Why is it that people cant find happiness at work? Some people pursue their career for the money, hoping to have a better life, or one for their kids. Others do it because of what society tells them and their fear of judgment and poverty. Or because of what Stephanie Rosenbloom mentions in the reading, "hedonic adaption" (the phenomenon in which people become used to good or bad changes to maintain their level of happiness). If people could pursue what they love, maybe they could be happier at work.
If entertainment teaches us anything it's that money rules the world. Like Wu-Tang says, "cash rules everything around me", which is true. People are conditioned to think that happiness can only be achieved through material items and financial gain. So, people pursue a job as a lawyer, hating majoring in law, because in the end they'll be able to afford that big house in the hills. Not saying there's anything wrong with that, but will that big house really make them happy when they have to grudgingly go to a job they hate everyday to maintain that house?
Some people choose a profession they don't enjoy because of fear and what society (friends, teachers, family) tell them. So many times you hear about a kid who wants to be an artist or a musician being told by someone "oh, don't do that, you wont make any money! It's to competitive!". J.K. Rowling like many other kids was told the same thing. In her Harvard speech she mentions that her parents viewed her "over active imagination as an amusing personal quirk that will never pay the mortgage". Rowling though, took a chance other people are too scared to, she pursued what she thought she'd love. While at first she failed, in the end she became a wildly author.
People have trouble finding happiness at work because of their fear to do what they love. A fear of poverty and judgment from the people in their life causes them to go for what will make others happy or bring in the biggest buck. I was told so many times not to go for a career throughout the years. The classic, "oh, there's no jobs" or "there's too much math in that! Don't do that!". Recently I've decided to ignore peoples negative inputs and do what I think I'll enjoy the most, despite the amount of science in my major. Hopefully, I'll be like J.K. Rowling of veterinarian and becomes wildly successful. If people try to do what they love, they can be happy at work.
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