I walk into the room where Sujata has been busy all day fielding customer complaints almost all by herself. She looks up at me and smiles. It's not a forced smile.
Surprisingly she seems to be at ease. She's alone today in the services room which usually has about five people taking customer calls and working out remedies to customer complaints. I say - "You are handling it all by yourself ?" She looks up briefly smiles and says "Yes sir" getting back to what she was doing.
So? You are supposed to be cheerful at work, right?
Wrong.
How you really feel about work is an important indicator of how you are managing yourself at work and the quality of work you are doing.
Indeed how you are feeling about your work can help you manage your self better.
Are you feeling unhappy? Are you feeling frustrated? Are you are feeling happy? Are you are feeling exhilaration?
If you are unhappy it's more likely that you are unable to do your work well.
If you feel frustrated it is likely that the problems you encounter in your work keeps reappearing.
If you are feeling happy probably you've been able to do a job well.
If you are feeling exhilarated you've probably made a breakthrough at work.
Working daily on how to do your work better is perhaps the best way to encounter exhilaration more often and make happiness your normal state at work.
Weekend movies, exotic holidays or frequent job changes can hardly substitute for enjoying what you do for most part of your waking life.
