5-12-10 Shoulda Told Me #10

In the past, I’ve talked about how you should find a career that follows your passion (3-19-10 A Couple of Things to Consider and 3-15-10 Do Overs?). Here’s another reason why this is important. Work isn’t always fun. Big surprise, eh? We’ve all heard the cliché --- “that’s why it is called work”.

And as I’ve said before, your career is way too long to not have a passion for what you are doing.

The corollary to that is…. Life is way too short not to have fun along the way. That means your work life too. Yes, there are times when you have to be serious and studious at work. But there are also times when you should be enjoying yourself and having fun at work. Just don’t take it too far.

A few years back, the department I was in started up a “have fun at work” team. I mean, really, do we need a TEAM to help us have fun? In this case, apparently our bosses thought so --- thought that they could introduce a more enjoyable experience to our daily lives through this team. Interestingly, it was mildly successful. But just as interesting, it didn’t really last long.

Why? Because in my opinion, having fun at work cannot be forced. It doesn’t work so well when someone looks at you and says, “okay, for the next hour everyone have fun!”, right? Having fun at work is spontaneous. And it is unique to the individual or to the team.

So having said that you should have fun at work, I should also point out that there are limits. You should never have fun at someone else’s expense. You should never use “blue humor”. And you should never engage at inappropriate behavior on the way to having fun.

Still, I wish someone had told me early on in my career that is was okay, in fact encouraged, to have some fun at work. It makes the days fly by. And it creates an environment where people WANT to be in your organization. It gives you an edge in attracting and retaining the best (including yourself!). So look for those opportunities where you and those around you can have a good time.

Cheers!

Shoulda Told Me #4

The outlook and attitude that you carry to work each day makes a difference. You can have the “I don’t wanna be here” attitude, but you can’t let it show.

I’ve always made it my policy to respond to the perfunctory “how are you?” salutation with either “wonderful” or “awesome” or “outstanding”. “Fine” or “OK” just doesn’t cut it in my eyes.

Why? Well, have you ever been around a co-worker that is always unhappy? I have. And frankly, it either depresses me or irritates the hell outta me. I don’t want to be around them and I don’t want to work with them. And believe me, if your co-workers know that you are that way, your bosses will know as well. If you are looking to get ahead, it is highly unlikely that you will -- if you are one of those constantly unhappy types. People tend to gravitate to those folks that will make them feel good.

Additionally, the attitude that you carry around with you at work will set the tone for your day and all of your interactions. I always looked at it as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even if I wasn’t in a good mood, didn’t feel good, or just generally didn’t want to be there --- if I acted like I was happy, sooner or later it became true. In fact, I’ve told people that. When someone would observe that I always told them I was “wonderful”, I would tell them that I couldn’t be lying all of the time --- sooner or later it would be true! And I always said it with a smile.

So, heck, someone shoulda told me that a positive outlook sure goes a looooong way at work. It gives you an aura of someone that people want to be around. I am firmly convinced that it contributed to my success. A positive outlook and a smile makes difficult or awkward moments easier on everyone around you. People remember that and they will repay the favor of your easing the situation.

One caveat? You have to be consistent about it. You can’t be the grouchy ol’ bear one day and then little miss sunshine the next. That confuses folks. They don’t know which of you will show up to work on any given day. And will be forced to tread lightly around you until they establish you are/aren’t the bear today. As much as people like a positive attitude, they also need it to be consistent.

So tomorrow, before you walk in the door, check into the attitude that you are projecting. And do it the next day, and the next, and the next….. Until the positive reflex becomes a habit.

Cheers!