Career Satisfaction
What is "job satisfaction"?
Job satisfaction is not the feeling of jumping out of bed in the morning thinking, "Ooh! I can't wait to go to work!" People don't do that in the real world; that's the movies. Most people don't jump out of bed everyday. Job satisfaction is the feeling that, "I'm good at this, I like this, I'm getting paid reasonably well for it and I feel ethical about it."
Why is job satisfaction important?
Because you spend more of your waking hours at work than anywhere else. So if you're satisfied with your job, it not only fills those 8 or 10 hours a day with joy, but it suffuses the rest of your life. You feel good about your existence. As you're sitting there watching a sitcom, you can feel better about doing that, knowing you've got a good work life, that you've earned the right to sit there and do that. If you're a slug, you feel guilt ridden if you're sitting there watching that sitcom.
What are the steps to attaining job satisfaction?
Steps to attaining job satisfaction: First, find a job that is a good fit. It doesn't have to be perfect. There is no perfect job but find a job thats a reasonable fit. Then, adapt the job to make it fit you better. So, in other words if your best skill is details and writing, see if you can get your job description changed so that you get to do more details and writing. There is a lot of people who hate details and writing so maybe you could trade responsibilities. Then the third thing is to keep learning. You know that it gets boring doing the same old thing all the time so always keeping fresh and keeping learning. And also developing relationships usually for most people unless there are some people who are just isolated and like to be left alone but most people finding one or two people who you can really have a close not hi how are you relationship with but a real relationship with at work can be really helpful.
What do I do if I'm dissatisfied with my job?
If you're dissatisfied with your job, first decide whether your unhappiness will go with you to another job. So many people find that they go from job to job and they're equally unhappy; this is the same reason that many people move all the time. They figure that "If I only found a better place; a better geography, or whatever." Usually problems go with them. So, I first invite you to take a hard look inward and ask yourself if your unhappiness is really because of that miserable boss or the job, or how much is within you. Are you a kvetch? Or, is it that you really don't have the skills and you're being a difficult personality? You probably don't know. We live in the land of self-esteem in the United States. Everybody's self-esteem is above average. What I recommend people do, when they're unhappy in a job, is get a 360 evaluation. Beg for honest feedback from co-workers, customers, bosses, et cetera, and say, "Please, I'm really trying to assess myself and grow as a professional. Would you give me your candid opinions?" If you think that they may be afraid to be honest with you, make up a little half-page form with a smiley face on the top half and a frowny face on the other saying the good stuff and the bad stuff, and say, "Just fill it out anonymously. Fill it out in 10-point courier type so nobody can tell it was you, and let me know what you really think. It would be the greatest gift you could ever give me." That's what you should do. Then, if you find that really the problem is the job, then of course go look for another job. However, three-quarters of the time, the problem lies with you.
If I'm dissatisfied with my job, when should I quit?
After you've done a 360 evaluation and you find that the problem is not you but within your job, either because you're stagnant; it's dead-end; you're eager to learn more, grow more, make a bigger difference; your job is unethical, they're asking you to do unethical things; or you feel you have more to contribute, then any of those reasons are good reasons to quit. However, I recommend, of course, that it's better not to quit until you have something new. You'll feel more confident and outgoing in your subsequent job interviews if you're employed; you'll be more impressive to an employer if you tell them that you are currently employed. However, I also from work with twenty-six hundred clients as a career counsellor, and I've found that many people simply can't do a job search while they're still working there. They know rationally it's better to try to look for a job while they still have a job, but they just can't do it. Their life is too full, they just can't make themselves do it, and also by quitting, they're scared. Not only are they scared that the money is going to run out, but that makes them look for a job. So, I'm fully aware of the reality that sometimes you just have to quit when you feel miserable and then find a job.
