Fulfillment in professional life - working meaningfully

The search for happiness

The search for happiness in one’s career only really became an issue in the early 2000s.
Before the oil crisis, Germany was experiencing a growth boom. Advancement opportunities and salary were the most important factors in job searches.
In the early 80s, terms like self-actualization first became fashionable. However, this idea was also associated with men who knit quickly.
But even the yuppies of the 80s usually got the money for their designer clothes from their parents.
The oil crisis was the starting point of structural unemployment.
Reunification initially plunged many people into unemployment and insignificance.
In East Germany, free choice of job was only possible to a very limited extent.

More background information on Job satisfaction and professional happiness as well as ways to find the right role in the Career Advice.

Generation "Y"

It wasn't until around 2005 that the pursuit of professional fulfillment really became a topic. Terms like "agility" became fashionable, and suddenly Generation Y (Why?) entered the job market.
Only 10% of this generation still consider their career the most important thing in life. Almost 70% feel their private life is more important than their professional life.
But what is a successful and fulfilling life?

Those seeking guidance can use the Career choice check quickly gain an initial overview of strengths, interests, and suitable fields, or in the Business coaching work on leadership and self-management topics.

Happiness research encompasses various approaches, which, however, differ significantly from conventional market perceptions of happiness and contentment. While advertising promises us happiness through consumption, sociological studies reveal entirely different connections.

Money makes you happy...or does it?

Money makes you happy, that's true, but only up to a certain salary bracket.
However, only a few people in Germany reach a salary bracket where more money no longer results in an increase in individual happiness.
Married men are happier than single men. For women, however, there's no difference. It's not yet entirely clear whether being married is the cause of happiness for men, or whether happy men simply find a wife more easily.
Surveys show that people in the north are happier than in the rest of Germany.
In short: There are many sociological studies that suggest something about happiness, but no method for measuring happiness has yet been found that could confirm the survey results.
Finally, we don't know whether married men simply lie when asked to assess their individual happiness levels.

Those who want to improve their own situation in a structured way will find suitable approaches in Entrepreneurial coaching and in the career coaching.

Individual maturation process

Job dissatisfaction is often a sign of an individual's maturation process. What is my purpose in this world... and do I really want to do what I'm currently doing professionally for the rest of my life?
What is happiness in one's job? For many, it is being part of a team, doing meaningful work, and having a varied job that is neither too underwhelming nor too overwhelming.
New Agers say that happiness lies in self-realization; Buddhists say that the pursuit of happiness is the cause of all unhappiness; and biologists say it's all nonsense – happiness is a genetic predisposition.
And so it happens that many don't know what they want, but are certain they don't have it.

A good starting point is the Self-sabotage test – it reveals which unconscious beliefs are holding you back in your decisions. To clarify the next step, we recommend the Career Advice.

Lack and abundance

One of the most painful feelings in life is lack.
Most people will agree if, for example, you say that money or love is in short supply.
Scarcity is, first and foremost, a judgment. Some would say it's a feeling of "being in a state of scarcity".

Feelings, in turn, are relative. Or to put it another way: feelings are a consequence of inner values ​​or what we consider good or bad.
Abundance is therefore also a matter of judgment, dependent on our internal perspectives. More on this in our article on... Happiness, meaning and contentment.

position- Change

Many people, however, consider scarcity or abundance to be absolute values. They believe that if there were only enough of this or that, people would be fulfilled.
However, studies, e.g. with lottery winners, show that the feeling of abundance and being "fulfilled" only lasts a short time before the feeling of lack regains the upper hand.
In this sense, lack is a standpoint or perspective that one can adopt. Fulfillment is the same.
Im Business coaching and in the career coaching We work specifically on these viewpoints and on which values ​​contribute to a fulfilling life. Our format also offers inspiration. Sailing & Coaching.