How to Not Hate Work

When it comes to work, we are our own worst enemy.   Truth is, work is part of our lives.  Seriously, even if you have won the lottery and "quit work," you will be doing some kind of work nonetheless.  Culturally, however, it   has become part of our DNA to hate work (work=bad, play=good).   And if that isn't enough to make us dread getting up and going to make a living - we have managed to instill some truly horrific practices in the workplace that if you didn't already hate it work, you will now.

Why do we insist on hating work?   So the first big "what if" is this. . .what if we started to change our attitudes about work?    What if we accepted that it is part of life and, as such, is to be enjoyed?    That would get us a long way toward better work places.  Truth be told, however, there is more to hating work than just attitude.   Here are some major tactical things we can all own and do to make work more enjoyable.

What if . . .we embraced work as a  place to be productive and socialize and that there was actually no stigma attached to saying out loud and proud "I really like what I do. . .and I really like my company and I really like my co-workers."

What if. . .we shake off that dodgy old adage of "It's not my job to be liked. . ." and decided that it truly is part of our job to be liked?   (In addition to others liking us more. . .we would like ourselves more).

What if. . .we decided there shouldn't be any martyr merit badge for hating work?    Just saying how hard your work is doesn't actually make it so - and it doesn't make you a stronger professional.

What if. . .we conducted ourselves at work like we really wanted to be proud of our ability to collaborate and work together?

What if. . .we were way less concerned about "writing people up" and more focused on creating work environments that are supportive and nurture team members to be at their best?

What if . . .we decided that for every critical thing we sling. . . we would find at least five positive things to send someone's way?

What if. . . we placed as much priority on training as we do on project completion?

What if. . .we said "thank you" more often and made it a practice to celebrate achievement?

What if. . .our workplace isn't so great?   What would happen if we banded together to make it truly one of the best places to work?

Like it?   What if. . .you shared it?   Please.

My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.