5 Things to Be Thankful For at Your Job Every Day

Sometimes we get so caught up in what’s going wrong at work, we forget to be thankful for what’s good about our jobs. Ironically, reflecting on what we have to be grateful for can relieve some of the stress that makes us focus on the negativity in the first place.

While every person’s experience is different, there are certain fundamentals that apply across the board. Even the seemingly worst jobs in the world have some positive qualities. So even if you have to dig really deep, we're confident you can be thankful for these five things:

1. You’re Employed

Around 6.8 million Americans are unemployed (meaning that they are actively looking for work and cannot find it)—you should definitely be thankful you have a job. Just think how you would feel if you woke up this morning and knew that once again, you had to go out and pound the proverbial pavement. Not only is looking for a job an agonizing experience for most people, but when you don’t know where your next paycheck is coming from, it can be downright terrifying. So take a moment each day to be thankful that you’re employed, and you can spend your day making money instead of desperately trying to find it. Job hunting is a thankless, unpaid line of business, and if you are lucky enough to not be on the prowl, celebrate it.    

2. You Were Hired

The fact that your boss chose you as an employee means you possess special qualities and skills. Whether those assets are adequately valued by others at your job depends on who you are and where you work. We all get frustrated at times and feel like we’re underappreciated. But one thing that can never change is your knowledge that you have what it takes to do the job you were hired to do—and to do it well. Otherwise, you would have been a rejected candidate, not a gainfully employed member of the team.

3.  You’re Working in the Modern Age

There was a time not that long ago when choices of occupation were quite minimal; especially for women. If you weren’t doing hard manual labor, you were in a stuffy office with no air conditioning, or on your feet all day with no memory foam in your shoes. Not only that, but there were no labor laws, no parking garages and no Keurigs. In the past, workers had very few rights, and got no respect. So, no matter what your job is today, chances are you're far more comfortable, and treated much better than you would have been in the past. While it may not seem like much considering how envious you’ve been of your boss’ corner office these last few years, when you really stop to think about it, you’ve got it made here in the 21st century.

4. You’re Getting Paid

There are people who say they would keep their job even if they won the lottery. That may be true, but paradoxically, there are not too many people who would be willing to work for free. Simply put, we don’t always work because we need the money, but we usually need money to motivate us to work. Whether we want to admit it or not, our paycheck is a large part of what gives our work purpose. And no matter how big or small that paycheck is, we should all be thankful that we’ve got it. With the alternative being having no paycheck at all, appreciating a steady income seems like a no-brainer.  

5. You Have Free Will

Your job may not be perfect. In fact, your job may be virtually unbearable. But that's the beauty of being a free, adult American. You can do something about it. You can look for a new job (although see item one on this list if you’re thinking about quitting before you find a new one). If you’re not interested in finding alternative employment, but simply want things to be better at your current position, you have the freedom to make that happen as well. If you can’t stand the tension in the office, you can lighten things up by inviting everyone to a party where they can develop rapport and put their differences aside. If you don’t feel challenged enough at work, you can tell your boss you're ready and willing to take on new responsibilities. And sometimes, making things better at work is just a matter of changing your attitude. You might find that if you take time to focus on what you are thankful for rather than what you don’t like, going to work will become a much more pleasant experience.

If you work in an environment where you feel valued and appreciated, where you feel challenged and excited to go to work every day, and you get paid a boatload of money to boot, then no one has to tell you what you have to be thankful for. However, if you work somewhere in which some, or all of these things, seem more like fantasies than realities, you could definitely benefit from an infusion of basic gratitude. Our list of what you can be thankful for may seem basic on the surface, but sometimes it's the most simple gifts that make us realize just how lucky we really are.