I LOVE my job. I don't know many people who can say that, but, I genuinely love my job. I work for The Children's Society's Include Programme, based in Hampshire, UK on a project called "Making a step change for young carers and their families: Putting it into practice". And I absolutely love it. Did I say that already? As the Information and Resources Development Worker, my job is to develop and identify resources on issues affecting young carers and their families, to support the effective implementation of the duties required under the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014. I also assist in the planning, organisation and delivery of capacity building events and webinars for local authorities and manage two websites, a new skill I've been teaching myself over the past few years.
Here's what makes my job, and in fact, any job, a good one:
The Culture
Since we spend, on average, one third of our lives at work, it makes sense that we'd want to spend that time in an environment that makes us happy, or at the very least, comfortable and productive. Where I work, the atmosphere is relaxed and open, employees are given the resources they need to do to their jobs and encouraged to ask if they need more support. The induction process is comprehensive, so you really get a sense of your piece in the whole puzzle, and the learning and development opportunities are widely available and promoted, meaning you don't feel stuck in your box either. The company has a policy that not only discourages employees from overworking, but insists they take time off in lieu in the event that their role occasionally requires overtime. No one is slaving away for appearances, but nobody is slacking either. There is also a culture of recognition, not just from managers and senior staff, but also from the wider team. And that's how it should be because your win is everyone's win.
If you don't want to be dragging yourself to work every day, you should be assessing your potential new workplace for the following six cultural characteristics: open and transparent communication, sufficient resources and support, development opportunities, work-life balance, recognition for hard work, and team spirit. Of course, every organization will be different and have different levels of these at any one time, because companies are only as good as the people that make them up and the external environments in which they operate. Make sure you know which qualities you value most and choose a work place that embodies them most of the time.
The Team
A big part of the reason I love my job is the team I work with. They are all really friendly, kind-hearted people, who work hard and care about the young people we are working to support. From day one, they have been open and willing to welcome me into the team, helping me through my gaps in knowledge of the subject matter and never leaving me out of the social side of office life. The managers are always available, not only for the employees they directly line manage, but for everyone in the office. The team at Include is not just a team in the dictionary sense, but in the positive ways they operate and relate to each other.
But remember, a team is only as good as the people in it, and now you're one of them! How you act towards your colleagues will have a large impact on how they behave towards you. To help foster the team spirit, even in the face of that one person at work who annoys you for no reasonable reason, be action-oriented, act with integrity and modesty, communicate honestly and appropriately, be adaptable, helpful, and polite, and be passionate about the work you're doing, not just as an individual, but as a team.
The Tasks
The other part of what makes my job good is the actual tasks I do. No two days are alike. Monday I might be working on web development and adding to my growing knowledge of HTML. Tuesday might involve conference planning, while another day might involve typing up outcome reports. The following day might involve developing strategies for consulting with young carers, and Friday might take me miles away from the office to a multi-agency meeting in government offices in a part of the country I've never been before. Of course, not every day is filled with fun, exciting tasks, but as they say, a change is often as good as a rest, and the diversity of tasks in your job will help keep your brain flexible and learning, and give you a greater sense of satisfaction.
That saying isn't just an old wives tale brought forward from our grandparents. There is real science behind it too. According to Robert S. Feldman, skill diversity - the degree to which the job requires different skills underlying the activities that are part of the job - is one of the five key elements underlying work happiness (see his book Social Psychology: Theories, Research and Applications, 1985). The primary reason for this is because a diversity of tasks reduces boredom at work. Together with task identity - the extent to which a person performs a whole task, and task significance - the impact the task has on others, task diversity leads to a sense of meaningfulness. And let's face it, the search for meaning is what drives most of us, so when we find some at work, it will go a long way to making anyone happier with their job.
The Big Picture
Perhaps most importantly though, the best part of my job is the fact that on most days, I can actually see the difference the work I’m doing is making. Be it to a young carer who gets to take respite and be around other young people at the Young Carers Festival, or to a local authority working to implement the tools we've given them to meet their legal duties, I can see how my small part in the whole mechanism is making a difference. Knowing how my work contributes to the overall outcomes of the project makes that work worth doing.
According to Anthony Smith, CEO and Founder of Insightly, providing employees with the opportunity to make a difference through their work requires clear and frequent communication on company happenings. Decision makers at the top should not only be sharing their decisions with the employees executing the work, but perhaps more importantly, they should also be consulting with them before even making those decisions. Employees should get the sense that they contribute to the direction of the company just as much as the work of the company. This big picture view is a key element of long-term job satisfaction.
So graduates, not every job will be one you love. But good ones do exist and this is what they should look like. You should be in an environment where you can demonstrate your talent and knowledge but at the same time be challenged and learn new skills. A place where your colleagues are not just friendly, but friends, and make time to help and teach you because they know that your growth is good for everyone. Where the team is supportive and appreciative, and perhaps most importantly, trusts you, values your input and respects your expertise. They should also not only honour your right to a proper work/life balance, they should be some of the biggest supporters encouraging you to achieve it. You should wake up every morning excited to go to work, and even though you'll still be hit with the Sunday blues just like everyone else, a part of you is enthusiastic to get back to doing something you're good at and that makes a difference. Because whether you work for a charity, a grocery store, or an arms dealer, you should feel like you're making a difference - to your company, your community, and maybe even your world. And the job should feel like it's making a difference to you. It sounds like a lot, but I can assure you, it exists. So aim high for your career, because those heights are achievable.
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