[aniham]

I don’t know that having a clear mission adds much to happiness at work unless it’s coupled with proper execution; otherwise it’s just a stream of frustrations. Also I’d imagine most blue collar jobs have pretty clearly stated missions, so to speak. Make people’s yards beautiful. Build beautiful houses.

Based on personal observations, I’d say the thing that makes the biggest difference in terms of work satisfaction/“happiness” is pride in your work. In the past few months alone I’ve had numerous delightful conversations with cafeteria workers about the food they are serving; and some with goodwill workers on the store layout they’ve helped plan and items they’ve curated. Contagious enthusiasm, definitely more than I experience in planning meetings and company all hands.