“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”- Marc Anthony
Loving what you do can have a significant impact on yourself and those around you, especially for individuals who are in leadership positions. As animal health recruiters, we have seen this first hand. How you feel about your job and the work that you do can impact yourself, your family, your peers, their families, and even the company as a whole. It’s important to love what you do and if you’re struggling with that, here are some steps you can take to achieve a Marc Anthony level of love for your job.
Unite Your Team
Who you work with can have a significant impact on how you feel about your job. Taking opportunities to get to know your peers can have a snowball effect in opening doors for better communication, improved work environment, and increased cohesiveness in the team. There are many ideas that can be implemented to unite a professional team. It can be small things like walking over to their desk to ask a question instead of sending an email or starting a new tradition of taking the rookie to lunch at the best pizza place in town. It could even be suggested that you create a group chat that is only used for memes and non-work-related topics. Using whatever strategy works best for you and your team, creating cohesiveness can greatly improve your work attitudes and motivations.
Expand Your Current Role
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to take on new responsibilities, especially if you already feel stretched too thin. Expanding your role can include things like joining a review committee in your industry or designing/planning an outing for your team. The goal behind expanding your role would be to meet new people in your company or in the industry as well as adventuring into new areas of work that may bring more fulfillment and new experiences to what you’re currently doing.
Rest and Restore
Burnout is very real and can devastate your ability to enjoy what you are doing in the workplace. This is why it is critical to take those vacation days and unplug from your corporate responsibilities. You can even accomplish this on small-scale breaks like during lunch and weekends or days off. Teaching your team to recognize when it’s an emergency and appropriate to reach you outside of work can help you take time away and remain clear-headed without constantly having to respond to emails or think about what is happening while you aren’t there. Don’t wait until you’re feeling the effects of burnout to implement this restorative and create recharging time. Being proactive with your boundaries and time away can really set the path for a long, happy career.
Be A Mentor
Becoming the person that your peers can come to with questions can have many benefits. It can strengthen your relationship with those that you work with, and it can also give you a sense of pride that can be incredibly motivating. Being a mentor also allows you to leave an even bigger impact on your company than the work you’re already doing. When you train new individuals to do things the way that you do them, they will also continue to pass down your methods and way of thinking for generations of workers at the company. It gives you the opportunity to become that person who everyone remembers and your absence, either through retirement or a new opportunity, will be felt by those around you and that is something that you can take pride in.
Your Own Space
Whether you have your own locker, desk, uniform, or even your own office, creating a space that is uniquely YOU can have a positive impact on your drive to achieve more at work. From adding pictures of friends and family to flying your favorite sports flag and even bringing in little figurines of your favorite comic. These workspace decorations can be a reminder of who you are outside of work and can even serve as good conversation pieces for your coworkers. You may find common interests with your peers over a sports team or your pet’s names. Making your workspace unique is a great way to take steps toward loving what you do.
Remember Why You’re Doing It
Sometimes all we need is a reminder of why we do what we do. Maybe it feeds your family. Maybe it’s the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder. Maybe it allows you to travel the world. Whatever the reason is, our job is an integral part of our lives, and remember to love what we do and the reasons that we do it can foster a better work environment for everyone.
Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Advanced Materials, or Animal Health industry?
Contact us to discuss how we can bring top leadership talent to your team. Boaz Partners is a premier executive search firm focused on the direct recruitment of executives and professionals for the specialty chemicals and animal health space. We are your partner, and our focus is on custom recruiting solutions.