How to find joy in our work and why it’s so important

Credit unions are very familiar with how important employee satisfaction and engagement are to the overall strength of their organization. We hear the buzzwords, surveys gather the data, workshops and webinars train the managers. But let’s go beyond the buzzwords. Forget just being satisfied, let’s find joy in our work.

Joy in our work might seem like an oxymoron. The very definition of work calls for extended effort in either a physical or mental capacity. And when people think of joy and happiness, it’s usually the opposite of extended effort: carefree and relaxed.

Yet, experiencing joy in our work is possible. In fact, it’s absolutely critical to both our career and our personal life. What we’re looking for as we pursue joy in our work is the positive energy we receive from putting in effort. It’s the enthusiasm we feel when we are knee-deep in a project. It’s the thrill of making a difference, having an impact, of connecting on a deeper level.

Joyful work is not a luxury, it’s essential

Joyful work is key to a longer, more meaningful career

Those who find joy in their work tend to have more positive impact at their jobs; they’re less likely to switch jobs, which avoids the stress of job transitions; and they’re healthier, which leads to fewer sick days and a higher level of productivity while at work.

Joyful work is key to a longer, more meaningful life

A Pew Research Center survey of 19,000 people across 17 economies shows us family, careers and material well-being are the three top indicators these people selected for a meaningful life. We humans tend to use our work as a source of identity and self-esteem, so it only makes sense that the more we enjoy our work the more we feel connected to others, grounded in who we are, and how we can contribute to our families and communities.

Those of us who enjoy our work also tend to be more active and engaged in all aspects of our life and for a longer time. This leads to a stronger family life, a desire to serve the community and a more healthy aging experience. Want to live longer and enjoy it? Find your joyful work!

So how can we find our joyful work? How can we go from burned out or bored to energized and empowered?

Five steps to finding joyful work

Use your talents and strengths

“The person born with a talent to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Those familiar with the Gallup CliftonStrengths program, which is used in many credit unions, already understand the importance of using our natural strengths. Decades of research by Gallup indicate we are at our best when we are using our talents & strengths.

Understanding our talents and strengths goes deeper than a skillset. Let’s say you know you’re good with numbers, so you might think accounting is where you’ll find joy in your work. But then as you get into accounting you discover it’s appealing after all. You might be good at the actually skills and theories, but there’s still something missing. That’s a great time to check in on your strengths. Are you using your strengths in that job? If not, are there ways you could start using them?

For many years, I thought my curiosity strength wasn’t anything other than having a vague interest in lots of different topics. I didn’t find it very special or powerful. Turns out downplaying our strengths is actually a fairly common occurence. These come so easily to us, we think anyone can do it. But then my clients kept telling me how I was able to make them feel seen and heard. I helped them see different perspectives and scenarios all because of the questions I was asking them. It was years after I learned I of my curiosity strength that I finally figured out how I can leverage it and my other strengths to bring me joy in my work. Now I look for ways to use my strengths as often as possible, for the more I use them, the happier I am. And the more impact I’m able to have on others.

If you want more insight into your strengths, take a look at the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment as well as the VIA Character Strength Survey by the Character Institute.

Identify a larger vision

“Doing something for yourself provides motivation. Doing something for others provides meaning.” – Maxime Legace

Once you have an understanding of your strengths, think about how you can apply those to something outside of yourself. This cause can be as close to you as strengthening your family’s financial security or as far-reaching as ending the need for animal shelters. When we find ourselves striving to making positive, important impacts with our work, joy abounds in seeing our efforts make a difference.

The joy I feel when one of my clients has an a-ha moment is amazing. These moments motivate me through the parts of running a business I find not so energizing. So while there is definitely still not-so-joyful work to be done, that effort feels less taxing when I know there are joyful moments just around the bend.

People Helping People inspires many credit union staffers as they move through their day. CU employees often cite this as one of the reasons they do feel satisfaction and engagement in their jobs. Yet there are also CU employees who don’t find joy in their work even while they are a part of this larger movement. They might connect to that larger vision, but they may not connect with the values of their organization and/or those around them.

Select an organization, industry, and clients whose values match up with yours

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney

We’ve got our strengths engaged and for a greater good, now it’s time to examine how our values match up with those of our employer and/or manager. This can also be the industry we work in or even the type of clients we work with. For instance, if you hold values such as learning, future generations and leadership in high regard, working in the education field might match up better for you than working in the construction industry.

Get really specific about your values. A work-life balance is a commonly stated value, as is family. Yet, these can mean something completely different to each of us and at different stages in our lives. What is a work-life balance to you? What about your family time is important? I actually recommend going beyond the more common values such as work-life balance. Most of us do value a work-life balance. We value our family time. What values help you be you? What values do you consider (most likely in a subconscious way) as you make decisions? Brene Brown suggests picking two out of her list of values. I find three to five are much more manageable while still helping us align with like-minded people/cultures and guide our decisions.

As you identify your values and how they match up to the environment in which you’re working (or want to be working), take a studied look at the way values are put into action by those you’ll be working with. We see credit unions and other large organizations state very similar values such as integrity, excellence, and diversity. But how do they define excellence? How are they using diversity to guide their decisions and policies?

An organization might tout excellence as one of their values, yet their communications materials are inconsistent and don’t’ follow branding guidelines.

A manager might remind their staff in the morning standup of the integrity value the credit union follows and then look the other way when they see someone bending the rules that afternoon.

The more specific we can be with our own values and then align them with the environment we’re working in, the more likely we will find joy in our work.

Develop a support system

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

One of the longest-running studies of well-being, this Harvard Study shows us relationships are critical to happiness. Those who develop and maintain relationships describe themselves as happy and tend to live longer than those who don’t.

A sense of community, of having a support system, is also vital in our careers as well. Those who feel like they have at least one person they can confide in at work are more likely to say they are happy at work.

We want to be seen, to have emotional support and connections, to share our experience with peers and managers.

Often this comes naturally to us as we seek out people to go to lunch with or to chat at the proverbial water cooler. But perhaps this area of our work needs more attention, especially as our place of work might actually be at home, or we don’t feel a connection to those in our immediate work circle.

Look for ways to develop your work support system which align with your values and personality. It can be having one or two close friends or 20 acquaintances as long as you find you enjoy your time with them and they encourage and support you in return. If you’re more introverted, maybe you meet people in an online chat or webinar and explore fostering a deeper connection with one or two. If you’re more extroverted, you might try volunteering in your professional association (such as ones for accountants, coders, public relations, human resources, etc.).

Find your joy and thrive!

These steps each take some solid self-reflection. Maybe you also ask others to reflect back what they see in you. Another approach is work with a coach or mentor as they guide you in uncovering what’s already there. Here’s the process I use with my clients.

However you go about it, the time spent on discovering your strengths, what brings you joy and how to put that to use for others is an investment in your future as well as your today. Your energy and enthusiasm will carry you forward as you make a wonderful difference in the lives of your family, friends and community.