John Fischer's Philadelphia
Vol. 1 - Number 30 - 08/04/99
Several years ago when I first began working for The Mining Company, now called About.com, I was the Guide to Hawaiian Culture.
In the course of my study of Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures, I heard about a book written by Dr. Paul Piersall entitled The Pleasure Prescription. The book is one man's effort to show that many of the principles and practices of ancient Polynesian cultures can greatly benefit us both physically and mentally when applied to our modern over-stressed western lives
Dr. Pearsall believes that "we need to counteract our 'delight deficiency' and 'toxic stress syndrome' with some balanced, healthy pleasure. We need a prescription to slow down, rediscover the joy in living and reconnect to people."
While Dr. Pearsall's book looks at all aspects of our lives, one of his more interesting chapters is entitled "Laboring with Love: Healthy Balance in the Workplace."
I have been lucky to have traveled extensively in my life and observe such diverse people and places ranging from the islands of Hawaii, to the deserts of the Southwest, to the rocky shores of Maine and many islands in the Caribbean. I can say, that nowhere have I observed people with such levels of stress as are seen in the Boston to Washington east coast corridor. For many people, work is the principal cause of their stress and of many serious health problems.
In order to assess your happiness with work, Dr. Pearsall developed a "pleasurable work test". Before we continue, please take a minute and click on this link to The Pleasurable Work Test. When your done, come back and read on.
My guess, is like most Americans and especially residents of the Northeast, you probably did not score very well. Historically, Polynesian people score very well in these types of tests. They have learned to live a life of aloha, but that's a story for another day. Everything is not lost, however. Dr. Pearsall offers five suggestions to help boost your pleasurable work score.
1. Work to Live, but Never Live to Work
We've all heard that before but it's true! When your job becomes the sole purpose of your life, it is only a matter of time before your life will have no purpose. When you find that your job is on your mind almost all the time, then you know that you are working at losing your mind. When you live to work, every aspect of your life becomes work.
2. Your Job Isn't Yours, It Is Ours
Claiming or believing that every task is yours alone will only lead to very high responsibility with very little control. Collaborative working is the most joyful working. The Polynesians do not believe that man is born to work (or live) alone. Never underestimate your need for people and their need for you. A Hawaiian elder said, "Never think you are your job or that your job is yours. You are just filling a role much like and actor takes on a role in a play. Others have done it and will do it."
3. Don't Work at Your Job, Enjoy Your Job's Purpose
To be happy and healthy at work, remember the reasons you are working and try to make one of those reasons ecological. This is a difficult concept to explain. By ecological Dr. Pearsall is referring to the overall human impact of what you do. Let me quote Dr. Pearsall:
"Researchers have identified something called the Black Monday Phenomenon. More fatal heart attacks occur on Monday morning at around 9:00 a.m. than at any other time of the week. No other living creature dies on one day more than another, but we humans seem unhappy enough with our work that it literally breaks our heart. Research shows that sudden death occurs at the beginning of the work week not only because of the extra physical exertion that comes from the stress of transitioning from the weekend couch to the Monday rush hour but because of the emotional distress of returning to a job that brings and gives too little happiness.
To reduce the Black Monday factor in your life, sit down every Monday morning before leaving for work and remember why you are working...Who is ultimately helped by what I do, and how does what I do help them?"
4. Define Your Work and Describe It To Yourself
and Others by Its Purpose, Not Its Task
When someone asks what you do for a living, answer in terms of the ultimate purpose of your working and not your specific job description. Keep in mind the value and the higher purpose of what you do.
5. Work Gently, Not Hard
If you find that you are working hard at your job, what is probably happening is that your job is working equally at hard on you. How many of you have your own "work stress pharmacy" at your desks filled with Tylenol for headaches, antacids for stomach problems? Isn't your body telling you something about how you are approaching your work? Working too hard and too fast often results in more inefficiency and more more mistakes than by listening to your body and working at a level that your body tells you is more appropriate.
So, what's the answer here? Should we all go to work today and quit our jobs? As pleasant a concept that might be from time to time, it certainly is not a realistic approach. Most people have specific job qualifications and if you believe that things are better at another company in the same line of business, you're probably wrong in most cases. Our jobs really do not create our stress. We create our stress by how we deal with our jobs and in more cases how we do not properly deal with our jobs.
So, as hard as it may seem at time, don't be afraid to smile and to laugh even when things seem intolerable. Pick a co-worker and tell them how much they mean to you and how much they make your days bearable. When your work favorably impacts someone, focus more on the good that you have done rather than on what it means to your career.
Well, that's my spin on things. Let's hear yours. Drop me an e-mail and let me hear what you think. You can also join me in our chat room almost every evening - Philly Chat.
If you missed any of our recent columns you can still catch them:
John Fischer's
Philadelphia 07/26/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 07/28/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 07/30/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 08/02/99
