As a college student, I spent a lot of time thinking about what my work life would be like. I watched the adults in my life and saw that not everyone loved the work they did. Many of them were glad that they could provide for their families, but did not head to work in the morning excited to do their jobs. That experience led me to really want to love the work I do. And, I have been lucky enough to work in a profession I deeply enjoy.
This sentiment that passion and enthusiasm for work is important has become embedded in our culture. Most people I talk to are seeking work that is meaningful to them. The idea that work should be a calling is discussed in a variety of business publications.
But, how do we find work that is meaningful?
A fascinating paper by Patricia Chen, Phoebe Ellsworth, and Norbert Schwarz in the October, 2015 issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (link is external) points out that there are two ways that people might find meaningful work.
One possibility is that love of work is a matter of the fit between work and your personality. On this view, people have to seek opportunities to do things they love to do. A second possibility is that you can come to love almost any kind of work, but you have to develop that passion over time. They called these viewpoints the Fit and Develop views of work passion.
Click on the link below to read the full article
Category(s):Happiness, Workplace Issues
Source material from Psychology Today
