I am been working for 12 years between 5 different jobs. For a long time, I was not happy at work. I used to have a list of reasons why I am not happy at work. Recently, I learnt to work hard on myself than I do on my job. Surprisingly, I am happier at work. Today I would like to share with you my journey.

First of all, I focus on what I can control. I told you that I used to have a list of reasons why I am not happy at work.

  • The boss
  • The people at work
  • The type of work
  • The commute
  • The company direction

Just recently, I found that I am not in the list. I am the problem. I had a wrong focus at work before. I was focus on things that I cant have control over. Since I focus on myself, everything changed for me. I am happier at work.

Secondly, we don’t get paid by time; we get paid by value. The reason I got stress at work because I thought working more time meaning I will become more valueable employee at work. But I was wrong, it is not the hours I put in my work, it is the work that I put in the hours. I will give you an example: there are 3 tasks that I need to do every day. And it took about 3 hours each task. Very repetitive work, a lot of process involve. Until one day, I learnt how to improve the process and reduce the time it take from 3 hours to 1 hour. Then now I only work 3 hours instead of 9 hours but still receiving the same pay.

And the last one, treat people at work the way you want to be treated. If we think about it, we spend about 45 years in the work environment, I think it makes sense to say that we spend more time with people at work than our family/friends. So if we can treat people at work like a 2nd family, then it will create a comfortable environment for you. Also you never know one day, your 2nd family will refer you an other job somewhere else. It is what we know, it is who we know. And it is always true for me. My last 3 jobs I got from the people I know, not via an job agency.

Everyday, I am actually looking forward to go to work. I am happier at work. Because I focus on things that I can control over, looking for ways to add value and looking forward to spend time with my 2nd family. And the best thing about this is I got paid to be happier.