Creating Fun Jobs

Fun jobs aren’t just for the very lucky; believe it or not, most ‘regular jobs’ can be turned into ‘fun jobs’ with some tweaking. This is good news to many people, who find themselves in a difficult job climate and may not want to risk quitting safe jobs in search of more fun jobs. Interestingly, what makes a job fun depends on the individual—and each individual can take steps to turn their current job into more of a fun job, so different people in the same organization can take on different responsibilities that may complement each other.

The search for fun jobs isn’t a frivolous one. While fun jobs can contain some stress, people generally find fun jobs—jobs that fit their needs in terms of utilizing their unique strengths and providing the right type of challenge and meaning—come with less clock-watching, less Monday morning dread, less stress. And because a poll on this site puts job stress as the most commonly-experienced stressor, this is clearly something that many people face, and would like to be rid of. The following steps can help people take their current jobs and make them into fun jobs. Ready? Let’s have some fun!

Find Flow

Think about the times in your life when you experience flow—you lose track of time, you feel inspired, and things feel really easy for you. Is it when you’re doing specific activities such as organizing people, troubleshooting problems, or decorating a space? Or in daily life, do you find certain aspects of your day tend to feed you emotionally, like when you’re engaged in conversation with people, cracking jokes, or spending time alone? See if there are ways to work these things into your current job: be the office party planner, for example, if you love to plan events; volunteer to deal with disgruntled customers if conflict resolution is your forte; maintain a sense of humor throughout the day if at all possible. Jobs that lend themselves to flow are generally experienced as fun jobs. (See this resource for more on using flow psychology at work.)

Spread Joy

Think about ways that your current job helps people, or could help people. We have all experienced sales clerks who clearly hate their jobs and don’t want to be there, and sales clerks who take time to talk to us and make our day special. The sales clerks who go out of their way to spread happiness are providing a real service, and are also more likely think of their jobs as ‘fun jobs’ than the first group. How does your job allow you to touch people’s lives? Jobs that make the world a better place lend a sense of satisfaction, and are likely to be experienced as fun jobs.

Create Meaning

Use your creativity and share your special gifts in your current job, and you may find your experience of your job transformed. Look at how your job can contribute to society in a positive way, and find greater meaning in your work. Focusing on the intangible rewards of work can transform most jobs into fun jobs, and can reduce job stress as well. Have fun!

Related: Find More Satisfaction At Your Current Job