Workplace: Make Yours Fun

Q. My job is boring, and management keeps saying how important it is to “get with the program” and stay “fired up.” I process 10 to 20 insurance claims a day, and after awhile they all sound alike. I’ve heard the same comments and excuses for seven years. How do I stay upbeat? —Frank S.

A. I can’t promise that you’ll get up every morning singing “Hi-Ho—It’s off to work I go.” But there are things you can do to make almost any job more interesting. And if that still doesn’t work, you can make the job more tolerable by making your life more interesting.

What Do You Want?

Take some time to list what you want out of your job. (Generally, money is rarely a lasting motivator. Why? Because few people get raises more than 3-5%—and they usually have to increase their productivity to justify even that.) But suppose you did get a dramatic increase—say $25,000. How long would your new motivation last? About as long as it would take to pay off some bills, enjoy a special vacation, and step up your standard of living—maybe two or three months. Then you’d be at the same place you were before the increase—and looking for more money.

So you’re back to the real question, “What do I want out of my job?” Make sure your list fits your personality and values, and makes best use of your talents and abilities.

Make a Plan

Next, take a look at your last few performance appraisals. What are you doing well so you can build on your good habits?) What do you need to improve? Write a plan to change your behavior, and action steps to get there. The more you can meet your organization’s expectations, the more management will appreciate you—and support you. (If there’s really a conflict between you and the organization in skills, values, or vision—and there’s little hope of it getting better— maybe it’s time for you to look elsewhere.)

Let’s assume that your current boredom is really just a normal gap between your needs and management’s expectations. How about sharing your plan with your boss?

You may find that your boss is more willing to be a partner in your success than you

think. (If it’s the boss that’s the problem, and not the company, you still owe the boss one honest but respectful meeting to say what’s bothering you, and what your needs are.)

If that doesn’t work, try meeting with your boss’s boss ( but only with the boss’s knowledge. If management two or three levels up agrees with your boss, don’t expect

much to change. Then you have two choices: do your best and accept your situation, or leave. But make sure that, if you leave, you’re not just getting into another problem situation.

Make Your Plan Fit Your Life

If you’ve decided to make the best of it, it means you have to change. Adapt your plan to fit the reality of your job. And start taking some action steps to make your life more fun.

Think of your life as having three sides—like a triangle: career, family and personal.

The career side provides the income for everything else. Family and friends provides supportive contact with other people. But it’s our personal side that’s often neglected—usually at the expense of a happy, fulfilled life. It’s what we’d do, or do more often, if we “had the time” but always seem to put off: playing a musical instrument; enjoying a hobby, learning a language, traveling more. Whenever we short-change the enjoyment or the development of who we are or what we need, we get discouraged and frustrated. Sometimes we take it out on family, friends, neighbors or co-workers.

The real problem is that our lives are out of balance; our life triangle doesn’t have

equal sides. It looks more like a narrow wedge: one side is work, the other is home and

family—with nothing left for our own fulfillment. If your life triangle looks more like a thin wedge, develop that third side. Start that hobby you’ve neglected. Start doing things just for yourself.

Life isn’t a rehearsal. This is it. Don’t skip the fun and rewards of meeting your own needs.

No one has been known to say, a the moment of death, “I wish I’d spent more

time at the office.”

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live

your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone around you is crying.