Day jobs of choice can be a dream of a lot of people and kudos to them! But sometimes, I am concerned about those who are not entirely happy with their day jobs and still stick to it because of the pay cheque they get at the end of the month. What opportunities are they giving themselves to be happy? This is not a rhetorical question, but a genuine attempt to analyse ‘Work Happiness’.

Everyone wants to be Happy. Let us assume that Work is the only factor responsible for Happiness. This is a mere assumption and it cannot be further away from reality. But since we spend almost 50% of our awake time at work every single day, there’s no harm in assuming that ‘Work Happiness’ is an important component of overall Happiness.

So my theory is – Work Happiness is a weighted average of Work Satisfaction (50%) and the Money you would like to make working (50%). So, if you are currently making 100% of the money you would like to make and you are only 80% satisfied with your job, your happiness index is (100 + 80) / 2 = 90%. Obviously, this index keeps changing at any given point of time in an individual’s life.

Now with the same assumption, if you average out the individual’s Happiness Index at different stages of life, and plot graphs of ‘People who do a job to make money’ VS ‘People who do a job they love’, this what you get.

——————————————————–


PEOPLE WHO DO A JOB TO MAKE MONEY
 
Explanation of the graph – This graph is generalised assuming that an individual keeps working only for money, he will eventually find a way to go as close to the money he expects to make. But throughout this journey, the satisfaction level, at best, remains mediocre.
 
Best case – Satisfaction Index = 60%
——————————————————–
PEOPLE WHO DO A JOB THEY LOVE
Explanation of the graph – This is a conservative graph assuming that the satisfaction level of a person keeps rising steadily as the person keeps doing the job he loves. While this happens, there is also a good chance that such people strike gold every now and then, because of the exception skills they acquire over time.Conservative case – Satisfaction Index = 69%

——————————————————–

I am not trying to suggest you to quit your job today and start doing a job you love. But try to spend more time in finding what you love and you may eventually take your Happiness Index in the higher 90s.

As far as my situation goes, my Happiness Index as of Mid 2017 is 65% (90% Job Satisfaction, 40% Expected Money). What is your Happiness Index?