Due to the uncertain nature of the current economy, some employees might not be giving much thought to their level of job satisfaction. After all, they should be “happy to have a job,” right?
While that may sound like it makes sense, the fact of the matter is that those people who have a “happy to have a job” mentality rarely take the steps necessary to grow their career. Those who DO grow their career are of the mindset that they should always be moving forward, embracing new challenges, and making progress.
They are also of the mindset that they should be satisfied with their job (although such satisfaction does not necessarily mean they will stay at that job for the rest of their working lives).
Our feelings, our beliefs, and our behaviors shape our attitude about our job. In turn, there are six factors that directly affect our feelings, our beliefs, and our behaviors. Our perception of these factors—basically, what we think is true about them (our ‘reality’)—is what impacts us the most and ultimately determines our level of job satisfaction.
Those six ‘realities’ of employee job satisfaction are as follows:
- Job security
- Flexibility to balance work with life issues
- Relationship with immediate supervisor
- Management’s recognition of job performance
- Compensation/pay/benefits
- Nature of the overall company culture
What is your perception of these six factors right now? How does that perception shape your feelings, beliefs, and behaviors? Finally, how do those feelings, beliefs, and behaviors affect the attitude you have about your job?
The answers to those questions will help determine your level of job satisfaction . . . and whether or not you truly are “happy to have a job.”