Why Its Wrong to Think You Cant Be Happy at Work- The Muse

Why Its Wrong to Think You Cant Be Happy at Work- The MuseWhy Its Wrong to Think You Cant Be Happy at WorkYoure a skeptic. You read career advice telling you to follow your passion and find a career you love, and while it all sounds great in theory, youre not buying it. I get it. As someone who writes about the career space daily, Ive encountered many people who dont share the same philosophy as me. People who believe theres no possible way that you can be as happy at the office as you are outside of it- so you might as well really embrace the idea of working for the weekends.But, as someone who can also say with certainty Im a better person and employee when Im enjoying my work, I decided to take on the challenge of refuting this notion.Heres why people say its impossible to be happy at work- and why theyre wrong1. Thats Why Its Called Work, Its Not Supposed to Be FunWhen I was a kid, Id regularly ask my dad how his day went- and his response was always, without fail, work was work. We joke about it now, but at the time, all I could think was how miserable it must be to have nothing to talk about at the end of the day- let alone warrant this kind of sad, exhausted response.Yes, work is work (weve even written about this exact concept)- youll have bad days, busy days, stressful days, angry days where you want to cry into a pillow. Even I come home sometimes and, when asked how my day went, tell my roommate the same thing my dad used to tell me. But this shouldnt happen every day.Why? Because- and this may surprise you- some people actually have jobs in which theyre happy most of the time. Maybe, they even have fun. And it makes them a better employee (just read this article and this one), because they come into the office feeling motivated and excited to get things done.2. I Didnt Choose a Fun Industry and Thats ThatWell, thats just defeatist.First off, youre never stuck in one industry. People change careers all the time into roles that are more interesting to them (just read these stories about people whove transitioned from teaching to engineering, from being a lawyer to being a social worker, to working as a mental health counselor to working as a TV producer, and from being a government worker to becoming a beer and wine director).And also, any industry can be fun if youre at the right company and passionate about what youre doing. Its very possible your job isnt fun because you work for a dysfunctional company or with people you dont respect, or are a part of projects that you dont believe in, but not because you work in a joy-less field. 3. Money Makes Me Happy- I Dont Need to Enjoy How I Make ItI wont deny that having money can make your life easier, if not more enjoyable. I also wont deny that in many situations, its not a luxury, but rather a true necesity.But plenty of research proves that its not your key to happiness. One study reported that lottery winners are no happier than losers. Another suggests that focusing our energie s on money distracts us from what really makes us happy. And another, probably one of the more famous discoveries, found that our happiness peaks at around $75,000 a year.But besides all the scientific evidence, think about it this way You spend about 50 hours a week at work, also known as 30% of your time (and thats not even factoring in how much we check email after hours). Consider our other life responsibilities (eating, sleeping, chores), and that leaves us with very little time to actually enjoy all the money we make. If youre spending most of your days doing one thing, doesnt it just make sense to like that one thing? Just a little bit?Hopefully Ive convinced you that its possible (and necessary) to be happy in your role. Im not saying that you should drop everything today to pursue something you love. But I believe everyone deserves the best in their career and if you take just one baby step today toward something thatll make you happy, youll landsee that it can completely c hange your outlook on work and life.