Love Your Job

CHAPTER 1 Curing the Workplace Blues ■ ■ ■

When was the last time you were so passionate about your work that it didn’t seem like work at all? Or truly excited by all the new stuff you were learning on your job? Or genuinely couldn’t wait to get up and head to the office because your bosses and colleagues were so much fun to work with? Has it been a while since you felt the eagerness and butterflies you had during your very first week at your job? Has that professional spark been doused, or is it still flickering, just waiting to be reignited?

Choose a job you really love and you will never feel like you’re working another day. But what should you do if the thrill is gone? Is it really possible to get your groove back? Yes! What if you never had it in the first place? Yes, you can get in the groove.

If you’re not there yet—and I assume you’re not if you’re reading this book—you’ve got company. About 50 percent of workers say they’re unsatisfied with their jobs, and only 15 percent say they are very satisfied, according to a recent report by the Conference Board, a business membership and research group that has been conducting surveys about worker happiness since 1987.

Workers are least satisfied with promotion policy, bonus plan, training programs, performance review, and recognition, according to the most recent survey. Not surprisingly, high-income earners are more satisfied than lower-paid workers—and the gap has been widening in recent years. The survey found 64 percent ...