Can You Have Fun At Work?

Choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life

That's according to Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, poet & politician. But was he right and can you do what you really want and have fun at work?

I don't want to get too philosophical with you all - after all it's Friday - let's give our brains a fighting chance. However, as a career coach who is constantly advocating that everyone should be able to do what they love, I often struggle with this as we can't always have that luxury and there are often parts of what our work which we definitely do not enjoy.

Many of my clients come to me because they are inherently unhappy at work - the fun has evaporated and they cannot find a way to invigorate themselves and they therefore believe that the only option is to leave and find a better place to work.

This is what happened to me and you can read the more in-depth version of My Story here which is why my motto and vision is "to make your Monday's feel just as great as your Fridays.

I was very fortunate to (eventually) find a career which I love - and this is where I start with clients who are wanting to make a career change to find work happiness and fulfilment.

Doing What You Love

The first step I take with my clients is to discover all of their career options based on their passions, their interests and what they enjoy.

Essentially we are tapping into their purpose to see if there are viable work options out there for them.

We start with my essential Key Career Questions to explore their values and drivers, then we move onto reviewing their career journey to date - what has worked well for them and what have they really enjoyed.

For a lot of people this is where they begin to have a mindset shift from when they truly loved a role which is now no longer serving them.

We spend a lot of time drilling down into their work strengths and skillset - not just what they excel at but the skills they enjoy utilising. It's at this stage that we begin to create their Ideal Job - the role that fits them perfectly as well as discovering the type of organisation and working environment in which they will thrive.

This is the point where clients will make that significant decision to leave or stay in their current company.

If that decision is the former we take that Ideal Job description and expand on this to see what roles are available, what organisations appeal and how the client can actually go and get their ideal job.

Loving What You Do

If my client decides to stay it is often because we have re-lit their work flame as they have rediscovered the potential within their role or company.

When this happens we look at potential progression for them or a sideways move so they can experience a different area of the business. In both cases I constantly ask clients:

1. What is the impact you can have here?

2. How does this work well for you?

3. How much is this helping your career?

More often than not, clients have put themselves and their careers on the back burner to just get the job done - they have been part of someone else's plan.

By enabling them to readjust their mindset and put themselves first they create their own plan and get back in control.

This immediately enlivens them as they are open to more and more opportunities of where they can use their expertise to improve their working life.

We look at all the ways they can bring joy back into their work through improving their team's motivation, their company's culture and often sharing their experience via mentoring work colleagues.

Some clients choose to continue what they do but we find a different organisation for them - often one which mirrors their values more and one where they can be themselves. The demand for better life work balance has woken many businesses up to the fact that they need to re-evaluate what they are offering to employees especially when it comes to hybrid working and looking after their people's health and emotional wellbeing.

The number one reason why so many of my clients admit that they have stayed at an organisation is because of the people they work with.

However, as more and more of us begin to realise that we can enjoy work more, that we can take back control of our careers and do work with purpose and passion, it is becoming increasingly clear which businesses and even industries will struggle.

So yes - you can definitely have fun at work, however, we all have to work to make it fun and to keep that fun going.

Kx