Being Happy in a job: Video Blog Series

by Alok Kumar · Published August 4, 2014 · Updated August 4, 2014

Many have asked me, how can they be happier in their jobs? I know most of them.

They were very happy and satisfied when they started their job, but over a period of time, this satisfaction and happiness gave way to fatigue, boredom and unhappiness in the job.

“In reality, people wish and desire to be more than what they have and get more than what they deserve“

This is nothing new. The entire professional world struggles with this issue and the easiest outcome of this fatigue is a change in the job. It is easy to find a job which can give you a better salary, satisfaction and probably better satisfaction through an upgraded designation and lifestyle.

This cycle continues ,till the person in question hits the glass ceiling and then,small packets of unhappiness which triggered his job change in the first place become bigger.

the first question I would ask myself would be; Why would someone hit that point of frustration?

In reality, people wish and desire to be more than what they have and get more than what they deserve. This is the reason why it is called a wish and desire. However few actually try hard to find the gap in their wish and their capability and even fewer take the next step to fill this gap.

Those, who can fill this gap between their desire and their capability, are sure to be in right job. This job in that case becomes their career. A basic difference between job and career is only about the fact that you do a job which can be for a short time while a career is what you get characterized with for a long time.

In a job, you get some work to do, get paid for it and might have satisfaction with designation and cabin size better than the previous. However, if you continue with the same job doing the same for long, fatigue and unhappiness is almost obvious unless the ecosystem itself is in danger and there are no jobs. Meanwhile, in a career, a person ends up learning, keeps moving up the skill ladder and growing in that profession. The passion in work leads them to learn and grow along with money. Unlike job, career’s prime objective is not making money, but doing what you like the most and end up earning money and respect.

It is important for all of us to understand the difference between ‘JOB’ and ‘CAREER’ before we can embark on the journey of being happy in our jobs. Once we know the difference, match your dreams and capabilities and start working to fill the gap. This cycle continues as you move up the ladder of your career and a ‘Happy Job’.

Alok Kumar

Alok Kumar is Managing Partner of SRKay Consulting group, a private equity company, nurturing innovative ventures. Alok also serves on the board of ICCL (Indian Clearing Corporation Limited - A subsidiary of BSE- Bombay Stock Exchange) as an external advisor for technology and information security. Prior to this, Alok had been Managing Director of Sears IT & Management Services India Private Limited (SHI) since its inception in December 2009 and served in the same position till very recently. Having been in senior IT management positions in Fortune 500 companies, Alok has won several national and international awards. Alok is instrumental in planning and setting up SHI and thereafter growing it to a multi-locational thousand-plus people organization. Over the last five years, with his strategic vision, Alok helped SHI grow roots in India, develop and support technology applications and infrastructure across core mainframe, cutting edge e-Commerce and big data technologies. With his unique people-oriented transformational leadership style, Alok turned SHI into one of the most valued investments of Sears, garnering great ROIs, and creating value much beyond cost arbitrage. Under his tutelage, SHI has filed two patents and is recognized widely for its best practices in various areas, the latter, currently featured in Indian Institute of Management (IIM) case studies. SHI also became a CMMI Level 3, PCMM Level 3, and ISO 20000 certified organization. Alok is a widely acclaimed corporate leader in India today. He regularly participates and leads various forums as a keynote speaker and is an author of several books in different genres. Alok has several awards to his credit. He is particularly known in the industry for his people management skills and innovative ideas in improving the productivity of employees through unique people practices. He has been credited with the following industry awards: ¬ Emerging Leader of the Year award 2013 by IndiasGreatest.com ¬ Game Changer CEO of the Year 2013 (SHRM) ¬ CIO 100 - The Bold CIOs - 2008 (Reliance Infosolutions) ¬ CIO - Ones to Watch Award 2008 (Reliance Industries) ¬ Extended Manager Award - CIOL 2004 (Tata Teleservices) As an able leader of SHI, Alok got SHI recognized widely in the industry with the following several awards: ¬ CII Award for HR Best Practices in 2014 ¬ Global Excellence in Outsourcing Award - AIOP (Phoenix 2013) ¬ IT Innovation Award (Design & Engineering) - Computer Society of India 2012 ¬ Golden Company of the Year - Economic Times 2011-12 ¬ 7th Employer Branding Awards - World HRD Congress (Mumbai, India) 2013: • ‘Asia’s Best Employer’ Award • ‘Best HR Strategy’ in line with business • HR Leadership Award • Talent Management Award by Bloomberg TV India ¬ Employer Branding Awards - World HRD Congress (Singapore, Asia) 2013: • 7th rank in ‘Asia’s Best Employer’ award • Award for ‘Best HR Strategy’ in line with the business • HR Leadership Award Other recognitions: Alok had served on the distinguished panel of NASSCOM's GIC (Global In-house Centers) National Council members. The council members play a key role in major initiatives of the industry and include the torch bearers of IT industry as panel members. Books and Papers: Alok is an established author, with three books to his credit. Alok’s third and latest book, a novel, “The Spy from Unaula” is a 2015 publication. A handwriting analysis enthusiast, Alok collaborated with his wife Nandani on the book, “Handwriting Speaks” in 2006. “Value Sourcing – Future of IT Outsourcing” was co-authored with Keith Sherwell (currently CIO, Altice USA) and was released in 2013. Alok also researched and published two whitepapers: a. “Creating next generation captives” talks about the best practices that are helping generate higher value from the IT company captives.