September 2, 2019 • 8 mins
Celebrate Labor Day by crafting a job that works for you
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today is Labor Day in the United States, and so
this week we're going to be talking about work and
how we feel about it. Today's tip is about how
(00:23):
to become happier in a job that feels like just
a paycheck. I decided to do an episode on this
topic after getting a note from a listener who is
in just such a position. She noted that the things
she cared about, volunteering at church, spending time with loved ones,
consuming stories, traveling had nothing to do with her job,
(00:45):
or really with most normal jobs. She wrote that her
job was good as these things went, but during her
work hours, I feel like I am in an adult
form of time out. I sit in my office chair
and think about my life choices, will values are on hold?
How can I make this time count for more than
just to paycheck. I followed up because I wanted to
(01:08):
know why this listener had taken a job that made
her feel like she was an adult time out in
the first place. I learned as I suspected that there
were a lot of upsides to this job. The sort
that make it hard to quit. She was paid well.
Her official schedule required working four nine hour days, so
she was off every single Friday, a perk that certainly
(01:30):
had its benefits for family and community involvement. She got
benefits like tuition reimbursement, free access to a fitness center,
and other discounts. When she came in late. Sometimes no
one complained, no one tried to micromanager. She liked her colleagues.
She was just well board. And while spending thirty six
(01:51):
hours per week in a boring job is better than
spending fifty hours a week in a boring job, I
know I'd rather work fifty exciting, challenging hours than thirty
six worring ones. I would not be able to report
to a job day after day where I felt bored,
and I don't want that for anyone else either. So
the question was what our listeners should do about it first,
before anyone gets worried, My first advice is not to quit.
(02:15):
That is an option and might be necessary at some point,
But if daily life is tolerable, then the wisest first
step may to be to try to improve the current situation. Fortunately,
there are all kinds of ways to turn the job
you have into a job you'd love. I suggested spending
the next six to twelve months truly focused on improving
the situation and crafting her position into something she found
(02:38):
more interesting. First, she should seek out more challenging work.
A few job descriptions are carved in stone. People are
happiest when they are making progress on difficult but doable things. Now,
I don't recommend going to your manager and saying I'm bored.
I suspect most managers would react to that in the
same way I do when my kids knock on my
(03:01):
door and announce this. Instead, anyone in this situation should
come up with their own ideas for using their time better.
Look around the organization and see what's working and what's not.
Could you use your particular skills to improve what's not working?
Are there departments or teams who seem to be doing
cool stuff? Could you try helping out on projects there?
(03:24):
Talk to lots of people, lunches, coffees, walking meetings. Figure
out what work you'd find more interesting, and figure out
how you can get involved. Maybe it's an internal move,
but it could also just be reallocating time. Our listener
who sent in this question had some available time during
slower periods. She could get involved in new areas during
this time, even if it wasn't officially part of her
(03:44):
job description. Of course, it's possible she wouldn't have all
the right skills for certain other projects, and that's where
some of the organization's benefits came into play. She had
a good tuition reimbursement policy, so she should definitely be
using that. Now. There may be some gray area here,
but in my mind, if the courses she chose were
plausibly related to her job, she could use some of
(04:06):
her job downtime to study in complete assignments. This would
definitely remove the sense of being an adult time out.
She could also look for ways to be involved in
her organization's community. Joining our starting employee affiliation groups is
always good, and sometimes larger organizations have service projects or
conferences or community days that always need volunteers. While this
(04:30):
might not feel quite as meaningful to her as her
church volunteering, it would have some of the same upsides. Indeed,
she could try to spearhead programs to do service events
for some of the same causes that her church supported.
Whether you're reading at an after school program on behalf
of your house of worship or your employer. It's all
good now. Of course, this might not work. I do
(04:52):
believe that six to twelve months of solid effort can
improve just about anything, whether that's a relationship or a hub.
That said, if she still felt an adult time out
after a year, she would have a few options. One
is to consciously decouple her sense of self from her job.
Our listener was actually toying around with this concept already,
(05:14):
as she told me, we roughly sleep and work for
the same amount of time each day. However, I don't
consider myself a sleeper as my primary identity. It's just
the thing I have to do. It isn't the whole
of who I am or the most valuable thing I do.
This is a valid point. It might help to really
keep work in context. If our listener worked thirty six
(05:36):
hours per week and slept eight hours per night, this
leaves seventy six hours for other things, and this is
a lot of time. She could consciously think about how
to maximize her enjoyment of these other hours, taking on
serious volunteer rules, indulging in longer and more exotic vacations,
and planning in adventures with friends and family on the
long weekends that she had every weekend. She could also
(06:00):
decide to ride things out for a while, but ramp
up savings and perhaps start a side hustle with the
goal of achieving financial independence long before the normal retirement age.
Knowing that in say eight years, she can completely control
her time might make the intervening years feel better. Or
and this is perhaps the best option, she could find
(06:20):
another job. People are often fearful of the unknown, especially
if the known is comfortable and has upsides that are
hard to replicate. But if working a four day week
was critical to our listener, I absolutely believe she could
find another job that might allow for that. I absolutely
believe that she could find more exciting work. I believe
(06:41):
she could even find more flexible and more interesting work
that paid more to We often tuck ourselves into silly
traps like, oh, if I get paid more, I'll just
have to do stuff I like less. But few people
have totally optimized their jobs. We take jobs because they're
hiring when we're looking, or because we know someone there
because it's an employer that we're familiar with. Broadening the search,
(07:05):
especially over a twelve month time frame could open up
all sorts of other possibilities for great gigs. And ultimately,
that's what I want for everyone listening to this to
absolutely love what you do. I want you to wake
up excited to go to work. I want you to
feel like you're making a difference in the world as
(07:26):
you work with people you respect and who inspire you
to be your best self. I also believe that with
concerted effort over a year or two, you could get there.
This labor day, Let's get to a place where labor
is a meaningful, wonderful part of life, not the equivalent
of adult time out in the meantime. This is Laura.
(07:49):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
(08:13):
Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of i heart Radio. For
(08:35):
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today is Labor Day in the United States, and so
this week we're going to be talking about work and
how we feel about it. Today's tip is about how
(00:23):
to become happier in a job that feels like just
a paycheck. I decided to do an episode on this
topic after getting a note from a listener who is
in just such a position. She noted that the things
she cared about, volunteering at church, spending time with loved ones,
consuming stories, traveling had nothing to do with her job,
(00:45):
or really with most normal jobs. She wrote that her
job was good as these things went, but during her
work hours, I feel like I am in an adult
form of time out. I sit in my office chair
and think about my life choices, will values are on hold?
How can I make this time count for more than
just to paycheck. I followed up because I wanted to
(01:08):
know why this listener had taken a job that made
her feel like she was an adult time out in
the first place. I learned as I suspected that there
were a lot of upsides to this job. The sort
that make it hard to quit. She was paid well.
Her official schedule required working four nine hour days, so
she was off every single Friday, a perk that certainly
(01:30):
had its benefits for family and community involvement. She got
benefits like tuition reimbursement, free access to a fitness center,
and other discounts. When she came in late. Sometimes no
one complained, no one tried to micromanager. She liked her colleagues.
She was just well board. And while spending thirty six
(01:51):
hours per week in a boring job is better than
spending fifty hours a week in a boring job, I
know I'd rather work fifty exciting, challenging hours than thirty
six worring ones. I would not be able to report
to a job day after day where I felt bored,
and I don't want that for anyone else either. So
the question was what our listeners should do about it first,
before anyone gets worried, My first advice is not to quit.
(02:15):
That is an option and might be necessary at some point,
But if daily life is tolerable, then the wisest first
step may to be to try to improve the current situation. Fortunately,
there are all kinds of ways to turn the job
you have into a job you'd love. I suggested spending
the next six to twelve months truly focused on improving
the situation and crafting her position into something she found
(02:38):
more interesting. First, she should seek out more challenging work.
A few job descriptions are carved in stone. People are
happiest when they are making progress on difficult but doable things. Now,
I don't recommend going to your manager and saying I'm bored.
I suspect most managers would react to that in the
same way I do when my kids knock on my
(03:01):
door and announce this. Instead, anyone in this situation should
come up with their own ideas for using their time better.
Look around the organization and see what's working and what's not.
Could you use your particular skills to improve what's not working?
Are there departments or teams who seem to be doing
cool stuff? Could you try helping out on projects there?
(03:24):
Talk to lots of people, lunches, coffees, walking meetings. Figure
out what work you'd find more interesting, and figure out
how you can get involved. Maybe it's an internal move,
but it could also just be reallocating time. Our listener
who sent in this question had some available time during
slower periods. She could get involved in new areas during
this time, even if it wasn't officially part of her
(03:44):
job description. Of course, it's possible she wouldn't have all
the right skills for certain other projects, and that's where
some of the organization's benefits came into play. She had
a good tuition reimbursement policy, so she should definitely be
using that. Now. There may be some gray area here,
but in my mind, if the courses she chose were
plausibly related to her job, she could use some of
(04:06):
her job downtime to study in complete assignments. This would
definitely remove the sense of being an adult time out.
She could also look for ways to be involved in
her organization's community. Joining our starting employee affiliation groups is
always good, and sometimes larger organizations have service projects or
conferences or community days that always need volunteers. While this
(04:30):
might not feel quite as meaningful to her as her
church volunteering, it would have some of the same upsides. Indeed,
she could try to spearhead programs to do service events
for some of the same causes that her church supported.
Whether you're reading at an after school program on behalf
of your house of worship or your employer. It's all
good now. Of course, this might not work. I do
(04:52):
believe that six to twelve months of solid effort can
improve just about anything, whether that's a relationship or a hub.
That said, if she still felt an adult time out
after a year, she would have a few options. One
is to consciously decouple her sense of self from her job.
Our listener was actually toying around with this concept already,
(05:14):
as she told me, we roughly sleep and work for
the same amount of time each day. However, I don't
consider myself a sleeper as my primary identity. It's just
the thing I have to do. It isn't the whole
of who I am or the most valuable thing I do.
This is a valid point. It might help to really
keep work in context. If our listener worked thirty six
(05:36):
hours per week and slept eight hours per night, this
leaves seventy six hours for other things, and this is
a lot of time. She could consciously think about how
to maximize her enjoyment of these other hours, taking on
serious volunteer rules, indulging in longer and more exotic vacations,
and planning in adventures with friends and family on the
long weekends that she had every weekend. She could also
(06:00):
decide to ride things out for a while, but ramp
up savings and perhaps start a side hustle with the
goal of achieving financial independence long before the normal retirement age.
Knowing that in say eight years, she can completely control
her time might make the intervening years feel better. Or
and this is perhaps the best option, she could find
(06:20):
another job. People are often fearful of the unknown, especially
if the known is comfortable and has upsides that are
hard to replicate. But if working a four day week
was critical to our listener, I absolutely believe she could
find another job that might allow for that. I absolutely
believe that she could find more exciting work. I believe
(06:41):
she could even find more flexible and more interesting work
that paid more to We often tuck ourselves into silly
traps like, oh, if I get paid more, I'll just
have to do stuff I like less. But few people
have totally optimized their jobs. We take jobs because they're
hiring when we're looking, or because we know someone there
because it's an employer that we're familiar with. Broadening the search,
(07:05):
especially over a twelve month time frame could open up
all sorts of other possibilities for great gigs. And ultimately,
that's what I want for everyone listening to this to
absolutely love what you do. I want you to wake
up excited to go to work. I want you to
feel like you're making a difference in the world as
(07:26):
you work with people you respect and who inspire you
to be your best self. I also believe that with
concerted effort over a year or two, you could get there.
This labor day, Let's get to a place where labor
is a meaningful, wonderful part of life, not the equivalent
of adult time out in the meantime. This is Laura.
(07:49):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
(08:13):
Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of i heart Radio. For
(08:35):
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
Show Links
AboutPopular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Death, Sex & Money
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.