Career satisfaction: Do you love your work?

Whether you run your own business or work for someone else, I believe it’s unrealistic to think you can truly ‘love’ your job.

I think it’s helpful to differentiate lovers from likers. Consider the following:

• If you had money to spare, would you still do everything on your to-do list? Would you run your business the same way or make major changes? Would you stay in your current job?
• Do you hang out for the weekend to finish so you can get cracking on Monday morning?
• Do you dread holidays because it’s a week away from work?

You might love drawing, writing, building, selling, coaching, presenting, designing, advising or balancing the books, but being paid to do lots of it dilutes the pleasure, I think.

Want more articles like this? Check out the choosing a career section.

I don’t mean to get all negative, but perhaps all this talk of loving your work is setting us up for disappointment and expectations that can’t be met.

I’m all for liking your job, enjoying your business or getting great career satisfaction, but true love is just a step too far for me.

My love and passion for business comes from where I’m going, not so much what I’m doing. I love the idea of growing a business and creating a lifestyle I love. I love the freedom, flexibility and family time you can often get from being your own boss.

But it’s the outcomes I love, not so much the activity.

It’s the baby I love, not the birth, as my wife would say.

Can we really expect to love our work? Or are we just in love with where our work can take us? Tell us what you think about the importance of career satisfaction.