Four Secrets to Liking Your Work by Ed Muzio, Deborah J. Fisher, & Erv Thomas | Book Brief

THE BOOK FOUR SECRETS TO LIKING YOUR WORK HELPS YOU ENJOY YOUR WORK MORE AND BE BETTER AT IT. AUTHOR EDWARD MUZIO REVEALS FOUR PERSPECTIVES THAT CAN HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR SITUATION, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.

Edward Muzio: Are you happy at work? If so, you re in the minority. Imagine a room filled with ten of your coworkers. Studies suggest that at least seven are miserable at work. If you re happy there or even trying to be happy the odds are against you!

On the other hand, if you re not happy at work, when are you happy? Add up your working hours, your commute time, and the free moments you spend thinking about work, and it s about half of the time you re awake! Suffering through your job means you re suffering through your life. That s because when we re not happy at work, we tend to see quitting as the only solution. But think about it: if three quarters of us are unhappy, where is there to go?

My coauthors and I like to think of a job as a relationship, as if the job itself were another person. Sure, some relationships and some jobs are abusive, and the best thing to do is get out. But many others can be salvaged with a little focused effort. If you can get along better with your job, and also with the people there, you re bound to enjoy yourself more and you re bound to perform better. Here are 4 secrets that can help.

Number 1 is Observing Behavior: Have you ever noticed that some people tend be more outgoing, while others are more introverted? Have you noticed that some of us focus more on budgets, timelines, and tasks, while others are more concerned with the other people involved? If so, you re well on your way to understanding the secret of Behavior. By combining these two observable issues introverted or extroverted, and task or people focus, we arrive at four distinct behavioral tendencies: Directiveness is an assertive focus on results. Inspiration is an extroverted focus on other people. Stabilization is a reserved, supportive focus on the team s needs. And Regulation is an analytical focus on facts.

We can all behave in any of these ways, but the fact is that we have preferences. I might prefer to Inspire, for example, but you might prefer to Regulate. Clearly we ll have conflict if we don t recognize the diversity between us and learn to benefit from our differences. So you can see right away how understanding this can help you get along better with the other people at work. Now try to think of your job as a whole other person. Consider what behavior your job wants from you. Does it want you to Direct? Inspire? Stabilize? Regulate? How does your job s preference compare to your own? If the two of you are too far apart, it s a problem. You may not need to quit, but you may need to negotiate. Could you take a little more time each day to work alone? Could you join a task team? Small changes can be easy to find, once you know what you re looking for. Which brings us to the second secret to liking your work: mastering motivation.

Behavior is how we act at work, motivation is what drives us. Here is a list of six motivating factors: Learning new things, obtaining money or results, steering your own ship, helping others, experiencing harmony, being consistent. Which of these sound most compelling to you? Which of them sound unimportant? The fact is, we are all motivated by different combinations of these six factors. For most of us, one or two of them drive our actions. Again, you can see how this can cause conflict between people. If I m trying to help other people, and you re trying to make money, imagine how much conflict we might have in a selling situation! What s more, we won t even know why we disagree. We ll just be silently pushing for totally different goals. Again, this secret helps you understand both the people you work with, and your job itself. How is your job trying to motivate you? If you are in a research position but don t care about discovering truth, or you re a commissioned salesperson who cares more about harmony than money, there may be a mismatch. You may not need to quit. By knowing what to look for, you might be able to get your motivational needs met right where you are.

Speaking of your current work, let s talk about secret 3, harmonizing tasks. This is an easy one. Did you know that everything you do at work falls into one of only three categories? That s right! It s that easy. It s either a routine task, like filling out a time sheet, a problem-solving task like repairing a crashed computer, or a long range project, like redesigning a business process. Now here s the interesting part: each of us has a unique preference for the amount of each type of task we get. Whatever blend you want, you will begin to feel frustrated with your work if you re not getting it. For example, if any of the three types sounded horrible to you, it s a big hint that you re probably getting too much of that type right now. So what can you do about this? First, the next time you feel restless at work, be sure to change task types when you change tasks. Second, try to get really good at the task types you dislike that way you can get them done more quickly! And finally, try to negotiate trades with coworkers. If you re getting too much problem solving, and someone else isn t getting enough, a trade will help both of you.

The last of the four secrets is to get the right skills, or to get good at what you need to succeed. If that sounds difficult, don t worry. You already know the answers! Once you and your job are aligned in terms of behavior, motivation, and task balance, all you have to do is ask yourself what you could learn to make your life easier? This is especially important when your job changes. Many people move into management, for example, without re-examining their skill sets. Skills like influencing or facilitation that were less important before can now mean the difference between happiness and misery at work.

So that s it: Observe Behavior, Master Motivation, Harmonize Tasks, and Get The Right Skills. Four Secrets to making your work life better, right where you are, right now. It takes a little effort, but it s worth it. After all, who is better qualified than you to make the changes you need? I hope you find value in reading my book.