I’ve been lucky – there’s only been a couple of jobs I’ve hated, but there’s certainly been days when I’ve hated my job. Why does work – the idea of work, going to work, thinking about work – cause us such anxiety? The Sunday Night Blues and Mondayitis are real afflictions that affect so many of us. Work puts food on the table, provides us with income to buy a house or rent an apartment, gives us money to travel overseas, raise children, help charities, watch Netflix, drink matcha lattes, pay for gym membership, buy us smartphones, cars, activewear... do I need to go on?
What’s not to love? Where is the disconnect? Gallup’s annual State of the Global Workplace report, which is regarded as the most recognised survey in this area, found 80 per cent of employees are either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work. Yikes.
Further, this disengagement costs the global economy around $US10 trillion dollars a year. Double yikes. So that’s the economic impact. The personal impact also makes dire reading.
A survey by career platform Kickstart found 80 per cent of employees said their job negatively affected their mental health and that nearly 40 per cent had quit a job because of mental health concerns. Ok, this is clearly not good. Why? Why do we feel this bad about work?
Work has been part of the human condition since, well, since there have been humans. That’s about 300,000 years and we are still having issues. So what’s the problem? Well, it’s not money.
A survey by Reward Gateway found well-being at work was the most important thing to employees and that 58 per cent of people would pass up a 10 per cent pay rise to work for a company that cared about their well-being. And this survey (the last one, I promise), the mother of all workplace surveys polling 800,000 workers over 60 years (!), found the number one cause of worker burnout was unclear expectations about your role. So the people happiest at work are those with clear role definitions and responsibilities. Other big causes are feeling underappreciated, poor workplace culture, feeling disrespected and poor opportunity for advancement.
So how do we compare in Australia with other parts of the globe? Well, we are way more stressed (50 per cent vs 40 per cent globally), less angry (15 per cent vs 22 per cent) and about as engaged in our jobs as everyone else (21 per cent vs 20 per cent globally). Women are more engaged at work, as are people over 35, but women are also more stressed – although we’re both equally angry. More proof the big bucks don’t solve all your problems: Managers were found to be more stressed, more angry, sadder and more lonely than their staff.
So, what can we do about it? Well, it sounds like they don’t need more stress, but it seems most of the reasons for workplace unhappiness fall back on the bosses. Employees want them to do better – recognise their efforts, make their roles clearer and provide a healthy work environment.
But how does this help me get out of bed on Monday morning? For starters, focus on the aspects of work you enjoy the most and build relationships in the office. One survey I read said people who have a close friend at work are more likely to be happy with their job. Look for purpose in your work, don’t just treat it as a task.
So instead of thinking you are just mopping the floor, think of it as creating a safe work environment. The big one for me is not letting your identity be defined by your job. Ask yourself two questions: ‘What Am I?’ and ‘Who Am I?’ If your answer to both is the same, then Houston, we have a problem. If What Am I is Area Manager and Who Am I is Area Manager, it’s time to shift your thinking.
What Am I should be parent, sibling, lover, Under 8s soccer coach, runner, volunteer or good friend. Then you’ll find some balance and more purpose and maybe not wind up a stat in one of these unhappy surveys.