{"id":94072,"date":"2023-02-27T15:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T19:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=94072"},"modified":"2026-01-22T14:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:49:36","slug":"how-to-make-work-more-enjoyable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-work-more-enjoyable\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Work More Enjoyable: 4 Effective Methods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the key to making work more enjoyable? How do you make a boring day fun at work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Buddha<\/a> and the Badass<\/em>, Vishen Lakhiani advises merging enlightenment and disruptiveness in the workplace. This is to turn work into an enjoyable and fulfilling pursuit for you and your employees, rather than a dreadful place to spend your day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out how to make work more enjoyable<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Develop a Mission and Rally Employees Behind It<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To learn how to make work more enjoyable, Lakhiani advises that you develop a mission to improve the world<\/a> that will keep employees motivated<\/strong>. People naturally need missions to fuel their efforts. Without a mission, they have no reason to care about what they\u2019re doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This mission should specifically be aimed at positively impacting others. Ask yourself how you can help humanity through what you\u2019re doing\u2014perhaps by providing affordable, sustainable clothing to people around the world. State your mission clearly so both applicants and consumers see what you stand for<\/a>. Lakhiani notes consumers also expect companies to develop social and political perspectives and to act on those perspectives, so stating your mission is important commercially, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Make Personal Growth a Top Company Priority<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lakhiani stresses that to make work so enjoyable and fulfilling that it feels like play, you must create a work environment that\u2019s completely geared toward helping employees grow as people<\/strong>. Humans only feel happy when they\u2019re improving themselves, so as a leader, make it your top priority to help them do this at work. Not only are your employees happier and more effective, but your business will reap the benefits of your employees\u2019 self-improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To encourage growth, let your team have their mornings to do what they want. This might be to invest in self-improvement projects, catch up on sleep, spend time with family, or go into work, if they choose. Lakhiani writes that at his company, meetings don\u2019t start until 11:30 a.m., and it doesn\u2019t matter to him when employees work, as long as they attend meetings and perform well. When employees have this time for themselves, they tend to be more engaged<\/a> when they do<\/em> work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: To help employees grow at work, you might have to first instill a growth mindset<\/a> in them. A growth mindset is the belief that you can improve your abilities<\/a>, and it\u2019s critical in order to achieve any long-term growth in life. In addition to giving your employees mornings to grow on their own, you can also create a growth work culture<\/a> that lets employees know you believe they have the capacity to improve. You can do this by being open to employees contradicting or challenging you. Doing this indicates you\u2019re OK with being wrong and learning from mistakes<\/a> and that employees can do this, too. A growth work culture also makes employees more committed and trusting, which compounds their happiness at improving.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ask Employees to State Their Life Goals, and Support These<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the same way you must stay true to your values<\/a> (which we discussed in the first part of this guide), you also want your employees to stay true to theirs so they can be their happiest and most effective selves<\/strong>, writes Lakhiani. To encourage your whole team to stick to their values, have them publicly write out three life goals: the experiences they want to have, the ways they\u2019d like to grow, and how they\u2019d like to give back to the world. Knowing this helps everyone at the company support each other in achieving those goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Being asked to openly share personal aspirations may seem like an overstep for some employees. Not everyone wants to bare their souls to co-workers. Lakhiani writes his advice based on his experience running his company Mindvalley, which has fostered a unique and intimate culture<\/a> where such sharing is the norm. But if your company doesn\u2019t have a highly open culture, making goal-setting exercises\u2014and workplace social events in general\u2014optional may be the best way to keep employees happy<\/a> and effective.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage Deep Personal Connections <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, encourage strong personal connections<\/a> between employees<\/strong>, writes Lakhiani. This is important to do because personal connection is an evolutionary necessity for all humans, and we\u2019re happier when we\u2019re surrounded by people we like and who care for us. Connectedness also makes us more capable and confident because we can be authentically ourselves and have the support of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To foster such connections, Lakhiani proposes making friendships at work<\/a> a priority. You can do this by hiring according to your values: People who share values are more likely to get along. You can also do this by hosting social events and initiating rituals\u2014like daily gratitude sessions\u2014during which employees can share intimately with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Decide How You Want Your Life to Look Like Based on Your Identity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The final step Lakhiani recommends concerns your personal<\/em> merging of enlightenment and disruption. He writes that to realize your ideal life<\/a> based on your identity, values, and purpose, you must disrupt how you think about yourself to establish new, constructive patterns of thought. He provides a three-step process for doing this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1:<\/strong> Describe your ideal day if you were exactly the person you wanted to be. Consider what you\u2019d do in the mornings, what you\u2019d look like, what your work would look like, who your friends are, and so on. Be as detailed as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2:<\/strong> Ask what sort of person you\u2019d have to become to live this ideal day. Reflect on four dimensions and secondary factors of this person: <\/p>\n\n\n\n