Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY
Watchtower
ONLINE LIBRARY
English
  • BIBLE
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • MEETINGS
  • g83 9/8 pp. 5-8
  • Can You Make Your Work More Pleasant?

No video available for this selection.

Sorry, there was an error loading the video.

  • Can You Make Your Work More Pleasant?
  • Awake!—1983
  • Subheadings
  • Similar Material
  • The Importance of Attitude
  • How to Increase Work Enjoyment
  • How to Enjoy Hard Work
    The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—2015
  • Enjoy Your Work
    How to Remain in God’s Love
  • Find Enjoyment for Your Hard Work
    “Keep Yourselves in God’s Love”
  • God’s Gift of Work for His Servants
    The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—1982
See More
Awake!—1983
g83 9/8 pp. 5-8

Can You Make Your Work More Pleasant?

“AT TIMES the stress is almost unbearable. Without an occasional shot of booze, I’d never make it,” said one worker. “The poor working conditions and old equipment are a constant source of irritation,” said another. Others say:

“I’ve had my fill of working with chronic complainers, some of whom are filthy-minded and filthy-mouthed to boot.”

“I’m just a housewife. It’s so dull. I feel so unfulfilled.”

“Racial discrimination is the main problem. Opportunities for promotion are few, and in slack periods we are the first ones to be let go.”

Do some of these complaints from discontented workers sound familiar? An individual’s ability to change these reasons for work dissatisfaction often is frustratingly limited. But one change is always possible​—a change in personal attitude.

The Importance of Attitude

It is unwise to pigeonhole types of work into superior and inferior, noble and ignoble, or prestigious and nonprestigious. Unless it is morally objectionable, all work is equally honorable and noble. In actual fact, however, most people do not view work in that way. Why?

Types of work are often judged as to relative importance on a monetary scale. But is the entertainer’s work, perhaps earning him well into six figures, really that much more important than the garbage collector’s work, which makes a direct contribution to public health? Is the loving care of a mother, who works for “nothing,” less important than the paid care provided for her child by a teacher at school? The U.S. study on Work in America concludes that no one is “worth a hundred times more than another merely because he is paid a hundred times as much.”

It is also unwise to judge work satisfaction on the basis of the prestige a certain type of work may seem to offer. What is important is accomplishment. To illustrate: An architect who has lost his knack for designing has less immediate reason for satisfaction, despite possible prestige, than does the janitor who succeeds in keeping his building spotless. Work should be seen within the framework of what it accomplishes for others, not just in the light of what it does for us in the way of salary or prestige. Learning to recognize this will increase our work contentment in harmony with the Bible principle that “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”​—Acts 20:35.

How to Increase Work Enjoyment

Strive for quality. Good work habits include setting goals of performance and then striving to reach them. But a word of caution: Goals should be practical and attainable. Otherwise, failure to achieve them will lead to discouragement and greater dissatisfaction. Be determined to give your best, but do not expect perfection.

Young people can lay a foundation for doing high-quality work by getting a good education. This does not mean going to college. Rather, mastering the arts of reading, studying and learning will enable them to develop new skills later in life and to improve upon the ones they have already acquired. Remember, the better our work, the greater the benefits for ourselves and others. So keep up to date with new developments in your field of work and adopt them if possible and when feasible.

Be conscientious. Work done well and completed on time promotes the satisfying feeling of accomplishment and is reason for unpretentious pride. It is also a blessing to others. On the other hand, work done in a negligent way can cost us our self-esteem, while costing others frayed nerves or possibly worse. For example, think of the potential damage that mechanics, doctors or nurses can do if they are negligent at their work!

Avoid getting into a rut. With time, everyone develops a certain pattern of doing things. To prevent this from deteriorating into a dull routine, some have found it helpful to change their work pattern from time to time. Perhaps the order in which certain tasks are performed can be changed. After all, there is no law that says Monday must be wash day, is there? Or must certain factory chores always be done in the same order?

Of course, not everyone can make big changes in his work pattern. But many an office worker has found that simply moving his desk to a new position has given him a new start and has added freshness to his work. Have those housewives with the reputation of being constant furniture movers discovered the same thing?

Keep physically fit. This is a must if you are to enjoy your work. Get enough sleep at night. Spend your weekends in such a way that you will not end up doing substandard work on a Blue Monday. That always-tired feeling can turn you into a clock-watcher or an I-can’t-wait-until-the-weekend worker. Why, then you may feel like nothing more than an inmate serving time in a prison!

Contribute to a cheerful atmosphere. Keep your own working space, as well as the lavatories and washrooms, as clean and neat as possible. You might be permitted to cheer things up with a potted plant or a tasteful picture. By trying to improve the environment, your example may catch on and give management the necessary push to make other desirable changes.

Be pleasant and friendly. Doubtless you would not want to join your workmates in questionable practices, but you can still follow the Scriptural counsel: “If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men.” (Romans 12:18) Do not allow differences of opinion or personality clashes to disrupt the work flow. Avoid confrontations. Above all, do not allow the discontentment of others to rub off on you. Keep a positive spirit. Why should you be miserable just because others may be?

Keep the mind alert. So-called dull jobs are generally those that require little or no mental effort. If your work is in this category, then it may be a real challenge to keep your mind active. Try meditating on previously learned material. Of course, this is no encouragement to daydream on the job or to create hazards by thinking about other things while doing work that requires concentration. But for work that does not fully occupy the mind, keep it alert by giving it something to do.

Persevere! Do not allow problems that may arise at work to rob you of your contentment. Either solve them or learn to live with them. Apply the Scriptural principle: “Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.”​—Romans 12:21.

Be balanced. Hard work is a good thing. But too much of a good thing does not automatically make it better. Persons to whom work is everything (more important than friends or family) are called workaholics. They lack balance. Although their extremely heavy work schedule may make them happy, it seldom makes those who must work or live with them happy.

A workaholic should not be deceived into thinking he is being driven by sheer love for work. The underlying cause may very well be a feeling of insecurity or a spirit of ambition, even greed. It may be a vain “striving after the wind” that can lead to serious personal problems and even to an early grave. The Bible’s counsel is to “do hard work,” but workaholics ignore its statement that “better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind.” Work can only be enjoyed to the full when it is kept in proper balance with other activities.​—Ecclesiastes 4:6; Ephesians 4:28.

By doing some of the things just mentioned, you may make your work more pleasant. But, besides that, did you know that work can prolong your life?

[Picture on page 5]

For work satisfaction, accomplishment is important

[Picture on page 6]

Conscientious work brings happiness

[Picture on page 7]

A cheerful atmosphere can make work pleasant

    English Publications (1950-2026)
    Log Out
    Log In
    • English
    • Share
    • Preferences
    • Copyright © 2025 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Settings
    • JW.ORG
    • Log In
    Share