Everybody hates their job some days. It's easy to say that you always look forward to going to work. The only people who say that they really like going to work are independently wealthy, work for themselves, and/or only go to work when they feel like it. You will probably never meet anyone who likes going to work every day. Even people with hobbies sometimes take a break.

Look for ways to make your work and workplace more acceptable and interesting.

So, the only real solution is to find a way to make your job easier to live with. There are various ways to make even the most odious job more pleasant. For the sake of space and time, I will limit my list to my top three.

Try making your job into a game.

You could have a job where about one or two days a week you have to take information and stuff it into about 1000 envelopes. That would be exceptionally dull work. By timing the work, you can determine how many envelopes that you can stuff in a minute or five minutes and try to beat your record. This could be all that keeps you from the rubber room.

Look for oddities and humor in your work.

Another viable option is to look for ways to find humor in what you do. If it's a desk job, look for bizaare spelling mistakes or weird names that you can have some fun with. Most jobs have a little space for practical jokes on co-workers. In this area, you just want to be sure not to get dangerous or too carried away.

I remember a job where we generated the equivalent of plastic confetti as a by-product of our work. Once we attached a string to a ceiling tile, covered the tile with confetti, and attached the other end to something a co-worker had to move. You can see the outcome. It took about 2 minutes to sweep up the mess.

Find friends or new friends in the work place to occupy you.

Try to make friendships that are interesting on the job. It's often easier to go to work to see your friends than to go to work just to work. They don't have to be social friends. Find people who can carry on a conversation and work too. This will keep both of you out of trouble with the boss.

Sometimes you just have to go to work and do your job even when you do not want to.

Sometimes no matter what you do, your job will just be your job. At those times, you just have to grit your teeth and do what you're being paid to do. You don't always have to enjoy it to do it. It just helps if you can find a way to make it more pleasant.

Learn more about this author, Allen Teal.
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