Want to be happier in your career? Stop caring about your job.
At some point during your career, you’ll almost certainly listen to a demoralized coworker complain about their job. They’ll lament the extra effort they put in, the lack of recognition from the higher-ups, and how pointless and inefficient the policies are. When this happens, I hope you respond by validating their feelings, and being empathetic and supportive. And then I hope you give them one single piece of advice:
Stop caring about your job.
Which isn’t to say “stop caring about your work.” You should care about the work that you do. You should take pride in doing good work that is useful, ethical, and professional. But that’s your work, not your job.
Your job is a transaction.
Your employer needs work done, which you are capable of doing. You do that work for them, and they compensate you for it. That is the entire relationship. Forget the mission statement. Ignore the CEO’s talk about how “our people believe in our product.” Stop trying to believe that “this place is like one big family.” You are being paid for the value that you provide, and that’s all, and that is okay.
