Whenever I get into a conversation with someone about their job or career, and the level of satisfaction (usually it’s dissatisfaction) they get from it, I always remember the story of the Hospital Janitors. 

Basically, a Professor from Yale University and her colleagues set out to do some research on the topic of meaningful employment.

She decided to pick a group to study that traditionally had a mixture of low skills and low pay so she focused in on the cleaning crew at a local hospital (28 people I believe).

She wanted to see if people in the same job position, with the same duties and same pay rate viewed their employment differently.

What she found was not only very interesting, but it can teach us a lot about how we design (or redesign) our careers.

THE JANITOR STUDY

When she studied the janitors she noticed how differently they described and performed their duties.

After much observation, the researchers were able to split them into 2 groups.

The janitors in the first group fulfilled their job responsibilities but nothing more. They described their work as “not particularly satisfying” and didn’t do much more than just the basics. They clocked in and clocked out and it was obvious that they were there just for the paycheck.

The second group was different. Much different.

They described their work as “highly meaningful” and went on to describe aspects of their job that weren’t a part of their formal job description. Things like spending time and getting to know patients, walking visitors to their car, understanding patient allergies related to cleaning products, etc.

The researchers realized there was a fundamental difference between the way those two sets of employees approached their work.

But what was it?

I will save you the suspense and cut right to it.

The janitors in the first group viewed what they did as a “job”.

The second group of janitors viewed what they do as a “calling”.

What’s the difference? I knew you were going to ask.

The Difference Between a Job, Career, and Calling

Job –  This is usually the boring-as-shit-I-want-to-shoot-myself type of situations you find yourself in where all you do is surf Facebook or watch porn as the seconds slowly melt off of the clock. You do it just to pay the bills. Nothing more. Nothing less. It’s a “means to an end” but you really don’t give a shit about the work you do, the people you work with or the clients/customers who you are there to help. If you never did it again you really wouldn’t mind and it’s the last thing you want to think about when you get home at night or during your alcohol-infused weekends. The janitors in the first group fit right in.

Career – you are focused on the dollars, “success” or climbing the B.S. corporate ladder that you think will lead you to lead you to the glory land. Promotions, pay raises, and looking like Mr. Big Shit in front of your neighbor, the dickhead dentist, are the things you are striving for. But little do you realize that the Senior VP, whose position you are just dying to have, actually hates his job and wants to blow his brains out because of the unfathomable amount of bullshit that he has to deal with at his level (that totally isn’t worth $171k a year BTW).  Oh, and you probably don’t really like what you do (or maybe you do…a little) but it’s a good paying job so what else would you do anyway?

Calling – this is the shit that makes you jump out of the bed in the morning and keeps you awake at night because it’s so damn exciting! This is the work that is an integral part of your life and identity. You find tremendous value and meaning in what you do and don’t give a shit if others don’t.  You find your work more meaningful than the people with a “job” or just a “career” because this type of work is your jam—a form of self-expression and personal fulfillment that FIRES YOU UP. And you will make adjustments or modifications to it to make it even more fulfilling. You are the one that says “I love this shit so much that I would do it for free” (not the best idea but you probably feel this way) The janitors in second group go here wouldn’t you say?

**Note** – these 3 categories are not exclusive. You may have a “calling” and want “career” success (probably without the need to impress the dickhead neighbor). You may also have a “career” that feels more like the “job” description. But a “job” and a “calling” are opposite ends of the spectrum and could never overlap.

THE POWER OF JOB CRAFTING

So why did the cleaning crew members in the second group find so much more meaning in their work?

Remember…same job, same duties and same pay.

The key to having more meaning at work was the way the janitors viewed and crafted their job and it made all the difference.

The second group viewed their work as more of a “calling” than just a “job”.

These employees found purpose in what they did, changed their perception of their role at work and crafted ways to make it even more fulfilling by adding extra tasks, duties, and responsibilities to their day that were not related to their job description.

This was their “jam”— the shit that they cared deeply about and FIRED THEM UP.

HOW WE CAN USE JOB CRAFTING TO DESIGN BETTER WORK

So how can we use what we learned from this study to our own advantage?

Well, the first thing to realize is that oftentimes you can find more meaning in your “job” if you just make it a point to look around for it.

Ask yourself this…“What can I do to the job I have right now to make that work more meaningful to me?”.

What comes to mind? What would you do? How would you do it?

Instead of leaving it to chance, by waiting for your boss or manager to assign you a project that means something to you, take the initiative to find and do it yourself.

This type of intentional thought about what is meaningful for you and the follow-up action plan is called Job Crafting.

And it’s exactly what the Janitors in the second group did…intentionally or not. 

Job crafting is defined as ”the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in the task or relational boundaries of their work’‘ (Wrzesniewski & Dutton,. 2001)

Put a different way, it is how an employee reframes their work, physically, socially and cognitively.

It is “…what employees do to redesign their own jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving” (Berg, Wrzesniewski, & Dutton, 2010). 

This is powerful stuff!

So instead of looking to jump ship, Job Crafting can (and maybe should) be the first step to take (especially when you are in a “job” that really sucks) when you find yourself unfulfilled at work. 

I mean what do you have to lose?

The best outcome is that you find more meaning in your current job. You stay put and now work even harder and happier than you ever thought possible. WIN.

The second outcome is that you find that there can be more meaning in your job, but that you can find more of it doing it somewhere else. WIN.

The third outcome is that you find no significant meaning in the job you have, so you realize it’s time to move on to something else. WIN.

Any of the three outcomes get you unstuck and on your way to more meaningful work!