Finding Fulfillment at Work

Isn’t fulfillment at work something nearly all of us want to find? After all, if we’re going to spend 40-plus hours 50 weeks a year doing something, it should be something that we find personally rewarding. So whose responsibility is it to ensure your workdays are satisfying?

The Leader’s Role

As a leader, you can do many things to influence your teammates’ sense of fulfillment in their work. They include:

• Creating fun in your work
• Fostering open communication
• Making your department a safe environment for sharing, debating, and discussing ideas
• Being available to your team
• Relying on and using your teammates’ strengths
• Building a team that works together rather than against each other
• Giving your teammates the freedom to think – about solutions, new ideas, new products, etc.

The Employee’s Role

As a teammate, it’s important to know that though our leader should work to create an environment that fosters fulfillment, it’s up to us to find the fulfillment in our work. Each of us has a significant role in our own fulfillment, whether or not it’s a concern of our leader. Here are just a few ways you can find fulfillment in your work.

• Know what fulfillment looks like to you. Is it helping others? Flexibility for time with your family? More money? Think of the most fulfilling job you’ve ever had. List the characteristics that made it fulfilling, and then brainstorm about how you can incorporate those characteristics into your current job.
• Count the wins, no matter how small. If you work in a less-than-fulfilling environment, it’s easy to focus on everything that annoys or upsets us. Intentionally seek out and focus on the wins that help you feel fulfilled – whether it’s making one customer happy or helping one co-worker every day.
• Have positive attitude. Our frame of mind greatly impacts how we feel about what we do. Choose to focus on the positive.
• Be open to trying new things. If you feel your current role or environment prevents you from being fulfilled, look for opportunities that will get you closer to that fulfillment – whether it’s learning a new skill or seeking out a new role in the organization.