Career happiness is something everybody wants--so why is it so hard to find? Lea McLeod, CEO and founder of Degrees of Transition, thinks our first problem is the questions we ask. "When you start the job search process you ask: 'What kind of job do I want? What do I want to be?' You don't say: 'What will it take for me to be really happy in a job?'"每个人都想要职业幸福感——为什么它这么难以获得呢?Degrees of Transition 的CEO和创始人Lea McLeod认为是我们提出的问题不对。“当你开始找工作的时候你问:‘我想要什么样的工作?我想成为什么样的人?’你不会问:‘我要如何才能找到一份真正让我开心的工作?’”
But if you're ready to ask yourself how to kick-start your career happiness, we've uncovered 10 top secrets to on-the-job satisfaction.如果你已经准备好要问自己如何开始迅速找到生涯幸福感,我们可以为你揭露了十个关于工作满意度的秘密。
If You're Staying in Your Job ...如果你要继续目前的工作……
1. Build relationships. Relationships are often at the heart of happiness. "A lot of research shows that higher satisfaction is achieved when there are friendships at work," McLeod points out. In fact, many studies have found relationships are one of the only external factors that can significantly budge your happiness meter.1.建立关系。人际关系常常是幸福感的核心。McLeod指出:“很多研究显示在工作中有朋友相伴更易获得高满意度。”事实上,研究发现人际关系是能够显著提升你幸福感的唯一外部因素。
Cultivate relationships with co-workers you like and minimize time with those you don't. Finding a mentor or mentee can help you boost your network, energize your work, and bring more joy to your job.与你喜欢的同事建立关系,减少与你不喜欢的同事相处的时间。寻找一个能够帮助你扩展自己的人际网络的导师或者学生,让你工作起来更有动力,也更有乐趣。
2. Find purpose in your work. Too frequently, we get caught up in the day-to-day grind of our jobs and forget to look at the big picture--the "why" that motivates our work. But tapping back into the true purpose of your job can make the daily accomplishment take on more meaning. 2.寻找工作的意义。我们常常深陷于日常琐细的工作当中,而忘记了去思考更重要的问题——我们工作是为了什么?思考这个问题能赋予我们每天的成就更多的意义。
Ask yourself: How does my work improve other people's lives? What bigger purpose is my company striving to accomplish?问问你自己:我的工作如何改变他人的生活?我的公司有什么更为宏大的目标?
3. Say thank you. Gratitude has a big connection to happiness. In a 2003 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough asked participants to write down up to five things they were grateful for each week for 10 weeks. By the end of the study, Emmons and McCullough reported a 25 percent happiness increase. 3.表达感谢。感恩与幸福感之间存在很大的关系。在一项2003年发表于《人格与社会心理学》杂志上的研究中,研究者Robert A. Emmons和Michael E. McCullough要求被试连续十周写下他们每周最感激的五件事。
This is just one of many studies proving gratitude and happiness go hand in hand. So whether you start keeping track of everyday wins or just thank your co-workers on a more regular basis, bolster your outlook by giving thanks.这项研究的最后,被试的幸福感上升了25%。这只是众多证明感恩和幸福感紧密联系的研究中的一项。所以不论是开始关注自己每天的进步还是更经常的肯定你的同事,你都会通过表达感谢的方式使自自己的状态得到提升。
4. Challenge yourself. Boredom is kryptonite to happiness. So challenging yourself is one way to ratchet up the joy-factor. In a recent Business Insider article, career expert Heather Huhman suggests going out on a limb to boost your attitude: "Offer to step in where you normally wouldn't have responsibilities," she recommends. "Ask your boss if you can shadow a colleague in another department to learn how various aspects of the company work."4.挑战自我。无聊是幸福感的毒药。挑战自我是提升幸福感的一种方式。在 Business Insider最近发表的一篇文章中,生涯专家Heather Huhman建议适当的冒险能够提高你的斗志:“在一些你未曾涉及过的领域工作,问问你的老板你能否跟公司其他部门的某个同事共事,以了解不同部门的运作方式。”
This creates variety in your work (making it inherently more interesting) and you can score points for being a proactive employee who's ready to take on new challenges.这种方式能够让你的工作更具多样性(让它更有趣),你也可以成为一个更主动且愿意接受挑战的员工,而得到老板的青睐。
5. Switch off when you leave. You spend around 1/3 of your life on the job, so don't spend the other 2/3 of it thinking about work! When you leave your office, mentally switch off so you can focus on the other things in your life--like being with family, staying healthy, letting loose--that make you a happier person.
5.在休闲时不要想工作。你需要在工作上花费一生中三分之一的时间,所以不要再浪费剩下三分之二的时间去为工作忧虑。当你离开你的办公室时,请屏蔽掉脑子里关于工作的内容,去关注你生活中的其他事情——比如说与家人共处、保持健康、放松——这些能够让你成为一个更快乐的人。
If You're Changing Careers ...如果你正在职业转换中……
6. Contribute to something larger than yourself. A popular study from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found career satisfaction peaks in jobs that have a direct, positive impact on other people. "The most satisfying jobs ... involve caring for, teaching, and protecting others and creative pursuits," said Tom Smith, director of the survey. 6.投身于不仅仅关注你的个人利益的事业中去。芝加哥大学的全国民意研究中心有一项很有名的研究,这项研究发现生涯满意度最高的是那些能对他人产生直接、积极影响的职业。“最令人满意的职业,主要是照顾、教导、保护他人或是一些创造性的工作,”这项研究的主持人Tom Smith说。
The take-away? When choosing a new career, consider one where you can contribute to something larger than yourself.简单来说,当你选择一个新的职业时,最好考虑一些能造福他人的选项。
7. Look beyond the corporate ladder. The study also found that eight of the 10 happiest jobs in America weren't on the corporate ladder. Instead, they were gigs with perks like unusual or flexible hours (ex: psychologist, firefighter, and clergy) or high levels of independence (ex:author and artist).7.眼光不局限于生涯晋升阶梯。这项研究还发现美国最令人满意的职业中有80%都没有出现在生涯晋升阶梯当中。它们常有一些特别的福利比如说灵活的工作时间(例如心理学家、消防队员或神职人员)或高独立性(例如作家和艺术家)。
This data suggests that choosing work that aligns with your values--even if those values take you farther off the beaten path--is a good foundation for career satisfaction.这些数据显示选择符合你价值观的工作,即使这些价值观指引你走向不那么常规的道路,也有利于提升你的生涯满意度。
8. Focus on the future. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe your industry took a nose-dive. Maybe you chose a profession for the wrong reasons. During a career change, there are many reasons to be mad at the world or angry at yourself. 8.关注未来。也许你失去了你的工作。也许你所在的行业正处于萧条当中。
But you can't be a victim and be happy at the same time. "Happy people don't make their lives contingent on situations," McLeod points out. To move forward, put your focus on the future.也许你因为某个错误的原因而选择了目前的专业。在职业转换中,你可以找出很多原因责怪这个世界或者你自己。但是你无法既是受害者同时又感到幸福。“幸福的人获得幸福并不依赖当下的情境,”McLeod说。为了前进,你应该更多的关注未来。
9. It's not about the money. Fact: Your paycheck doesn't play a big role in your satisfaction. 9.幸福感与金钱无关。事实:你的薪水对你的满意度影响并不大。
After a recent CareerBliss job satisfaction survey, the company's chief executive Heidi Golledge was quick to point out that "happiness definitely does not align with pay. Once someone's basic needs are met, the additional money on the job is a nice perk but is not what drives employee happiness." 最近一项在CareerBliss公司进行的工作满意度调查中,董事长Heidi Golledge指出:“幸福感与工资无关,只要个人的基本需求得到满足,超出这部分的收入就只是看起来不错的外快,而无法让员工产生幸福感。”
The bottom line: don't hang your happiness on a big paycheck.底线是:不要将你的幸福感寄托在可观的收入上。
10. Minimize uncertainty. Whoever said "ignorance is bliss" clearly didn't have to make a career change. During a big transition, lack of information can make you feel confused, afraid, and depressed.10.降低不确定性。那些说“无知便是福”的人肯定没有经历过生涯转换。在面对巨大转变的时候,缺少信息会让你困惑、害怕和低落。
To remove some of the guesswork, take time to test-drive your new career area. Information interviews, online research, job shadowing, volunteer work, internships--the more data you have, the more certain you will be about your choice and the more prepared you will be for your future. And that's a pretty happy place to be.为了减少猜测,你可以花时间在新的生涯领域做一些尝试。信息访谈、网络搜索、工作观摩、志愿工作或者实习——你所拥有的信息越多,你对自己的选择就会越确信,对未来的准备也更充分。那对你来说是非常有益的。