7 Top Similarities of People Who Love Their Jobs

People who love their jobs…

You may wonder if there is some kind of secret to why they thoroughly enjoy what they do and how you can be just like them. 

This especially comes to mind if you are someone who says “I hate working” or “I don’t want to work anymore” quite often. 

But unfortunately, I’m here to tell you there are no best kept secrets that will magically improve your work happiness. 

However, people who love their jobs genuinely have a few things in common. And typically it’s a mix of their choices and actions as well as finding a great employer. 

Let’s break down the few similarities of people who love their jobs. 

1. They’re Passionate About Their Field 

The first similarity of people who love their jobs is they are genuinely passionate about their job field. Whether that is one they chose in previous schooling or discovered later on. 

You know the saying, “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

And that’s very true. 

Those who love their jobs have found a way to tie their interests or even hobbies into their work. So instead of picking a random career, they found what gets them pumped to show up every weekday.

For me, I randomly stumbled into marketing and writing. I absolutely love it and was able to pivot my career in 2014 into this field. 

Now when I wake up each day, I’m excited about the things I get to work on. As for me, marketing allows me to be creative and analytical. I’ve been able to tie those interests into a lucrative career into a job I love.

2. They’re Okay With Failure In Order To Grow

It’s time to be comfortable and okay with embracing your failures. And in careers, these are actually great lessons to fuel your growth professionally. 

Think about the tough times in your career or at your job. Whether you made a big mistake on a project, maybe were laid off, or something else – how did you feel?

These “failures” in your mind naturally sucked at the time. But often when you look back they actually were important lessons that led you down a better path. 

Successful people who love their jobs have not only recognized that, but are welcoming to the impact of any professional failures. 

They know they are not perfect and new failures will happen. Yet instead of getting down about them, they see these as ways to strengthen their value and position. Thus, not impacting their work happiness.

3. They Accept Imperfections of the Job

We can be honest here, no job will ever be perfect. And not every workday is exciting nor will you be in the best mood. 

That’s just life. 

Everyone has bad days at work, which may leave you contemplating your career choices and even employer. 

But for people who love what they do, they’ve come to realize that imperfection exists in all jobs. Instead of putting their job or career on a pedestal, they go with the flow when a bad day happens. 

It’s about maintaining optimism because there are so many good things about their work, the job, and the employer. And of course, ensuring they do not let a bad day cloud their judgment on the job they have. 

4. They Feel Like They’re Having an Impact

With certain job fields and industries, you may feel like you are having more of an impact than others. But if you take a top-level view, no matter the job you have you are providing value in some way. 

And good companies will instill that impact into the culture. That no matter the roles people play within the organization, everyone knows they are a contributor to success. 

Of course, this means you need to be working at a company that ensures you feel that way and make efforts to show that. Yet, this is also partially on the individual employee too.

Those people who love their jobs know how they are having an impact, regardless how big or small that contribution is overall. 

And those identifying that early on, will feel more positivity to the role they play, what work they do, and become happy with their employment situation. 

5. They’re Recognized And Appreciated 

Often, unhappy employees feel they are not appreciated or recognized for their work contributions. 

And employers who don’t encourage daily or weekly recognition of their managers and employees are creating environments of low motivation. 

In a survey, 81.9% of employees agree that recognition for their contributions improves their engagement with work.

And as with any stat I share in this article, this should be no surprise. We all love to be recognized for great work! 

While this isn’t something you can directly fix, find yourself an employer who puts emphasis on appreciating and recognizing employees. You’ll notice how much this impacts the love you have for your job or not. 

6. They Have Flexible Schedules

People who love their jobs typically have more flexible work schedules. This could mean they have a hybrid role, work fully remote, or even have something as simple as Flex Fridays. 

The traditional 9-5 where you are stuck in a cubicle all day is dying out. 

And if there is one thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught people it’s that many white collar jobs can be done remotely. Plus, not only can work be done remotely, but have no negative impact on their individual productivity or the businesses’ success. 

Research by Owl Labs found that 74% of employees surveyed reported feeling happier when they work remotely. Shocking, right!?

Beyond having good work/life balance, these people who love their jobs and have flexible work options can go to appointments, start late if something comes up, or even break up their day instead of working 9-5. 

And these are companies with leaders and managers that trust their people and treat them like adults. 

7. They’re Compensated Fairly Well

Money doesn’t equal happiness.

You know that common and cliche phrase. 

And while there is truth to that statement, those that love their jobs are also compensated well. This is a mix of salary, benefits and perks, and even equity in the company. 

When you have the life essentials covered and money in the bank for emergencies, it creates relief for you. And that helps people love their jobs more. 

Of course a high paying salary doesn’t mean someone will love their job. I know some people who make great money, but completely hate working and the job.

But if the other commonalities from this list hold true, then also having a great compensation will contribute to work happiness. 

If you are looking to improve your compensation, you can work towards a raise, moving up the career ladder, or switching employers that pay better. You can use a tool like Comparably or Levels.fyi to find salary info and if you are being compensated fairly.  

Remember…

Even those that genuinely do love their jobs, will have days where they question their job, overall career, and maybe look for excuses to leave work early.  

Of course there are rare instances that someone has loved every job they ever had. I like to call those “career unicorns.” And kudos to those people who have found that job success! 

But if you are constantly stressed about work and hate everything about your job, then it’s time to try and make changes. It won’t always be easy, but you deserve to find work you enjoy.

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