The surprising truth about how to feel fulfilled at work
Is it even possible? These questions provide the answer.....
“Fulfillment is a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. It’s also the completion of something, like the fulfillment of a promise.
This word has two related meanings. In terms of emotions, fulfillment is a happy, contented feeling. Many people feel fulfillment from being a parent, having a great job, or graduating from school. People often feel fulfillment when something is completed, whether it’s a goal or a dream or repair work that you’ve been waiting on. Which leads to the other meaning of fulfillment — the act of finishing or doing something that was promised.” (vocabulary.com)
So, reflecting on your work, Do you feel happy and contented? Do you often complete something?
Your responses to either of these questions may help you understand why you don’t think your job is fulfilling but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Taking that a step further:
- Do you believe it’s possible to feel happy and contented at work?
- Have you ever felt happy and contented at work?
- How often do you have a sense of achievement when completing something
Research shows there are 9 factors that help you feel happy and content at work:
- Friendly Co-Workers/Belonging/Fun
- Feel Knowledgeable/Skilled
- Opportunities to Learn
- Flexible Working Hours/Work-life balance
- Receive Meaningful Feedback
- Sense of Purpose/Achievement
- See Ideas Implemented
- Autonomy/Control
- Feel valued and justly rewarded
Some of these will appeal to you more than others and if I asked you to rank them in order of priority for you, that order may be different to your friends’.
Looking at your list what examples do you have of these factors happening in your work? How often?
Everything I’ve said so far can help you discover some of the reasons why work may not be a happy and fulfilling place for you right now.
The bottom line though, the truth of it is……. whenever you feel unfulfilled, that something is missing, or that you simply hate your job, it’s personal – the answer lies within you.
So:
- What can you do?
- How can you behave and think?
- What can you acknowledge about what you have?
- What don’t you have?
Own your right to fulfilment. Be proactive.
Michelle Tranter
Career SOS, Work-Life Balance & Professional Development Coach
The World of Work can often be a challenging place to be. Are work worries keeping you awake? Are you facing redundancy? Have you fallen out of love with your career? Do you want life to be different? I'm Michelle Tranter, a qualified Career, Leadership and Life Coach, HR Practitioner and Trainer, with many years' experience of working in the real world - the ups and downs of managing a team, the wrath of autocratic management, being “dumped in at the deep end,” restructures, a crazy busy workload with no let up and often left feeling that I was dancing to someone else’s tune and not living my life. I've supported 100's of professional women, from all sectors, to take positive action and develop flourishing careers. Work and life are intertwined and you, the human behind your job title, are in the driving seat. Why not contact me and we'll have a chat about how I can help: www.achievemorelivemore.com/book-online *Featured Expert for Abintegro - the Career Development Portal *Featured Expert in Psychologies Magazine *Creator of "How to create a happy and productive work from home lifestyle" for Psychologies LifeLabs