How to 'craft' a happy job

When you want to leave, but can't - yet

Hi, I’m Tineke, coach for you change making, creative, multi-passionate, hard-working women. I publish my newsletter here every Friday, focusing on ONE topic to do with your career, career change, happiness, women and work, creativity and books (I love books!).

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Oh, you’ve been looking alright. In fact, sometimes you feel you do nothing else! You scroll Indeed and LinkedIn with the best of them. You sometimes even apply.

The thing is though, at this point you’re not 100% sure you want to.

Leave, that is.

True, things feel … - I don’t know - … a bit boring, same-y, Groundhog Day-ish. Sometimes you wonder if you’ve run your course in this job (for sure), in this company (maybe), in this career (hmmm, not sure).

You feel that - over time - the organisation you’re working for has changed. Inevitably, maybe. It’s just not the same anymore.

And what’s more, as you’ve grown older you’ve become more aware of what’s important to YOU. Your values, what you like doing, your strengths. They’ve become more apparent. They’ve come more to the foreground. You are less willing to compromise. By no means finished yet.

You’re curious about what could be next.

But … the economic situation, you still have quite a way to go in your career. And. And.

So, what to do?

…

But let’s pause for a moment.

Because I’m sketching this scenario as if I know. As if I know YOU.

So let me ask you: Is this you? Are YOU finding yourself in this position? Dissatisfied, but not dissatisfied ENOUGH? Wanting something else but not willing to jump?

Yeah.

It’s why, today, I thought I’d write about job crafting.

Because it’s not all about chucking in the job, throwing away all your security and stepping into the great unknown.

But it IS about your happiness at work. So let’s begin.

How to ‘craft’ a happy job

What IS job crafting?

Let’s start there. With a definition gifted to us by Positive Psychology

Job crafting is a proactive, employee-driven process of redesigning one's job by changing tasks, relationships, or perceptions to better align with personal strengths, interests, and needs, ultimately leading to increased job satisfaction and engagement.

Positive Psychology Catherine Moore

Not everyone is in a position - or wants to - change jobs, organisation or career. But what we all want is to be happy.

Job crafting gives you the opportunity to look at your job and to change it so that you can bring more of yourself, more of your strengths, into the job.

Why is this important?

Because - positive psychology says - you are happier if you can use your strengths in your work.

OK, I can hear you think, but I’ve GOT to do the things I do in my job!

So, let’s get into the detail.

Job crafting is …

… a proactive, employee-driven process

Why is it that if you have (say) FIVE people doing the same job they ALL do it differently?

That is - of course - because they are all different people, with different strengths, different values, different things they prioritise.

This means that you have quite a bit of freedom over ‘how’ you do a job. More so than you perhaps realise.

So what if you became intentional about this? What if you decided to shape the job, so it became more ‘you’. So that it aligned more closely with your values, strengths, interests etc?

That’s exactly what job crafting is all about!

… redesigning one’s job

Hang on! I can hear you say. I can’t just completely redesign my job! I still have deliverables, things I need to do, KPIs and all the rest of it.

Of course you do.

Except there may be much more wiggle room than you think. There may be a possibility for you to do DIFFERENT things. To volunteer for projects that give you exposure to other people. To get involved in things that are interesting you.

In other words, there may be a way to change WHAT you do, there may be a way in which HOW you do things can be changed. There also may be ways in which YOU can start THINKING differently about the job.

… by changing …

• Tasks

First, the obvious things: your tasks.

Whilst I might be at risk of bursting your bubble, I’m going to say it anyway: Not all tasks are going to be pleasurable. In Marcus Buckingham’s book Love + Work he tells us that if even 20% of your tasks are pleasurable or fulfilling that that is sufficient for you to start loving your job again.

I personally find that figure … on the low side. I’d like to say that - surely - that should be closer to 75%!

Either way, it deserves a good look at your tasks, doesn’t it?

To do this, consider what tasks drain you and which ones give you energy. Also: consider how impactful those tasks are. And then decide if there is a way of balancing your tasks more towards the tasks that give you energy (and are impactful), rather than sweating over tasks that you’re - at best - going to be mediocre at and don’t enjoy.

• Relationships

Now THIS you may not have expected to see here. But what if your relationships at work were better? What if you decided to get to know your colleagues that little bit better? To invest in your relationships with your attention and care? What if you did something different in your organisation so that you got to meet different people?

Relationships are an important part of job satisfaction, and the higher you rise the more likely it is that you’re going to have navigate - sometimes tricky - relationships. All the more reason to invest in existing relationships at work - and broaden your relationships at work and beyond.

• Perceptions

Mindset, in other words.

Because what if you could THINK differently about work?

You have sole control over your brain. YOU are in charge.

So you can decide to think more positively. Because, now that you’ve decided you need or want to stay for a little while longer, why not make the best of it?

In Positive Psychology we call it ‘practising positive emotions’. If you think more positively, you will become more positive and will be perceived more positively by others too (don’t you just LOVE the mirror neurons in your brain?).

… to better align with personal strengths, interests and needs

I would have liked to have started the definition with this. But there we are.

Work doesn’t have to be hard work. Not if it aligns with your strengths. Not if you do the things you’re already interested in, great at or feel compelled to do.

So, before you do ANYTHING, it’s a great start to job crafting to figure this stuff out first.

What DOES light you up? What are YOU great at and LOVE doing? What gives you energy and gets you started? Let’s start there to craft your job …

… leading to job satisfaction and fulfilment

And there you have it.

Happiness.

Job satisfaction and fulfilment.

Greater job satisfaction and fulfilment. In the job you’ve already got.

What that can look like?

That’s for you to decide.

It may be in a rebalancing of tasks, or it may be in getting involved in different tasks altogether.

It may be in investing in your relationships and making the tasks you have to do easier, working with others.

It may be ‘simply’ by changing your mind, by adopting a more positive mindset about your situation and practising more positive emotions.

Until the time that you’re ready to make a move.

Try it! I know it works!

Tineke x

P.S. Are you ready to explore your next steps? Hit ‘reply’ to this email to set up a call to talk about how the Career Freedom coaching programme can support you!

(Or book a call directly with me here by hitting the button below).

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Tineke Tammes is a Career & Creativity Coach and supports professional women in making successful transitions. Besides that she is also a lifelong feminist, part-time portrait artist, never-only-read-one-book-at-any-time reader, and obsessive doodler.

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