Can a “job” really be a place of personal fulfillment and happiness?
This is a follow up from the post, This is what leaders should strive to create…
I’m on a mission to create a new kind of company. A company that exists to make people happy. To fulfill them and help them achieve their goals. That’s why Dragon Army‘s Purpose is to Inspire Happiness.
Everything I’m working on right now with Dragon Army is in this direction. How do I create a company that can live up to a purpose of Inspiring Happiness? At its root, Inspiring Happiness must start with our team members. In fact, we’re currently working to become experts on what makes a person truly happy. I’ve rallied a small team in the company that is researching happiness from various angles. In fact, here is a whiteboard of a recent brainstorming session we had:
See, I’ve come to believe that a company can be a place of true fulfillment and happiness for a person. I don’t think most companies are, but I think they can be.
My guess is most people don’t think this can (or even should) be the case. Most believe that a job is an unfortunate necessity in life that only exists to unlock opportunities to actually enjoy yourself. We’re taught that at an early age, “Get a job so you can <insert something fun>.”
So that’s my question, can a job be something that brings true happiness and fulfillment to a person? Can a job be so great that even if a person became independently wealthy, they’d still come in every day?
Or do you think I’m crazy?
Absolutely, a job can bring true fulfillment and happiness to a person! Like you, I think a job SHOULD do that. Not all do, and even the best ones don’t every day. But I believe it’s incumbent not only on employers, but on employees, to try to make “work” feel as though it’s a joy and not a job.
You probably know this, but many folks have already done research on what makes people happy. I recommend “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin for one example. Kudos to you and Dragon Army for doing this!
Yes, that’s one of the books that the team that is brainstorming ‘what makes people happy’ read!
And its a great point about both employers AND employees needing to work for this goal. We talk at Dragon Army that “inspiring happiness” is everyone’s job, and the company can help and encourage this, but most of the inspiration will come from the team (to each other, to clients/partners, to the community).
Hope you’re well!
Yes, a job can be fulfilling I agree with the point made by Stacy. It is very much the job of the employee to make their work interesting, but yes the dragon army project is a great way to push employee towards haziness.