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.'

当问到这样一个问题：如果所有工作任你选，你会选择做什么？人们会发挥出天马行空的想象力，或是梦想自己能在充满异国风情的地方工作，或是位居要职，或是有份喝酒赚钱两不误的美差。

或许你也会这么想。

不过，这一切都吸引不了洛丽?米勒(Lori Miller)。作为一名文字处理专家，她的工作──校对、拼写检查和设计版式──似乎和梦想不沾边。不过她热爱自己的工作。

“我喜欢而且尊重几乎所有同事，他们中的大多数人对我也是如此，”她说，“只是有几个方面我还不太满意，”其中包括公司离家较远。她还希望一些已经跳槽的好同事能够回到自己的身边。还有一点：如果每个人都能将用过的盘子放进洗碗机她会不胜感激。

这些要求并不过份，实际上，对理想职业要求不高的人多得出奇。有人会将之归咎于缺乏想象力、标准偏低或者在工作上原地不动、停滞不前。有人会给自己的糟糕处境找到合理的借口。

不过人们或许仅仅是喜爱他们的工作，并没有像某些管理人员所宣称的那样要求太多──他们希望的，只是摆脱办公室里不多但影响力不小的无聊事。

这或许就是为什么有三分之二的美国人会“毫不犹豫”地再次选择同样的工作、有九成美国人在一定程度上满意自己的工作，这是一项盖洛普调查得出的结论。

能带来更高满意度的一般不是金钱，而是“工作作为一种证明某种责任和成就的手段，”加州大学伯克利分校哈斯商学院(Haas School of Business)领导和沟通专业教授巴里?斯托(Barry Staw)说，“薪酬即使重要，也不是因为你能用它来买什么，而是对你工作的一种认可和承认。”

所以，伊丽莎白?格雷(Elizabeth Gray)更关心的是一个平等的竞争平台而不是金钱。宣称热爱自己工作的这位城市项目经理曾亲眼看到从前的同事们向一个承包人送礼，为这个人根本没完成的工作支付酬金，还授予他“年度承包人”的头衔。

因此：“我的理想职业是一个能够摆脱办公室政治的工作，”她说。“应该唯才是举，那些真正付出劳动的人们应该得到奖励。”

弗兰克?加斯特纳(Frank Gastner)也有类似的理想：“做个负责消灭空洞政策的副总裁。”这么多年来，他不得不为解决最简单的设计缺陷费尽口舌，而如果不是因为官僚作风作祟，解决这些问题根本不用付出什么成本。因此这位已经退休的厂商代表说，对待产品和加工问题，他会采取这样的态度，“这样做不对，不要开委员会会议，让我们现在就来解决它。”

莫尼克?休斯顿(Monique Huston)已经拥有了理想职业──而且许多人告诉她这也是他们的梦想。她是奥马哈一家酒吧的经理。这家名为Dundee Dell的酒吧有650种单麦芽苏格兰威士忌供顾客选择。她走访酒吧、乡村俱乐部、到人们家中做客，并前往苏格兰品酒。她说，“我偶然间发现了热爱的事业。”

不过，有的晚上她还是不想喝酒，或者做笑脸。“脸会觉得疼。”她抱怨说。当你拥有理想职业以后，你就会想自己下一步究竟该做些什么。

理想职业的一大诱人之处在于你会为之魂牵梦萦。去年，乔治?莱因哈特(George Reinhart)看到一则西印度群岛私人岛屿马斯蒂奎岛招聘总经理的广告。

100万美元的薪水和好过波士顿郊区的气候吸引了他。他看了一部关于西印度群岛的纪录片，那里是滚石乐队主唱米克?贾格尔(Mick Jagger)和英国玛格丽特公主(Princess Margaret)这样的人物经常光顾的时髦去处。他重读了赫尔曼?沃克(Herman Wouk)的《不要让狂欢节结束》(Don't Stop the Carnival)，这本书写的是一个宣传人员离开在纽约的工作，买下一处小岛饭店的故事。去年四月，他申请了这份工作。

他没得到任何反馈。于是去年五月，他又写了一封信。“我想谢谢你们为我激发出那么多的想法和乐趣。”他没有得到那份工作，不过他说，让他感到安慰的是那份工作仍空着。“这样一来，我可以继续作梦。”

我告诉他，其实那个职位已经有人了。“你告诉我这个很好，这样一来，我可以开始想像那个人最后干砸了。”