Asked what job they would take if they could have any, people unleash their imaginations and dream of exotic places, powerful positions or work that involves alcohol and a paycheck at the same time.

Or so you'd think.

None of that appeals to Lori Miller who, as a lead word processor, has to do things that don't seem so dreamy, including proofreading, spell checking and formatting. But she loves it.

'I like and respect nearly all my co-workers, and most of them feel the same way about me,' she says. 'Just a few things would make it a little better,' she says, including a shorter commute and the return of some great people who used to work there. And one more thing: She'd appreciate if everyone would put their dishes in the dishwasher.

It's not a lot to ask for and, it turns out, a surprising number of people dreaming up their dream job don't ask for much. One could attribute it to lack of imagination, setting the bar low or 'anchoring,' the term referring to the place people start and never move far from. One could chalk it up to rationalizing your plight.

But maybe people simply like what they do and aren't, as some management would have you believe, asking for too much -- just the elimination of a small but disproportionately powerful amount of office inanity.

That may be one reason why two-thirds of Americans would take the same job again 'without hesitation' and why 90% of Americans are at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs, according to a Gallup Poll.

The matters that routinely rank high on a satisfaction scale don't relate to money but 'work as a means for demonstrating some sort of responsibility and achievement,' says Barry Staw, professor of leadership and communication at University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. 'Pay -- even when it's important, it's not for what you can buy, it's a validation of your work and approval.'

So, money doesn't interest Elizabeth Gray as much as a level playing field. 'I like what I do,' says the city project manager who once witnessed former colleagues award a contractor, paid for work he never completed, with the title of 'Contractor of the Year.'

Thus: 'My dream job would be one free of politics,' she says. 'All advancement would be based on merit. The people who really did the work would be the ones who received the credit.'

Frank Gastner has a similar ideal: 'VP in charge of destroying inane policies.' Over the years, he's had to hassle with the simplest of design flaws that would cost virtually nothing to fix were it not for the bureaucracies that entrenched them. So, the retired manufacturer's representative says he would address product and process problems with the attitude, 'It's not right; let's fix it now without a committee meeting.'

Monique Huston actually has her dream job -- and many tell her it's theirs, too. She's general manager of a pub in Omaha, the Dundee Dell, which boasts 650 single-malt scotches on its menu. She visits bars, country clubs, people's homes and Scotland for whiskey tastings. 'I stumbled on my passion in life,' she says.

Still, some nights she doesn't feel like drinking -- or smiling. 'Your face hurts,' she complains. And when you have your dream job you wonder what in the world you'll do next.

One of the big appeals of a dream job is dreaming about it. Last year, George Reinhart saw an ad for a managing director of the privately owned island of Mustique in the West Indies.

He was lured by the salary ($1 million) and a climate that beat the one enjoyed by his Boston suburb. A documentary he saw about Mustique chronicled the posh playground for the likes of Mick Jagger and Princess Margaret. He reread Herman Wouk's 'Don't Stop the Carnival,' about a publicity agent who leaves his New York job and buys an island hotel. In April of last year, he applied for the job.

He heard nothing. So last May, he wrote another letter: 'I wanted to thank you for providing the impetus for so much thought and fun.' He didn't get the job but, he says, he takes comfort that the job hasn't been filled. 'So, I can still dream,' he adds.

I told him the job had been filled by someone -- but only after he said, 'I need to know, because then I can begin to dream of his failure.'

當問到這樣一個問題：如果所有工作任你選，你會選擇做什么？人們會發揮出天馬行空的想象力，或是夢想自己能在充滿異國風情的地方工作，或是位居要職，或是有份喝酒賺錢兩不誤的美差。

或許你也會這么想。

不過，這一切都吸引不了洛麗•米勒(Lori Miller)。作為一名文字處理專家，她的工作──校對、拼寫檢查和設計版式──似乎和夢想不沾邊。不過她熱愛自己的工作。

“我喜歡而且尊重幾乎所有同事，他們中的大多數人對我也是如此，”她說，“只是有幾個方面我還不太滿意，”其中包括公司離家較遠。她還希望一些已經跳槽的好同事能夠回到自己的身邊。還有一點：如果每個人都能將用過的盤子放進洗碗機她會不勝感激。

這些要求并不過份，實際上，對理想職業要求不高的人多得出奇。有人會將之歸咎于缺乏想象力、標準偏低或者在工作上原地不動、停滯不前。有人會給自己的糟糕處境找到合理的借口。

不過人們或許僅僅是喜愛他們的工作，并沒有像某些管理人員所宣稱的那樣要求太多──他們希望的，只是擺脫辦公室里不多但影響力不小的無聊事。

這或許就是為什么有三分之二的美國人會“毫不猶豫”地再次選擇同樣的工作、有九成美國人在一定程度上滿意自己的工作，這是一項蓋洛普調查得出的結論。

能帶來更高滿意度的一般不是金錢，而是“工作作為一種證明某種責任和成就的手段，”加州大學伯克利分校哈斯商學院(Haas School of Business)領導和溝通專業教授巴里•斯托(Barry Staw)說，“薪酬即使重要，也不是因為你能用它來買什么，而是對你工作的一種認可和承認。”

所以，伊麗莎白•格雷(Elizabeth Gray)更關心的是一個平等的競爭平臺而不是金錢。宣稱熱愛自己工作的這位城市項目經理曾親眼看到從前的同事們向一個承包人送禮，為這個人根本沒完成的工作支付酬金，還授予他“年度承包人”的頭銜。

因此：“我的理想職業是一個能夠擺脫辦公室政治的工作，”她說。“應該唯才是舉，那些真正付出勞動的人們應該得到獎勵。”

弗蘭克•加斯特納(Frank Gastner)也有類似的理想：“做個負責消滅空洞政策的副總裁。”這么多年來，他不得不為解決最簡單的設計缺陷費盡口舌，而如果不是因為官僚作風作祟，解決這些問題根本不用付出什么成本。因此這位已經退休的廠商代表說，對待產品和加工問題，他會采取這樣的態度，“這樣做不對，不要開委員會會議，讓我們現在就來解決它。”

莫尼克•休斯頓(Monique Huston)已經擁有了理想職業──而且許多人告訴她這也是他們的夢想。她是奧馬哈一家酒吧的經理。這家名為Dundee Dell的酒吧有650種單麥芽蘇格蘭威士忌供顧客選擇。她走訪酒吧、鄉村俱樂部、到人們家中做客，并前往蘇格蘭品酒。她說，“我偶然間發現了熱愛的事業。”

不過，有的晚上她還是不想喝酒，或者做笑臉。“臉會覺得疼。”她抱怨說。當你擁有理想職業以后，你就會想自己下一步究竟該做些什么。

理想職業的一大誘人之處在于你會為之魂牽夢縈。去年，喬治•萊因哈特(George Reinhart)看到一則西印度群島私人島嶼馬斯蒂奎島招聘總經理的廣告。

100萬美元的薪水和好過波士頓郊區的氣候吸引了他。他看了一部關于西印度群島的紀錄片，那里是滾石樂隊主唱米克•賈格爾(Mick Jagger)和英國瑪格麗特公主(Princess Margaret)這樣的人物經常光顧的時髦去處。他重讀了赫爾曼•沃克(Herman Wouk)的《不要讓狂歡節結束》(Don't Stop the Carnival)，這本書寫的是一個宣傳人員離開在紐約的工作，買下一處小島飯店的故事。去年四月，他申請了這份工作。

他沒得到任何反饋。于是去年五月，他又寫了一封信。“我想謝謝你們為我激發出那么多的想法和樂趣。”他沒有得到那份工作，不過他說，讓他感到安慰的是那份工作仍空著。“這樣一來，我可以繼續作夢。”

我告訴他，其實那個職位已經有人了。“你告訴我這個很好，這樣一來，我可以開始想像那個人最后干砸了。”