Finding job satisfaction – employee satisfaction is not the only thing that matters

Finding job satisfaction – employee satisfaction is not the only thing that matters

Are you in a job you are unhappy with?  Do you feel you are stuck in a rut and just cannot get out of it?  Do you get up each morning with the dread of going into work and wishing you could just do anything else?  If so, this article is for you and I will go some way to explaining why this is and what you can do about it.

Why am I unhappy in my job?

There is no end of reasons for being unhappy in your job but the fundamental reason why most people are unhappy in their job is they are out of alignment with the organisation they are working with.  It is okay to have the occasional day that you feel down, do not really want to be there, and so long as it is the occasional day then is perfectly normal and all workers experience i at some time in their career.  Your personal situation could be a major factor, perhaps there is something going on in your life that really needs looking at but you have to go into work each day with matters unresolved.

If these feelings are prolonged and become an almost daily occurrence, then this diagram below may explain why that is.

Strike a New Career Deal, Carole Pemberton

Alignment model explained

To be happy and successful in any job, you need to be in alignment with the organisation and it with you.  What this basically means is that your needs, wants and values must be similar and a match with the employer.  It is crucial that when applying for any job you check your alignment with the organisation.  Where you cannot do this fully prior to interview, then you need to ask the relevant questions at this point to check your needs, wants and values match what they are looking for.  If this is not the case and you are just taking the job out of pure necessity, then the chances of you gaining the job satisfaction you want and deserve and greatly minimised.

If you do not take the time to get the career you want, be prepared to take what you get; George Bernard Shaw

Who am I?

For example, if you are an ambitious individual, enjoy making decisions and working off your own initiative but you have a manager who micro-manages everything you do, then you are going to be unhappy in your job.  You probably feel you are not trusted, your efforts go unacknowledged and whatever you do is microscopically examined and this can quickly demotivate and demoralise.

If on the other hand you see the workplace as revolving around you, i.e. you want to spend time surfing the net, keeping up with your social networking friends and work is getting in the way, then you need to be asking yourself “what is the company paying me to do here”?  Am I in the right job?  Could I not do what I am paid to do and use my lunch break to do my own thing?  Would it be okay to use the company PCs to do this and providing you produce the goods when you are paid to do so, this could normally be negotiated with your employer.

Check your own alignment

• When was the last time you left work thinking “I really enjoyed today and am looking forward to going back in tomorrow”?  Now this may be some time ago, but I strongly urge you to come up with a day you felt like that.
• What was so good about that day?
• What was I doing that I enjoyed?
• Who or what made me feel so good?

What you may come up with is something like:

• I was given a last minute task to do with a very tight deadline and I achieved it
• An idea I had proposed was implemented
• I went that extra mile and a customer left really happy and commented on the excellent service I had provided
• I was selected ahead of my peer group to undertake a fairly difficult task
• My line manager singled me out for praise

Thinking about all of the above and coming up with an example, start analysing it and within that example you will find what your strengths and motivators are.  For example, if you chose the last minute task point, you will find your strengths and qualities could be something like:

• Working under pressure
• Working to tight deadlines
• React effectively to rapidly changing priorities (dealing with fast balls)
• Solution focussed
• Can do attitude
• Adjust priorities accordingly to meet customer needs
• Sense of urgency