theconversation.com)
Read more https://theconversation.com/joy-can-help-us-be-better-at-work-heres-how-to-find-it-198260
