Twenty years ago, my colleague Dan* told me, “gettin’ paid and not being miserable is my goal. If I can get those two things, work is alright. I don’t expect to like my job, but if I do, that’s great.”
Damn! I don’t think that’s the way most people experience their jobs, but I do think that most people expect far too little from their workday. If we want to be happy, let’s set out to be happy. And if we think our colleagues feel the same way, then let’s make it a corporate goal along with making money.
I had a lot of fun at my first job, which lasted five years. Interviewing at headquarters for my second job with Weston Solutions, I answered the “so what would you like to know about Weston?” question with a question of my own, “who’s the funniest person around here?” My question cracked up the interviewer, who sent me down the hall to talk with the resident wiseacre, who was also a top notch project manager and engineer.
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*not his real name. His real name was… Hey, you didn’t think I was going to actually tell you, do you? :-)
