5 reasons to love your job

Twenty dental professionals were asked, “What do you love about your job?” It was amazing to see the initial reluctance to spontaneously answer the question. But, I think they were caught off guard. Look at their responses and think about which ones reflect how you feel about where you work.

1. “I love my boss!” If you’re blessed to feel this way, then you’re quite fortunate. I’ve had bosses who have been compassionate when family emergencies have arisen. They held my hand, added me to their prayers and gave me as much time off as needed to grieve. This isn’t just about a death in the family; it might have been about a divorce or a mental health issue for a child. Compassion and treating staff like family is really what impacts whether I like my boss or not. Do you have a boss who encourages you to grow professionally? To try new things? To attend conferences or go back to school? Does your boss look at you not as a moneymaker but as a professional with a tremendous capacity to benefit the patients and the practice? If so, you’re very, very fortunate.

2. “My commute is reasonable.” Depending where you live, commuting to work can add tremendous constraints to your day. Ideally, it would be great if your commute is 15 minutes or less. (We should all be so lucky.) Some of us are blessed to be close and not have to sit in a parking lot on the freeway to get to and from work. An added bonus is having the gym around the corner from the job or a daycare nearby so that I can see my daughter as much as possible. My time is more precious than the paycheck. Being able to keep my sanity and get things done while taking care of my business really is important to me.

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3. “I’m respected by my patients.” Respect is very important in health care. Being treated as the professional who you are really makes all the difference in the world. If you have patients who are on time and friendly, who ask questions, and who are appreciative of your knowledge and expertise, it’s a really good feeling. Respect may be something earned, but often it’s a given unless you lose it.

4. “I love my work family.” Being part of a team makes all the difference in the world for me to be happy. I love having colleagues who pitch in and help me out when we’re running late. My peeps stay and help clean up so that we can ALL get out of there at a decent hour. This is why I call them my family. We care about each other and work hard to laugh and support each other both personally and professionally. We’re together so many hours that it’s critical we work well together. In fact, we’re all a part of the hiring process with group interviewing candidates for open positions. I love being a part of the decision making. (Does it get better than that?)

5. “What a beautiful office to work in!” When I was in school, I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn’t work in a place that was depressing, dreary and might have cockroaches crawling around. Fortunately, living in a big city, I’ve found many beautiful offices to work in. It really makes a difference to go work some place that’s modern, clean, new, or renovated, state-of-the-art, spaceous and beautiful. I know all of that costs money, but for me, it was a requirement for the perfect job.

What do you think? Do you love your job? Email me at diana2@discussdirectives.com and tell me about where you work. Do you like your boss? Your co-workers? Is the location a drain on your time and resources? Do you dread going into work, or do you look forward to seeing your work family? There are many things we can do to have control over where we work and how happy we are. Think about what makes you happy, and then do something about it.