What Really Goes Into Your Job Satisfaction?

Like almost everyone, you’ve probably had a number of jobs from your teens onward. Some were probably great, some might have been okay, and some might have been absolutely terrible! Many people find it a little confusing that as they’ve “moved up” in their career, they’ve become less satisfied with the work they’re doing. Here, I’ve written a post on the main factors affecting an employee’s job satisfaction.

Working Conditions

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This is the most obvious and immediate factor that’s going to affect how you feel at your work. Because we spend the majority of our lives at work, the conditions we work in are going to have a pretty profound impact not only on our job satisfaction, but also our overall mood outside of work. Things like how spacious or cramped our working environments are, how adequate the lighting is, and how comfortable our workstations are, can all be big deciding factors in how happy we are in our jobs. The social atmosphere, and the overall lifestyle tied to our job title, can also have a huge impact on our moods as employees. If your boss isn’t providing you with the environment and productivity tools to create good working conditions, then it may be time to start job hunting again.

Opportunity

It’s been proven time and time again that employees get more satisfaction out of their jobs when they can see a clear path to rise through the ranks of the company, and eventually land in a position that interests them more, or simply has more benefits tied to it. Many companies take steps to actively encourage their workers to gain more advanced skills than they already have, and aim for higher positions. Others, however, simply let things carry on as they are. In these businesses, the upper management are typically too wrapped up in the next big marketing campaign, managing the company’s assets, and various other things to pay attention to their employees’ career progression. If there was some talk about advancement when you first sat down for your interview, but you’ve heard very little about it since then, then there are probably better jobs for you out there.

Workloads and stress Levels

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Having to come into work every day and deal with workloads that are far too large, or deadlines that are near impossible to meet, can be a strain on someone’s job satisfaction for obvious reasons. Obviously, companies have targets to meet and orders to fulfill. However, a company is not a person! If someone is being pushed too hard by the demands of their job, then it’s inevitably going to take a toll on their mental and physical health. Furthermore, if the work is so demanding that the worker begins to miss deadlines or submit sub-standard work, it can create conflict with their managers and co-workers, piling on even more stress and causing them to become even more dissatisfied with their work. It may be a route to your dream job, but pushing your body and mind too far is rarely worth it in the long run.