Fall Back in Love with Your Job
by Karin Clarke, Regional Director
(Malaysia & Singapore), Randstad
The word ‘love’ is not a word many of us associate with
‘work’, as work is about function, purpose and necessity,
while love is a blissful emotion associated with immense
happiness.
Like the personal relationships we have in our lives,
our relationship with our job can often present the same
challenges and play the same role in influencing our
day-to-day happiness.
If you were asked to rate ‘love’ and ‘work’ on life’s
happiness barometer, it would be rare to find them on the same
scale, but think about the 168 hours there are in a week and
how many of those you spend working. So learning to love your
day job is vital to achieving a happy balance both at and away
from the office.
Karin Clarke, Regional Director (Malaysia & Singapore)
of global recruitment & HR services company, Randstad,
believes that we need to treat work more like a relationship
in an effort to see its positive benefits.
It Takes Two
Like love, work is a two-way street ‒ if you do not feel
satisfied about what you are getting out of your role, then it
might pay to give more to your day-to-day activities.
Sometimes, ‘you only get out what you put in’ and thinking of
ways to improve your basic daily tasks can give you more
satisfaction and provide more value to those around you. In
the same way, contributing more to your team or getting
involved in social activities at work might hold the key to a
healthier two-way relationship in 2010.
Openness and Honesty
Like a relationship, employees should be in regular
communication with their team and management, not just to know
what is happening on particular projects, but also to form
good habits so that when issues or challenges arise, they can
be addressed, discussed and dealt with in a timely,
mature manner. If something is annoying you or you want to
give positive feedback, it is a whole lot easier with open
lines of communication. Trust and empathy go a long way in
building positive, long-term connections with people to help
carry you through good times and bad.
Good Sense of Humour
Make time to laugh with people who you work with – the
physical and emotional benefits of laughter are overwhelming –
it reduces stress, relaxes your body and boosts your
immune system, not to mention the effect it has on positivity
and productivity levels in the workplace. Laughter can shatter
tension, lift the spirit of a group and break the ice in
difficult situations.
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Not taking ‘time out’ from work often leads to stress and
finding yourself bogged down in the little things. For many
employees, a short break can really improve motivation levels
and helps us remember what it is we love and miss about our
work – whether it be a sense of achievement, purpose or the
people around us.
Taking time out to rebalance and re-energise also gives you
a fresh, clear and healthy perspective on who you are, what
you want to do and what you want to achieve. Generally, any
niggly things that may have been annoying you will soon
dissipate after a well-earned break and it can result in a new
found love for your job.
Getting the Spark Back
A great way to feel inspired about work again is through
learning and developing new skills. A new area of interest or
the motivation to progress your position by adding another
notch to your skills belt is a great way to breathe new life
into your attitude and energy in the workplace. Knowing you
have a new stream of learning can really help you reignite the
passion you once had for what you do. It can also make your
day-to-day job easier, saving you time and boosting your
productivity.
Look back on your achievements, celebrate positive
milestones and map out new goals, as this can be refreshing
and energising for you, rather than feeling like you are
treading the same path, hoping that something interesting will
happen. Think about how you would like your daily work to
look, and start to create something that is meaningful and
enjoyable every day.
Work may not always be smooth sailing and, like a
relationship, it may require a little extra effort at times.
But with challenges come growth, satisfaction and a healthy
relationship that can be deeply rewarding.
About the Author
Karin Clarke is the Regional Director (Malaysia & Singapore)
of global recruitment and HR services company, Randstad.
Randstad is a Fortune 500 Company and the second largest
HR services provider in the world.
Karin began her career in recruitment in 1992 in
Sydney, Australia. In the eight years before joining Randstad,
Karin was involved in three start up businesses and worked
across multiple disciplines.
Joining Randstad in 2000, Karin had held several senior
management roles in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand. At
the beginning of 2008, Karin was appointed to
spearhead Randstad’s Singapore operations, and in May 2009,
she took on the additional responsibilities for Malaysia.