The Pursuit of Job Happiness

I'm a good parent, I swear!

Despite rumours to the contrary - and my blog from a few weeks ago - I'm actually a good parent. Seriously.

Sure, I have plenty of limitations and social challenges, but my heart is in the right place. I'll admit to having a few of my own unfulfilled ambitions that now rest squarely on the shoulders of my blissfully ignorant children - captain of industry; pop artist; sports star. But apart from that, all I really care about is that they are happy.

Career choices and being argumentative

As parents, there's a lot we can do for our kids - feed them; set boundaries; cover them in love; pay for Mandarin lessons - but can we help them find happiness? The short answer is 'no'. Everyone has got to work it out on their own, unfortunately.

There is, though, some stuff we can do as parents to help them along the way. A big part of it is the career they choose. When it comes to careers, I'm convinced my school and my own parents got it horribly wrong. I ended up a city lawyer. A miserable existence and one I was completely unsuitable for. What were they thinking? (Pause). Were they thinking? Or was passing A-Levels and being good at arguing the only pre-requisites they considered?

Anyway, I'm not bitter, but as my older children enter secondary school, I'm determined not to make the same mistakes. I've decided they will find careers that are fulfilling and rewarding. You have a lot better chance of finding happiness if you enjoy what you do for 50 hours every week.

The science of job happiness

So far so good. The theory is pretty easy, right? And I even found a bit of science to put behind it. Basically, there are 3 things that determine how satisfying a job is:

1. Quality of life - throw things like flexibility, money and enjoyment in here.
2. Skillset - a job is far more likely to be satisfying if it uses your particular skills.
3. Purpose - if you know why you are doing what you are doing, it can bring everything to life.

Trying to put this three-pronged matrix over the kind of jobs that ambitious fresh-faced graduates head off to, is pretty difficult. It won't stop me trying though. 

If they would just tick the pop-artist/sports star box instead, maybe we would all be a lot happier!

Ben Black