Six Dimensions to Happy Work

Six Dimensions to Happy Work

I forget who told me the first set of three dimensions, but I’ll share them. I didn’t invent it. The idea is basic. There are three things almost every employee wants at work:

  • Autonomy
  • Mastery
  • Purpose

People want to have the ability and authority to do the job they’ve been assigned (autonomy). They want the opportunity to get amazing at their role (mastery). They want to believe that their work serves a bigger good (purpose.) Think about the roles you love. Think about the ones you hated. Think of bosses you value. Think of the worst of them. Does this clock? It does for me.

Those are three dimensions.

The second three dimensions come from the book The Optimism Bias, by Tali Sharon. (Link: https://amzn.to/3R6Rpe0 )

In there, she says there are three dimensions to happiness, not just the trait itself:

  • Happiness
  • Meaning
  • Variety

So, uh, to be happy, you need happiness (so my notes say). But you also need to think that what you’re doing, in life and business, serves a larger sense of meaning. It might be working to keep the family fed and housed. It might be working in a role that changes the world. What matters is that YOU perceive that you’re doing something meaningful.

The last detail is interesting (and worth a read of Sharot’s book, for this and many more reasons). Variety. She said we love novelty. We love “the new.” This explains a lot of things. It explains why people get sick of work, sick of people, sick of everything. We crave variety. It’s why very few people prefer to eat the same thing over and over. It explains a lot of things.

One reason Sharot said that we look for variety is that humans are endless model makers. We model things around us and try to better understand what it all means. We also try to adjust and adapt our views. Even when we say we’re stuck in our ways, we feed that stuckness with new material.

What Do We DO With All This?

The three first ideas make clear and straightforward sense. It is perfectly reasonable to think that an employee (and a leader, and anyone) wants to believe that they have the authority to run our own selves, at work and at home. It stands to reason that most of us want to master the skills and traits we want to apply. This might not apply to the job you have - and if it doesn’t, maybe that means you should find a new role. But it should apply to YOU. Seek mastery? Yes. And Purpose? Who wants to work on something that doesn’t matter? Even if it only matters to your money?

The next three ideas are about happiness. We can maybe agree that you don’t have to be happy at work. It helps. But it’s not a requirement. But to know what seems to drive happiness goes further than just feeling happy and pushing into making meaning and variety. That’s notable.

So, the question: what do you do with all this?

Can you design your role or your team’s roles to improve autonomy? Can you build better potential for happiness? Etc. See the idea?

I don’t fully know about this one. I just know that it’s interesting to consider that these are probably six dimensions that would impact work and life overall. You might be able to make use of these.

Thoughts? How does YOUR life and work compare to the six?

Chris…

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2 年

Chris Brogan the whole time I was reading this I was visualizing a child. The simple joy they get when they explore ~ experiment ~ discover and ultimately succeed. It could be as simple as stacking 9 blocks before they fall. I think as we age (grow up) we loose much of that simple joy as those around us place borders and limitations around us (physically & mentally). Much to take in here but love that you challenged us to do just that!

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James Conway

Building User-Centered SaaS Products Brick by Brick | Certified Digital Product Manager | Dad & Lego Enthusiast

2 年

I'm not sure where I first came across the concept of "there is freedom within constraints"... But it is one of those things that I feel is ever more true as knowledge work deals with ever more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous problem and solution spaces. I think it applies here to your question of how to design roles that give people those dimensions... With the added caveat that the role needs to satisfy the needs of both the individual and the organisation. By setting clear constraints on the scope of a role and adjacent roles, an individual can achieve autonomy, mastery and purpose.

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Carin Bladh ICF MCC

Executive Coaching 'Jag fril?gger Din kraft genom att lyssna' - Ditt vetande tar form! Professional coaching for Professionals!

2 年

Thanks a lot for this Chris Brogan - rocking our mindset! ?? Have You seen this Martin ?????? Lindeskog Robert Mansson ?

It was Dan Pink in his book, Drive. (The first 3.)

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Denise Butchko

NKBA President Chicago Midwest Chapter and resourceful partner for design build professionals in the building materials industry.

2 年

I really do love variety, but hence learned that, in sales, the variety can be the people/ customers. So I may be selling the same product, but I get new "juice"from each individual. And the product gets new "colors", so that keeps the variety. I also find happiness in learning from the people. So when someone is a jerk, I can (hopefully) learn and grow from learning through pain. And when they are thrilled with my service, I learn through pleasure. And I'm not sure any of this answered your question.

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