How to love your job

Most people get that Monday morning feeling; the alarm goes off and you have to get back into work mode. But if you dread going to work every day, the problem may be more serious.

It can be easy to forget why you love your job, especially when you have tight deadlines to meet, or someone on your team isn’t pulling their weight. But for many people, remembering why they took the job in the first place can be a good place to start.

The role

If it’s the core responsibilities of your job that bring you down, you might need to review your original job specification. Has the role changed significantly and have you moved away from the tasks you enjoyed doing when you started? Or, is it that you need to ask for extra responsibilities? If you’re often bored at work, taking on a few extra tasks might engage you again.

If you still like the organisation and what it stands for then it’s worth discussing with your line manager a way of reassessing your role to include the activities you enjoy doing, but had perhaps forgotten about along the way.

Recognition and rewards

People often begin to resent their job if they feel undervalued at work. If you try to give praise to your colleagues for the roles you think they perform well, you might find that giving praise means you receive it back and this could give you a boost in motivation.

Even if your job isn’t your passion, money can be a big motivator. If you think you’re worth more than your current earnings, benchmark yourself against the market using salary surveys and present your findings to your Manager.

Company culture and values

If you feel your values are no longer aligned with your company, then try and concentrate on your specific role and make your work environment more enjoyable; if you can’t change the organisation, you can at least make a difference to your team or department. If you really have a conflict of interests with your company, and aren’t in a position to change that, you may find that staying there is stressful and it’s probably time to consider other options.

Although the office isn’t the place for a social life, it does help to have friends at work. Developing professional relationships is worth while; try organising drinks once a month, so you all have something to look forward to and can socialise outside the office.

The bigger picture

How does your role impact the wider business? If you ever feel like you don’t make a difference, find a way to measure the results of your work and you might see the effect you’ve had. Use your appraisals to talk to your line manager about your objectives in order to evaluate how you’re meeting them.

You’re not expected to love work every single day; everyone has times when they don’t feel they’re performing their best. Think about it from the bigger perspective; it’s important that you love the career path that you’re on, even if it’s not on a daily basis.

Not everyone can remind themselves why they love their job, perhaps because they’ve fallen out of love with it, or for many people it’s simply because they never loved their job to begin with. If this sounds like you, maybe it’s time to move on. Browse our current jobs to find one you’ll love.