WEBVTT - Second Cup: Like all but 20 percent

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that all jobs have ups and downs, but

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<v Speaker 1>if you find yourself unhappy for a significant proportion of

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<v Speaker 1>your work week, it might be time to look for

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<v Speaker 1>something else. Ideally, you spend no more than the equivalent

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<v Speaker 1>of one day a week on things you really don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to do. That is, if you like all but

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<v Speaker 1>twenty percent of your job, you've got a keeper. If

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<v Speaker 1>you dislike more than twenty percent, you might want to

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<v Speaker 1>see what else is out there. So I started thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about this topic recently when someone asked a group of

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<v Speaker 1>us what we felt was an acceptable ratio of positive

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<v Speaker 1>to negative feelings about a job. In my younger years,

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<v Speaker 1>I might have said this ratio should be infinite. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>you should like absolutely everything about your job and dislike nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>As I have gotten older, I have realized that disliking

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<v Speaker 1>zero is going to be tough to pull off, even

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<v Speaker 1>in almost ideal situations. We are seldom one hundred percent

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<v Speaker 1>happy in life. You can be sitting on a tropical

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<v Speaker 1>beach watching a beautiful sunset while sitting next to the

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<v Speaker 1>love of your life and still be thinking hmm, my

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<v Speaker 1>toe itches such as the human condition. You can love

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<v Speaker 1>your job and still find your weekly meeting with Dave

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<v Speaker 1>from Accounting tedious, but isn't quitting and neither are you,

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<v Speaker 1>and so here we are. I'll also note that sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>we think the problem is with the job, and it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out to be more internal. I have followed some

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<v Speaker 1>situations where people have quit jobs because they just can't

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<v Speaker 1>trust their coworkers and they're always crashing right before deadlines.

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<v Speaker 1>Then they find different jobs, and it turns out that

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<v Speaker 1>you just can't trust these coworkers either, and they are

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<v Speaker 1>still always crashing right before deadlines. And maybe, just maybe,

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<v Speaker 1>these two situations have something very specific and common, namely

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<v Speaker 1>the person experiencing them that said, you have to balance

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<v Speaker 1>the reality that nothing is perfect against the truth that,

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<v Speaker 1>as far as we know, you only get one wild

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<v Speaker 1>and precious life. As the Mary Oliver would put it,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be one thing to be miserable day in

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<v Speaker 1>and day out if you were assigned a job at

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<v Speaker 1>age twenty and required by law to keep it until retirement.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you are listening to this podcast, then you

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<v Speaker 1>don't live in a society like that. There are millions

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<v Speaker 1>of jobs out there, many of them are currently open.

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<v Speaker 1>Within any given industry, there are often lots of companies,

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<v Speaker 1>some of which have vastly different cultures from others. Within

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<v Speaker 1>any company, some departments are probably a lot better to

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<v Speaker 1>work for than other departments, to say nothing of individual managers.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you can't find a company or department you like,

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of ways to start your own business,

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<v Speaker 1>many of which don't require a whole lot of capital

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<v Speaker 1>to begin. In other words, you are not trapped. I

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<v Speaker 1>know it can be hard to leave. Maybe you earn

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of money. Sometimes people who earn a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of money believe that they have to accept certain things

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<v Speaker 1>about their jobs. But the labor market isn't totally efficient,

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<v Speaker 1>and so most people haven't completely optimized on any dimension.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that even if you earn a lot now,

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<v Speaker 1>it is always possible that you will be able to

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<v Speaker 1>find a job you like more that pays more. Too.

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<v Speaker 1>You might be able to find a job you like

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<v Speaker 1>more that is more flexible as well. You might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to find a job that pays more and features

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<v Speaker 1>nicer colleagues. You just don't know until you look to

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<v Speaker 1>strike a balance between the truth that nothing is perfect

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<v Speaker 1>and the truth that no one deserves to be miser

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<v Speaker 1>I will put twenty percent out there as a target

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<v Speaker 1>to aim for. You want to like all but the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent of one day a week at your job, as

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<v Speaker 1>few people actually shunt all the work they don't like

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<v Speaker 1>to one day. In practice, it will be more like

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<v Speaker 1>an hour or two a day of stuff you generally

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<v Speaker 1>prefer not to be doing. You might try keeping track

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<v Speaker 1>of your time and seeing where the percentage lies currently.

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<v Speaker 1>If it is over twenty percent, that doesn't mean you

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<v Speaker 1>need to quit Jerry Maguire's style. The first thing you

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<v Speaker 1>should do is see if you can craft your job

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<v Speaker 1>to spend less time on the things you really don't like.

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<v Speaker 1>Do they actually have to be done, Maybe they don't,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe they can be done with less fanfare than

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<v Speaker 1>they are currently getting. Maybe the load can be shared

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<v Speaker 1>or delegated. Maybe things can be done more quickly or

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<v Speaker 1>more efficiently. You meet with Dave from Accounting for thirty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes rather than sixty. You can also try doing more

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<v Speaker 1>of the stuff you really do like, which at least

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<v Speaker 1>pushes the proportion down. I am not suggesting extending your

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<v Speaker 1>hours but if you do have a lot going on,

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<v Speaker 1>you become less available for tasks that wouldn't be your

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<v Speaker 1>first choice. People start asking you less, or you find

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<v Speaker 1>ways to spend less time on these things. Time is

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<v Speaker 1>elastic that way, but if the proportion is quite a

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<v Speaker 1>bit over twenty percent, then it is time to really

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<v Speaker 1>look at life and figure out what you can do.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no harm in reaching out to old contacts

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<v Speaker 1>and set up some coffees. Indeed, people should be doing

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<v Speaker 1>that regularly, even if they love their jobs, but it

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<v Speaker 1>might flush out some new opportunities somewhere better. Work doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to be a negative thing in life. It can

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<v Speaker 1>be a source of joy at least eighty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four then breakfast Pod. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>at Iheartme. That before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch? Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

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