How To Be Happy At Work - A Practical Guide To Career Satisfaction, SELF HELP
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HAPPY
:^)
at
Wo r k
C
a
Arlene S. Hirsch
America’s Career Publisher
How
to Be
HAPPY
How to Be Happy at Work, Second Edition
© 2004 by Arlene S. Hirsch
Published by JIST Works, an imprint of JIST Publishing, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hirsch, Arlene S., 1951-
How to be happy at work : a practical guide to career satisfaction / Arlene S. Hirsch.--
2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Love your work and success will follow. c1996.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-56370-980-5
1. Vocational guidance. 2. Success in business. 3. Job satisfaction. I. Hirsch, Arlene S.,
1951- Love your work and success will follow. II. Title.
HF5381.H516 2004
650.1--dc22 2003017302
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About This Book
It’s not easy to tell others how to be happy at work, especially
people who feel as if they’re living in a career combat zone. I
know the battleground well. For the past 20 years, I’ve been a
career counselor, psychotherapist, and corporate outplacement
consultant. In that time, I’ve seen more casualties of the career
wars than most people experience in a lifetime. I know what it
takes to be happy with your work. But I also know there’s no
simple formula to achieve career success and satisfaction.
The workplace is chaotic. If you’re like most people, you proba-
bly feel that you’re living a career nightmare: working harder to
make a living with fewer available resources, more demands on
your time, and lots of disincentives to achievement. Perhaps you
fantasize about chucking the whole scene. Right about now, life
on the golf course, ski slopes, or a sandy beach can look mighty
appealing.
Maybe you just need a good, long vacation. You don’t want to
drop out of the workforce altogether, but you’re hungering for a
new adventure. You want more control over your time and your
destiny. Your rallying cry is
More Freedom, Less Office Politics!
This book is for anyone who needs a change in his or her work
life. It can be a change in the kind of work you do, or in how,
when, or where you do it. I’m prepared to show you how to
make your career more deeply fulfilling. To use my advice, how-
ever, you’ll need to set aside your normal modus operandi. I want
you to open your mind to new possibilities.
Some of my ideas might seem strange initially. Please mull them
over carefully before you discard them. Although my tone is,
sometimes, idealistic, I’d categorize myself as a realistic optimist.
You can’t achieve your deepest desires without hope. And I have
never met a really happy cynic.
In what many people call “the real world,” it’s assumed that
financial success is the key ingredient to satisfaction. I question
iii
this assumption. Although economic security settles the mind and
can even quiet the soul, money alone can’t create deep career ful-
fillment. To be deeply fulfilled through work, you must integrate
your financial needs and goals with your spiritual desires. I use
the word “spiritual” cautiously, knowing that it’s often equated
with religion. What I have in mind is a more secular spirituality
that doesn’t call forth visions of God in the workplace. Derived
from the Latin word
spiritus,
which means “breath,” spirituality,
in this sense, refers to those animating life principles that enable
you to feel most completely alive.
When you bring energy, enthusiasm, and passion to your work,
you infuse your livelihood with a vitality that drives away bore-
dom. Add creativity, growth, meaning, and service, and you’ll
find that alienation will disappear, too. By adding depth to your
work, you can soar to greater heights. I often see people who are
successful in conventional terms but otherwise are deeply dissat-
isfied with their careers. If that’s your situation, you might not get
much sympathy from the people around you. Nevertheless, when
work is not a true reflection of your interests, talents, and values,
it can make you very unhappy.
In this way, I am fortunate. My counseling and writing enable me
to express myself in ways that are compatible with the person I
understand myself to be. They challenge me to develop my talents
rather than suppress them. Although I never confuse my job title
with my identity, I do believe there’s a connection between your
occupation and your career fulfillment. To the extent that your
work enables you to develop your talents, express your beliefs,
and engage your interests, it will be satisfying. Conversely, work
that doesn’t fit your skills and personality won’t be rewarding.
Therefore, if you seek career fulfillment, you must always ask
yourself first and foremost: Does my work suit my needs and
ambitions? If the answer is no, you must take steps to remedy
that problem.
When I set out to write this book, it wasn’t my intention to write
a treatise on personal responsibility. But, as the project unfolded,
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