What the Most Successful People Know About Finding Career Happiness

What the Most Successful People Know About Finding Career Happiness What the Most Successful People Know About Finding Career Happiness You work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. â€"  Steve Jobs A 2015  SHRM report found that, in 2014, 86 percent of U.S. employees were satisfied with their current jobs â€" up from 81 percent in 2013. Of this group, 39 percent of employees said they were very satisfied with their jobs. Do the math: that means overall, only 33 percent of people in the entire study are very satisfied with their jobs. Does that number ring a bell? It reminds us of the ever-so-famous 31 percent of people who consider themselves engaged at work, according to  Gallup. If only one-third of the American workforce is engaged and/or very satisfied with their jobs, then what are we doing wrong? The 5 Keys to Employee Engagement According to the SHRM study cited above, the top five contributors to employee job satisfaction in 2014 were as follows: Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels Trust between employees and senior management Employee Benefits Compensation Job security Perhaps if we  placed more value on intrinsic motivators,  rather than extrinsic motivators, more employees would be very satisfied with their jobs. Take a look at the differences between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation: Of all those five key factors for job satisfaction, how many cost money? Just compensation and benefits (and thats counting tangible benefits; flex hours, vacation time, and work from home hours arent included here.) But what about intrinsic motivation? That comes from finding work you truly love to do, work that gives you a sense of purpose. That sort of thing doesnt cost any money. What should we  focus on in order to bring intrinsic motivation to our work lives?  If people placed higher importance on the following things, then more employees would find genuine satisfaction in their jobs: 1. Opportunities for People  to Use Their Skills and Abilities in  Their Work This factor came in at No. 7 on SHRMs list of job satisfaction contributors. Not too shabby! But if more people  valued this, perhaps theyd find happiness in jobs that play to their strengths. The secret of joy in work is contained in one word â€" excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. â€"  Pearl S. Buck,  author and activist. Employees who apply their strengths in their roles  every day develop positive work habits that lead to higher engagement. Using strengths also enables employees to better handle stress and negative emotions in the workplace, according to Gallup. 2. The Work Itself Employees who find value in the actual work they do will likely be more satisfied in their jobs, even if those jobs are relatively  mundane. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.  â€" Martin Luther King, Jr. Even the most fulfilling jobs can contain  admin tasks that wreak havoc on happiness. Finding joy in small tasks and seeing how those small tasks contribute to the bigger picture can bring satisfaction to employees. Most of the time, these mundane tasks are repetitive, but if they can be associated with positive habits â€" like putting on your favorite song while you do them â€" we can turn around our cynical attitudes toward the work we dont absolutely love to do. 3. Autonomy and Independence Autonomy and independence are two  of the main intrinsic motivators. The more employees who have these things,  the more likely  those job satisfaction rates  are to go up! There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you dont like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isnt that a little like saving up sex for your old age? â€"  Warren Buffet Nailed it! The third richest person in the world knows a little something about autonomy and the effects it has on business. Buffets Berkshire Hathaway avoids consultants and approaches business as a partnership, not a corporation. According to the New York Times, Berkshires subsidiaries run businesses and adopt approaches that turn traits like reputation and a sense of permanence into constituent satisfaction and managerial flexibility that bolsters financial results. This independence-focused philosophy bolsters economic growth, and we think it  can translate to employee satisfaction, too.  Research shows  that, when employees are given freedom, job satisfaction rises. Money Cant Buy Happiness While this isnt one of the ranking factors on SHRMs list, it is a key reminder for anyone looking to find career happiness. Take it from the experts: You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people cant take their eyes off of you. â€"  Maya Angelou Paul and I, we never thought that we would make much money out of the thing. We just loved writing software. â€" Bill Gates The law of work seems unfair, but nothing can change it; the more enjoyment you get out of your work, the more money you will make. â€" Mark Twain So, how can you apply this to your own career? By loving what you do, no matter where you are. Seek out places that can not only give you respect and compensation, but also provide autonomy and impactful work. After all, life is too short to spend it grinding away at a job you dont love. While its imperative for employers and managers to work on getting America more engaged at work, its also up to the workers themselves.