Bazaar United Methodist Church

Bazaar, Kansas

Colossians 3:17
Colossians 3:23-24

Happiness at Work

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Work. It has been termed everything from a four letter word to the chance of a lifetime; from a job to a calling; from sheer drudgery to a joy and delight. There are those who don't know what to do without it and those who dread it every day. Work has been shown in all its forms from stage "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" to screen "9 to 5" to cartoon "Dilbert," sung and even whistled about with "Whistle While You Work." So what is the difference between these jobs and these people? What makes the difference between a job that is drudgery and one that is a delight? How is it some people enjoy their work and others hate it?

The author of Colossians urges us to do whatever we do as if we were doing it for the Lord. Treat that scoundrel of a boss of mine as if he was Jesus? Surely you jest! Treat my blankety-blank co-worker like Jesus? You've got to be kidding! In many ways this goes back to our topic of last week on relationships. It goes to treating everyone with compassion. And you start each day fresh. No matter how bad yesterday was, you start each new day just as God allows you to start it afresh. Each day is a new beginning. Each day you offer the other a fresh start; a new beginning. You show up with a smile on your face, a positive attitude and you treat everyone with compassion. If you treated each person as if they were Jesus, whether you like them or not, what would happen? What would change? It might not happen the first day or even the first week but by the end of the first month, I guarantee there would be changes. And they won't just be in you, though, of course, you will have changed.

All of the studies I read on happiness at work said that people tend to view their work in one of three ways. They may view their work as a job, a way to collect a paycheck, but they don't expect much more from their job than that. They go to work because they have to not because they want to. Then there are those who are career oriented. Those who are career oriented see their work as a stepping stone toward something better-power, prestige, respect, and more money. They may or may not enjoy their work. Those who see their work as a calling tend to find work as an end in itself. They find self-fulfillment in their work and are passionate about it. Many say they would do the work whether they got paid or not. When I was working in Home Health as a Speech/Language Pathologist, I used to say that I saw the patients for free and they paid me to do the Medicare paperwork.

Now some of you may be saying, "it is not possible for my job to be seen as a calling." Maybe not, but maybe so. There are janitors who see their work as a calling. According to one researcher, (whose name I can't pronounce,) about one-third of the people in any given occupation are calling oriented. Those who see their work as a calling rather than as a job, as certain janitors do, "engage in what is called 'job crafting'. . ." They tailor their jobs, do small additional tasks, help co-workers, and take initiative to do their tasks more efficiently.

This same researcher also found that "satisfaction with life and with work may be more dependent on how an employee sees his or her work than on income or occupational prestige." So a big part of whether you enjoy your job is the attitude you take to it. If you start each day dreading to go to work, expecting to be miserable all day long then you are likely to have a miserable day at work. I believe I have told you before of my former brother-in-law who considered his job a prison-sentence he had to endure so that he could have the toys he wanted. If you hate your job that much, change it. Nothing is worth that kind of misery. I fully believe his hatred contributed to the cancer that took his life at an early age. But if you go to work with a positive attitude, expecting work to be "an opportunity to develop your talents, help others, and improve the world, it is more likely to become enjoyable, and you will do those little extra things that make you a better employee."

Part of this is the practice of contentment. All too often we, in the United States, take what we have for granted rather than being grateful for it. We are fortunate to have work. In many countries, and even here in these times, many do not have work. Sometimes we forget that there are other good things in our lives. We have it really good in comparison to so many. We get spoiled. Instead of being upset about what we don't have, let us practice the art of contentment-being content with what we do have. Paul says, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:12) We need to learn to be content.

It is absolutely true that "happy students and happy workers are more effective decision makers and receive better performance evaluations from teachers and management. Happiness also translates into more creativity at work. Happy workers are better at producing fresh ideas for changing products and services, as well as suggesting new procedures that allow their organizations to achieve important goals." And those who are happier at work are also happier at home.

To return to my first premise, that being happy at work must begin with our relationships at work, it is imperative that we remember Jesus' command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If your boss and your co-worker are not your neighbor, you have sorely missed Christ's teaching. So meeting them every day with love and compassion is necessary to their health and well-being. It is necessary to you as a follower of Christ Jesus to grant them this grace because God grants it to you.

Granted, some people are difficult. And some people are negative. And some of those may be in your workplace. Be pleasant and positive around them and limit your time with them as much as possible. Do not spend time with negative people because they are poisonous. Negativity is like drinking poison. It seeps from your pores and spills out on everyone around. It is a trap which can turn a good meeting into a bad one extremely quickly if you don't have a leader who is fast on their feet and able to turn the tide rapidly. I confess I have not yet learned that skill.

And some work situations are better than others. Some bosses are nicer to work for than others and we don't always have a choice in that. According to an article in the Kansas City Star last week, Lynn Taylor Consulting found that the average employee spends almost 3 hours each day worrying about job concerns such as company layoffs or losing his or her job. The survey also found that just having the boss's door closed sparks job-loss fears in 65% of those surveyed.

In the same article psychiatrist, professor and author Judith Orloff tells workers to "flip the switch" on negative thoughts. While recognizing that it is easier said than done, Orloff says, don't hypothesize about worst-case scenarios and avoid contact with people or situations that rev up stress responses in your body. That may need to include avoiding caffeine, sugar, exposure to violent news, traffic jams, arguments, and people who are depressed, cynical or angry.

You may find that you can change and improve your relationship with some of the people with whom you work. I remember my mother coming home from work at the hospital one night saying that she was sure that she and this new nurse were going to butt heads. My mother has a rather strong personality. Lots of registered nurses do. They have to make split-second decisions that are a matter of life and death before a doctor can be called. They have to have strong personalities. And sometimes they tend to clash with each other until they find ways to work with one another. The other nurse was new, did things differently and interrupted a routine in an emergency room that was accustomed to working together like clock works. We always had orphans at our Thanksgiving table so it was no surprise when several nurses from the hospital came to Thanksgiving dinner. The new nurse was among them because my mother would not leave anyone alone on Thanksgiving. Eventually the two became fast friends. It is amazing what you can do when you try.

Back in December, Reader's Digest ran an article by Joe Kita called "Hello, Everybody." Joe spent a month greeting every person he met to see what would happen. He says that friendliness is so rare these days, it's disarming. It's likely to be the same at work. Do you even greet all of your co-workers with a smile? Dr. Allan Allday, assistant professor of special education at Oklahoma State University reports that in one of the few studies ever done on the subject of greeting, middle school teachers were asked to greet their students individually each morning. "This brief interaction ultimately raised the kids' productivity by 27 percent. School went from impersonal to personal, he explains, and that resulted in more class participation and better grades." The same can happen in work situations. Managers who personally greet their employees are spending their time well.

Furthermore, Kita found from his month of experimenting, that respect begets respect. When you are thoughtful toward others, they are also thoughtful toward you. Adversarial rolls are transformed to tolerant ones and tolerant ones are transformed into loving ones.

So, essentially there are four things that you can do to help yourself be happier at work. The first is to choose to be happy. Develop that positive attitude and stick to it. Second, develop good relationships with other positive people and avoid negative people and negative thinking. (When it comes along send it packing!) Third, start each day fresh. Let go of everything that happened yesterday that may have been an irritant. Forgive and let go. It is the only way to find perfect peace. And fourth, begin to think of your work, not as a job that you have to do, but as a calling in which you serve others.

So what would happen if you tried it for a month; this treating every person as if they were Jesus? treating everyone with deep respect and compassion regardless of how you really feel about them and regardless of how they treat you? What would happen? And starting the day with a smile, a positive attitude and a simple greeting for those you meet, leaving everything in the past in the past; allowing all of that to rest in the arms of Christ. What would change in you and others? How much happier would you be? What do you think? Amem.