The secrets of people who love their jobs | Shane Lopez | TEDxLawrence
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares personal anecdotes and research insights on the emotional benefits of loving one's job. With stories of individuals like Uncle Ray, who transformed his career in travel, the talk highlights the importance of job crafting and finding joy in work. The speaker emphasizes that loving jobs are not found but made, through strategies like testing future roles, trusting instincts, leveraging strengths, and seeking the right boss. The message is clear: happiness at work is achievable and contributes significantly to overall well-being.
Takeaways
- 👶 Early Work Exposure: The speaker began working at a young age, learning that jobs can take various forms and that work can be a social experience.
- 🎓 Career Shifts: Initially aiming to be a podiatrist, the speaker's career aspirations changed after a pivotal experience, leading to a pursuit in psychology.
- 🔬 Positive Psychology: After ten years of education, the speaker became a positive psychologist, focusing on what's right with people rather than what's wrong.
- 💖 Emotional Fruits of Labor: The speaker discusses the emotional benefits of loving one's job, and how this research has influenced their own life and work.
- 🚫 Pain of Disliking Jobs: Many people spend a significant portion of their lives unhappy at work, which can be draining and prevent them from reaching their full potential.
- 🌟 Inspiring Uncle Ray: The speaker's Uncle Ray, a travel agent, was passionate about his job, demonstrating the positive impact of job love and setting an example.
- 🔍 Research on Job Love: The speaker has conducted extensive research, finding that only 13% of people love their jobs, and these individuals come from various professions.
- 🛠️ Crafting Jobs: People who love their jobs didn't just find them; they actively shaped and crafted their roles to align with their interests and strengths.
- 🧐 Ernest Dichter's Cake Mix Story: Adding an egg to cake mix made consumers feel more involved in the baking process, illustrating the importance of personal involvement in what we create.
- 🔑 Designing Life: The speaker suggests five strategies for designing a life where one's job is fulfilling, including testing the future, trusting your gut, playing to strengths, job crafting, and finding the right boss.
- 🛍️ Boss Shopping: Finding a good boss can significantly enhance job satisfaction, and it's worth making changes to work under someone who understands and supports your growth.
Q & A
What did the speaker learn about jobs from watching their grandmother and her colleagues?
-The speaker learned that jobs come in all shapes and sizes and that work can be a very social experience, with people engaging in various activities like folding, adding to the pot, and gambling, all while the speaker's grandmother, a professional card player, brought them for good luck.
Why did the speaker initially want to become a podiatrist?
-The speaker initially wanted to become a podiatrist for reasons they describe as 'wacky,' which is a humorous way to say that young people often have unusual or arbitrary reasons for choosing their career paths.
What changed the speaker's mind about pursuing podiatry?
-The speaker's interest in podiatry ended after seeing grown-ups' feet for the first time at a pool, which made them realize that the reality of the job did not align with their expectations or interests.
How did the speaker's interest in psychology develop?
-The speaker's interest in psychology developed from a desire to make people happy, inspired by binge-watching old Bob Newhart episodes, which led them to believe that being a psychologist was a great career choice.
What is the main topic the speaker wants to discuss in the script?
-The main topic the speaker wants to discuss is the emotional fruits of labor, specifically what life gives you when you love your job, and how this love for work can impact one's life positively.
What percentage of people does the speaker claim love their jobs according to their research?
-According to the speaker's research, 13% of people are having a love affair with their jobs, meaning they are uniquely engaged and passionate about what they do.
What is the speaker's view on the common advice 'follow your passion'?
-The speaker considers the advice 'follow your passion' to be misleading and potentially dangerous, as it suggests that there are pre-existing perfect jobs waiting to be found, rather than recognizing that people who love their jobs have crafted them from good ones.
What is the speaker's advice on finding a job you love?
-The speaker advises that you will not land the perfect job but rather perfect the good job you have by designing your life and job in a way that brings it to life and improves the rest of your life.
What is the 'Dreamtime' program mentioned in the script and how does it work?
-The 'Dreamtime' program is an initiative where employees are given 30 minutes a week to work on their dreams, which are shared publicly with colleagues and supported by a dream manager. It aims to reignite the dreaming process post-graduation and has boosted engagement, productivity, and well-being at work.
What is the 'spin versus send' strategy mentioned by the speaker?
-The 'spin versus send' strategy is a method to optimize emotional well-being at work by spending more face-to-face time with people who give you positive feelings ('spin') and sending emails or texts to those you don't care as much about ('send').
What are the five design life strategies the speaker shares for job satisfaction?
-The five design life strategies are: 1) Test drive the future, 2) Trust your gut, 3) Play to your strengths, 4) Craft your job, and 5) Shop for the right boss.
What is the significance of the story about the cake mix and what lesson does it teach about job satisfaction?
-The cake mix story illustrates the importance of making and owning one's work. By adding an egg to the mix, housewives felt more connected to the process, which parallels the idea that people who love their jobs have crafted them to feel more personal and rewarding.
What is the speaker's view on the importance of having a great boss for job satisfaction?
-The speaker emphasizes the significance of having a great boss for job satisfaction, stating that only one in ten bosses are truly great. They suggest 'boss shopping' as a strategy to find a boss who can get the most out of you and care about your well-being.
Can you provide an example from the script of someone who successfully applied the principles discussed?
-Mary is an example from the script who trusted her gut and did 'boss shopping.' She found a great boss in Patricia Kelly, which led to a long and fulfilling career as a teacher.
Outlines
🎓 Early Work Experiences and Career Shifts
The speaker recounts their early introduction to work at the age of six, observing their grandmother and her card games, which were a mix of work and socializing. They learned that jobs can be diverse. At nine, they worked in their family's restaurant, learning the social aspect of work. Their initial career aspiration was to be a podiatrist, but after seeing adult feet at a pool, they changed their mind. They pursued psychology, influenced by Bob Newhart shows, and eventually became a positive psychologist, focusing on the positive aspects of people. The speaker aims to discuss the emotional benefits of loving one's job and how it can change one's life, contrasting with the pain of disliking one's job.
🛫 The Inspirational Journey of Uncle Ray
The narrative shifts to Uncle Ray, who loved his job as a travel agent despite starting in a mundane customer service role. His manager recognized his talent for calming people, which he leveraged to build a successful career in the travel industry. Uncle Ray's story inspired the speaker to view life as full of potential and to make a difference through one's work. The speaker's research indicates that only 13% of people love their jobs, and these individuals come from various professions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of job satisfaction for overall well-being and happiness.
🏭 The Science of Loving Your Job
The speaker delves into the findings from their research on job satisfaction, revealing that people who love their jobs have crafted these positions rather than stumbled upon them. They discuss the story of Ernest Dichter, who helped a company improve cake mix sales by adding an egg, thus giving housewives a sense of participation and ownership. This highlights the human desire to create and own what they do. The speaker advises against common career advice like 'follow your passion,' instead suggesting that people should perfect the jobs they have by designing their lives around their work.
🛠️ Strategies for Designing a Fulfilling Career
The speaker outlines five strategies for designing a life where one's job is fulfilling: test drive the future, trust your gut, play to your strengths, craft your job, and find the right boss. They provide examples, such as instituting 'dream time' at work, using a 'spend versus send' strategy to build relationships with caring co-workers, and job crafting techniques to make work more engaging. The emphasis is on taking an active role in shaping one's job to enhance satisfaction and happiness.
🏫 The Power of a Supportive Boss
The final paragraph tells the story of Mary, who trusted her instincts and sought a job with caring colleagues and a great boss. Despite facing job loss due to enrollment issues, a senior colleague's support allowed her to keep her position under a principal who understood and valued her. This story illustrates the importance of having a supportive boss and the dividends it can pay in job satisfaction and longevity. The speaker concludes by emphasizing that happiness is tied to the quality of one's job, and that good jobs are created rather than discovered.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Work Ethic
💡Positive Psychology
💡Engagement
💡Uncle Ray
💡Job Crafting
💡Boss Shopping
💡Career Advice
💡Emotional Fruits of Labor
💡Designing Life
💡Well-being
💡Passion
Highlights
The speaker's early exposure to diverse jobs, including gambling and restaurant work, shaped their understanding of the variety of work experiences.
The speaker's grandmother was a professional card player who used her grandson as a good-luck charm, illustrating the influence of family on career paths.
The importance of social interaction in work was emphasized through the speaker's experience working in a family restaurant.
The speaker's initial career aspiration to be a podiatrist was abandoned after a disillusioning experience, showing how early interests can change.
The journey to becoming a positive psychologist was inspired by the desire to make people happy and the influence of Bob Newhart's TV show.
The emotional fruits of labor are discussed, emphasizing the benefits of loving one's job and how it can lead to a more fulfilling life.
The speaker's research reveals that only 13% of people in America love their jobs, suggesting a widespread issue with job dissatisfaction.
People who love their jobs are not defined by their job titles or educational backgrounds, but by their passion and engagement.
The story of Uncle Ray, a travel agent, demonstrates how a single talent can be developed into a successful career.
The idea that love for one's job is not about finding the perfect job, but about perfecting the job one has.
The motivational psychologist Ernest Dichter's research on cake mixes highlights the importance of the 'maker's instinct' in consumer satisfaction.
The speaker challenges common career advice like 'follow your passion', arguing that it can be misleading and not always applicable.
The concept of 'job crafting' is introduced as a way to shape and improve one's job to increase satisfaction and engagement.
The importance of finding a good boss who can enhance one's work performance and well-being is emphasized through the story of Mary.
Five design strategies for a better life and job are presented: test drive the future, trust your gut, play to your strengths, craft your job, and shop for the right boss.
The speaker's personal story of leaving a tenured professorship to make a bigger impact reflects the courage to change one's career path for greater fulfillment.
The central message that happiness is closely tied to the quality of one's job and that good jobs are created rather than found concludes the talk.
Transcripts
when I was six I started going to work
with my grandmother on Friday nights I'd
sit there quietly on a stool watching
her and her colleagues they sat there
shoulder-to-shoulder some would fold
things others would add to the pot most
were smoking all were gambling my
grandmother was a professional card
player and she brought me to her card
game because I was her good-luck charm
what I learned at an early age is that
jobs came in all shapes and sizes at
9:00 I started working in our family
restaurant Joe's driving which was
neither owned by Joe nor a drive-in but
I worked three shifts a week they're
prepping cleaning frying baking all
alongside three generations of my family
there I learned that work was a very
social experience now you may be
wondering about the legality of gambling
and child labor well this was Louisiana
in the 1970s so I think it was okay at
12 I went legit I thought I was going to
be a podiatrist don't ask me why we all
have wacky reasons as to why we choose
the career as we choose but I thought I
was going to be a podiatrist until that
summer I went to the pool and I saw
grown-ups feet for the first time and
real bold big life after that podiatry
thoughts of podiatry were parts of my
past I went to school for ten years to
become a psychologist how did I end up
there well I always wanted to make
people happy and there was this summer
where I binge-watched
old Bob Newhart episodes and I thought
that was a great career that's a great
career for me and I became a
psychologist after ten quick years of
college I got out and I was studying
what was right with people
so I became a positive psychologist
studying what was right with people and
today I want to talk about the emotional
fruits of labor the emotional fruits of
labor
I want to talk about what life gives you
when you love your job and since I've
been researching this I have lived
differently I work differently and I
hope the same happens for you now
even though I look for people who love
their jobs all the time I meet people
who don't like their jobs quite often in
fact they are they have this uncanny
ability to find me and sit next to me on
long flights and I learned a lot about
the jobs they hate now the reason I
think these people talk so much about
the jobs they hate is because they're in
pain they're in pain I know I've been a
job hater I've been in that pain you
spend a third of your life a third of
your life going to a job that makes you
miserable going to a job that makes you
miserable and you don't get to do what
you do best you don't get to shine you
don't get praised in recognition and you
work for this boss that you secretly
call a soul-sucking happiness vampire I
hope she's not here and it just drains
you but I also meet a whole lot of
people that love their jobs the first
person I ever knew who loved this job
was my Uncle Ray Uncle Ray was just this
fascinating enigma to me he would swoop
into our low town of New Iberia
Louisiana and just change my life my
life would go from black and white to
color when Uncle Ray was in town and he
just had this way about him while other
people were talking about jobs they
hated and clearing my grandmother's
living room uncle Jay Uncle Ray would
captivate us with talk of the travel
agent job he loved so let me tell you a
little bit about his job he started in
the travel industry in a job that wasn't
all that exotic it wasn't all that
adventurous he was a customer service
agent at a regional airline a customer
service agent at a reach
airline and he didn't get to travel as
much as he had hoped but what he did get
was just a ton of experience and a ton
of opportunity and he had one manager
that changed his life the manager said
to him ray
your people soother you calm people down
my Uncle Ray built a career and a life
out of that one talent being a people
suitor when the airline national
airlines shut down he moved to
California double down on his commitment
to the travel industry double down on
his commitment to what he did best and
while working at an orchard sought out
his next job in travel he was recruited
by the owner of a travel agency mr.
galley and mr. galley recognized uncle
Ray's potential to put people at ease
ray quickly learned the business he had
no experience playing interest when he
quickly learned the business and he
carved the job into something that was
uniquely his he shaped it little by
little and it became his job and he
would turn hassles of travel into plans
for a dream trip and he customers
flocked to him and just a little bit of
time he became one of the top grossing
agents at the firm and then after ten
years he was one of the top grossing
agents in the country and he was also
named vice president of the galley
travel I tell you this story about Uncle
Ray because he inspired me he inspired
me to look at life as if there was
potential to look at life as if I can
make a difference I could work on my job
I could change my job into something
that really meant something to me that's
something that really mattered to me now
I believe the best career advice comes
from the Rays of the world and these
people really do exist these people who
love their jobs they really do exist
they pop out of bed in the morning
energized ready to go they come home at
night still full of energy ready to
share with their families these people
do exist they're not mythical creatures
like unicorns are Jay Hawks
are Democrats in western Kansas they're
real they really do exist and I want to
tell you about the work I've been doing
to find these people and discover their
secrets in the last three years I've
been working with a huge dataset of
8,500 working Americans and trying to
figure out exactly how many people in
America love their jobs how many people
are having a love affair with their jobs
what do you think what percentage you're
all wrong
13% 13% of people are having a love
affair with their jobs they are they are
uniquely engaged they are uniquely
passionate about what they do
87% of people are not 87% of people or
not who are these people who are these
people these are real people these are
artists
these are accountants teachers preachers
soldiers mechanics these are real people
and they don't have special degrees from
special universities they don't have
beautiful perfect resumes they're people
like you and me so even I can love my
job even you can love your job now in
researching these people I started
conducting interviews because the data
was strong but I needed data with a soul
so I started asking people about their
jobs and getting the stories from them
and learning more and more and more each
and every day I've interviewed hundreds
of these folks and I've learned two
things two things have emerged from
their stories of loving their jobs
number one number one people who love
their jobs have great lives they have
great lives they're off the charts and
well-being they're at the height of
happiness and loving your job is almost
an antidote to human suffering
someone's an antidote to human suffering
when I found out it just blew me away
that people who love their jobs are
thriving not struggling not suffering so
the first secret of people who love
their jobs is that happiness depends on
the goodness of your jobs happiness
depends on the goodness of your job
second
what I found was that these people did
not land those jobs they loved they
slowly created those jobs they design
and built those jobs out of ordinary
positions they just did editing nudging
in with a lot of effort turned a
reasonably good job into one they could
love
so the second secret of people who love
their jobs is that love worthy jobs are
made not found love worthy jobs are made
not found now there's a whole science
about loving things have an affinity for
things you make versus things you find
I'm not going to bore you with that I
want to tell you one story though that
backs up this research it's a story an
old story about a motivational
psychologist named Ernest Dichter Ernest
Dichter was hired by a company because
his new time-saving product wasn't
selling as well as they thought it would
sell brand new time-saving product
called
the cake mix the cake mix came into
vogue in the 1940s and 50s and it was
selling well and then the sales
flattened get it
cake sales flattened I do enjoy myself
and then cake sales flattened and then
after a while the companies asked
artists Dichter what's up with these
cake sales
why aren't they continuing to grow as we
thought well what Ernest did was he
interviewed housewives who the primary
purchasers of cake mixes at the time and
he asked these housewives
why don't you buy more cake mix and the
answer was very interesting the answer
was that it was too easy these are not
my cakes when I make a cake mix cake
it's not homemade it's not made by me
it's not made with love so Ernest went
back to the drawing board he said okay
all you have to do is pour the contents
in the bowl you'd have to add water you
mix you pour the contents into the pan
you pop it in the oven and bake it
what could we change about that process
that would invite more mothers to feel
like they made something rather than
found something and what was his
conclusion
add an egg add an egg so now for the
last 50 years we've been adding eggs to
our cake mix every time we make a cake
out of a box we have to add one or two
eggs not because they couldn't add egg
powder which they had in the mix prior
but because we need to make things we
have a drive to make things we also have
a drive to have ownership and autonomy
so I ask you a quick question by
clapping tummy
if you've ever rented a car clap thank
you okay now tell me by clapping if
you've ever washed a rental car alright
so we have these lovely people who have
rented cars and no one not a single
person in this room has ever washed a
rental car why don't you wash a rental
car you don't own it
it's not yours somebody else will take
care of it I already paid for that
someone else will do it
in my stead that's a renters approach
and if we have a renters approach to our
jobs
we'll never love our jobs if we don't
make our jobs our own will never take
care of them in a way that we can love
them now now is the part of the talk
where I'm supposed to inspire you okay
I'm supposed to tell you this story
about how I left my job as a tenured
professor to make a bigger difference in
people's lives wait I still lose my
breath when I say that okay I left my
job as a tenured professor to make a
bigger difference in people's lives and
it's a great story but we just don't
have time all right I should tell you
about Joseph Campbell and and quote him
this wonderful quote follow your bliss
and the universe will open doors where
there are only walls that's a great
quote I should cite Steve Jobs in his
Stanford commencement speech find what
you love find what you love but I'm not
going to quote either those guys okay
because what people who love their jobs
tell us
is that that advice while popular is
misleading it's misleading
so take the confucian saying choose a
job you love and you will never work a
day in your life sounds like something
that an unemployed philosopher would say
okay choose a job you love choose a job
you love it makes it sound like they're
just show rooms full of jobs that you
would love and all you have to do is
walk in and pick that job and your life
will be much better but what we know
from people who love their jobs is that
they take this job that's pretty good
and they turn it into something amazing
there's also this wildly popular saying
follow your passion follow your passion
that is the most dangerous career advice
we could ever give anybody follow your
passion there was a study done on
people's passions and they asked people
to name the things that make their heart
pound and only 5% of people could name
things related to work 5% could name
their passions but you're supposed to
follow your passion to the promised land
but that's just not happening what
people who love their job say is that
they are full of zest and zeal and
passion but they created it they created
it on the job all right so what does
that leave us with what is it what kind
of career advice does that give us well
people who love your job love their jobs
say you will not land the perfect job
you will perfect the good job you have
you would perfect the good job you have
and that's the advice I want you to hear
and you do that by designing your life
you do that by designing everything
about your life so that your job comes
to life and the rest of your life is
made better now there are 5 design life
design strategies I want to share with
you the first one is test drive the
future test drive the future second one
trust your gut third one play to your
strengths fourth craft your job and
fifth
for the right boss which is my favorite
one we'll come back to that test-drive
your future you have to get to know your
future self so that you can make choices
and changes at your job today you have
to do that and my friend CEO of he's CEO
of a fundraising consulting firm his
name is Patrick alter dice he legislates
Dreamtime at his office 30 minutes a
week of dream time is mandatory for all
of his employees so he came up with this
dream program because he said after
people graduate from college they
stopped dreaming so he D instituted a
dream program whereby you have to commit
to your dreams in public share them with
all of your colleagues then you consult
with a dream manager at work that's a
real job ok and then you spend 30
minutes every Friday morning working on
your dreams and they don't have to be
related to work all right and guess what
it's working people are pursuing their
passions Patrick just came back from
Nepal which was part of his dreaming
that he engaged in and other people are
pursuing their passions they're becoming
debt free they're going back to school
they're starting families they're doing
amazing things all because of dream time
they've changed their jobs and they've
changed their lives and it's boosted
engagement productivity and well-being
at work now the second one is trust your
gut now trust your gut can be used when
you're first interviewing for a job and
hopefully when you go into a setting
you're certainly just sensitive to the
reactions of the other people in the
workplace but I want you to think about
what love your people who love your jobs
love their job said to me they said that
they are surrounded by caring co-workers
almost every one of these people said
they were surrounded by caring
co-workers when I inquired it really it
came to my realization that that didn't
happen by accident
what they did was they slowly stopped
hanging out
the people they didn't care about and
started hanging out more with the people
that cared about them
it's a spend versus send strategy that
they used and you can use it at work
tomorrow spend more face-to-face time
with the people that give you the warm
fuzzies at work and send more emails and
texts that the people you don't give a
damn about all right this spin versus
send strategy allows you to be civil but
yet get your emotional needs met at work
now there's playing To Your Strengths
play to your strengths doing what you do
best
makes you feel better and makes you work
better both feeling better and working
better I have a great quote by Sir Ken
Robinson I don't know if you've heard of
the guy here we go I could read it in a
British accent are you ready I won't do
that we create our lives symbiotically
as we explore our talents in relation to
the circumstances they helped create for
us identify your strengths and play to
those strengths and I promise you your
work will become more rewarding for you
next is job crafting craft your job my
friend Amy Rose new ski has developed
this whole suite of techniques that you
can use to job craft at work one simple
one is to cue up your day in a different
way so while you used to maybe go into
work with this willy nilly approach to
your tasks what if you did all of the
most engaging and inspiring tasks first
so that the rest of your day when you
were met with drudgery you could plow
through that or what if you reverse that
and you went to work and you dealt with
all the hassles of the day first and
then into the day on a high note either
one of those is job crafting so we can
slowly slowly shape our jobs over time
to turn them into more rewarding jobs
and the final one is boss shopping okay
this is something that we can all do but
it's hard it's really hard we have to
sacrifice some things because there are
only 1 in 10 bosses
our great bosses hear that again only
one in ten people who are bosses are
really great bosses so we have to shoot
for good bosses who get the most out of
us and also care about our well being
and what you need to do is think about
shifting and switching maybe the office
you work in the schedule you work the
the branch you work out so that you can
get a boss that can get more out of you
I want to tell you a story about Mary
who both trusted her gut and did some
boss shopping Mary applied to every
teaching job available to her in driving
distance when she graduated from college
and she walked into the buildings with
two criteria she wanted warm colleagues
and a great boss and she searched and
searched and searched and interviewed at
a whole bunch of places but then she
landed at Langley Park McCormick
Elementary and at that school she found
caring colleagues and a boss that just
got her in fact she told me she called
her mom from the car after the interview
and said mom this woman just gets me I'm
going work for Patricia Kelly so Mary
got the job she was thrilled she got the
job at Langley Park McCormick Elementary
and things were going wonderful up until
the day when she was setting up her
classroom her first-grade classroom she
got called to the principal's office
which is never a good thing even when
you're grown up and Patricia Kelly had
some bad news for Mary the enrollment
projections were off there are fewer
students going to that school than
planned
they had one too many teachers Mary was
out of a job news of this situation
spread Mary's in hers classroom packing
her boxes back up when a senior
colleague comes to her one of those
people who had treated her warmly upon
her initial visit and said Mary I heard
about the enrollments the enrollment
numbers and I want to tell you that the
enrollment was higher at another school
than projected so I'm going to take that
job because you need to be with dr.
Kelly
you need a great principal and you can
keep your job
mary has been working for dr. Patricia
Kelly for 25 years she's a fifth grade
teacher now at Westover elementary and
last two years ago she was named the
most hopeful teacher in America shopping
for the right boss page pays huge
dividends now the central message and
Mary story and Ray's story and the story
of other vibrant people happy people who
love their jobs is pretty simple but it
should change everything we do to
prepare ourselves and others for careers
happiness depends on the goodness of our
jobs and those good jobs are made not
found thank
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