Stephen Monrad

Work makes up a big chunk of most people’s days. If people don’t like their jobs, it is a major drag on their emotional well-being.

Even if liking work doesn’t increase productivity, I believe it is worthwhile to try to find ways to make people feel better about the work they do. While it may take some thinking to find ways to enjoy work, the breadth of things that people do in their spare time for fun shows that people can enjoy practically any activity. Some people voluntarily ice-fish; tedium in an uncomfortable environment can be fun. Other people run marathons; strenuous activity for extended periods of time is okay. Yet others play chess; tackling tough problems for hours at a time is fun for some.

I bet that almost any activity that people grumble about at work has an analogous hobby that is very similar that people do voluntarily. The problem is to set up the work activities in a way that makes them enjoyable.