Pursuing Joy In The Workplace

Many consider looking ahead to the week and begin experiencing their own existential dread. You can read more about the “Sunday Scaries” here. Across disciplines, fields, industries, and locations we are taking stock of different individuals that want to re-experience the joy of their personal vocations again. About 8 out of 10 Americans are experiencing acute stress according to the American Psychological Association inside this pandemic. Even outside of the experiences due to this pandemic, Americans have been navigating various stressors from the workplace for decades even with the acceleration of hybrid and remote work. Employees desire to feel innovative, inspired, creative, and socially connected once more inside the whirlwind experience of this global season. A better work-life balance, an increased sense of autonomy, and a reduced work commute are all contributing factors to this ongoing personal contention for joy in the workplace. 

Whether it has been feeling formerly energized but now flat in anticipation of the work week ahead, not performing to the initial capacity as before, or even falling well below the former experiences of loving work and the pleasure of meeting demands and expectations – joy is fundamentally in need of restoration. With over 18 months of sustained grief, loss, and sadness workplace burnout is an ongoing reality that has created necessary organizational changes as well as robust responses to these  various stressors as individuals have been forced to enter their own survival mode. 

Additionally, many marketplace leaders are also experiencing a stark contrast with their current inner experience and the outward behaviors and mannerisms that are being demonstrated to propel their organizations forward. With an obligation to emotionally be present and “show up” to work, there has been a tendency to struggle with being inauthentic with this contrast between the inner self of experience and the outward behaviors toward others, and this has been known to decrease psychological well-being. 

Another distinguishing marker of this current decrease of joy in the workplace is the monotony of routine and needing to fulfill what needs to become accomplished. This global season has demanded that many seek out practicality and efficiency to handle the mounting pressure of getting through all that needs to be done in any given work week. This ongoing drone of fulfilling what needs to be regularly accomplished can rob the true joy of the vocation. 

With a reduced sense of novelty-seeking activities and also the need to maintain cognitive flexibility, employees are also experiencing social isolation. This isolation and withdrawal contributes to feelings of negativity as well as much poorer executive functioning skill sets. Even amid the circumstances of the pandemic where suffering and emotional pain increase together, it has been evident that joy can exist simultaneously. Growth in the midst of suffering is not just an afterthought. Psychologists now indicate that being an authentic, socially connected and grateful individual filled with courage to navigate these pandemic waters are essential to be mission-ready in the workplace. 

Rubik’s Cube moments await in the workplace. These are when ‘everything clicks together’ and form an upward sense of accomplishment. These moments might include creating innovation to save the business, developing a community food drive to care for the homeless, and collaborating across disciplines and departments to secure a big client. Job satisfaction grows and contends against employee cynicism when many individuals within an organization experience more Rubik’s Cube moments toward a joyful recovery. These individuals might liken this recovery as deliverance from treading water in an endless swim machine. In the end, variables such as autonomy, influence, and meaning-making are all important in moving toward greater workplace satisfaction. 

Here are various strategies as considerations to rediscover and pursue joy in the workplace: 

• Identify your long-term workplace purpose and how it contributes to your values. Write a personal mission statement and review this regularly. Too often we have made compromises that cause us to focus on the urgent over the important. Re-prioritizing what matters most will bring greater energy and restore curiosity into your daily workplace.
• Be an innovative and creative entrepreneur that can work from anywhere. Even if you will not start a business in the near future, consider initiating a project that will improve your current workplace or community. Discuss this new idea informally to find solidarity with others that are feeling the same way. Recruit them in the adventure. Describe it as part of a passionate interest that will benefit others. Incorporate their feedback so that they hear their ideas inside of your own.
• Negotiate out of workplace demands that do not contribute to the organizational goal. Keep doing your job with excellence, but also simplify. Working diligently toward organizational goals can keep your passion refreshed while at work; additionally, persistently working through difficulties can add to personal successes and add meaning to learning experiences.
• When we continually are not living in conditions that are predictable, recognizable, and habitual – we turn to our threat-based system of emotional responding. Living with uncertainty can decrease overall focus, motivation, and even self-control that promotes productivity. Develop your strengths and cultivate your personal development while at work. Passionately pursuing your strengths at work can be natural joy boosters that leave you energized and excited. Strategically think through and plan into your weekly schedule how you can play to your strengths for at least a half hour while at work every day.
• Find a social network of supporters, however small. Demonstrate that you will be working toward achieving their goals as well. Begin weekly walks with different colleagues, choose to create time to coach a team member weekly, and seek out a mentor that can meet with you regularly for catch ups.
• Recast vision through building a culture of appreciation. Smiling takes fewer muscles than frowning and is contagious. Connecting meaningfully with others through compassion can brighten your mood at work.

Celebrate each Rubik’s Cube moment of accomplishment. Share the joy to multiply it.

More jobs with more joy – we can all rally behind this. Joyful moments can keep us going in the whirlwind of this global season. These past nineteen months have been altogether challenging for those in the marketplace both personally and professionally. At times, joy is understandably far from reach. As the economic, entrepreneurial, societal, and personal consequences of this global season continue to unfold, these simple practices can help us prepare for, rediscover, and pursue joy.