8 Ways to Improve Job Satisfaction
Posted on: July 14, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/71. Pin point the problem
If you aren’t 100% happy at work it’s important to pinpoint what the issue is and what’s troubling you. It’s good to narrow down what’s causing you tension, frustration or unhappiness so that you can find a good way of dealing with it. The problem is likely to be either:
– the task i.e. related to the role
– personality driven i.e. a people problem e.g. difficult colleagues / boss or related to the environment
Once you’ve identified which of these it is you can handle them appropriately. If it’s a task or activity as part of your role that you don’t like, it may be possible to organise reducing how much you do of this task. Try talking to your manager to see if there is another member of the team who might be in a better positionto help you with the areas of your work that you dislike, so that you can concentrate on the areas you enjoy and add more value to your organisation and role.
If it’s a personality issue, remember that you cannot change someone’s behaviour completely but you can make them more aware of the impact they have on you in case they may want to change it and adjust to accommodate you more. Otherwise you can work on ways to accept or work around these challenges once you are clear on what they are.
2. Clarify job expectations
Review your managers and your own expectations of your role. Look at your job description, the role and the responsibilities you have. Identify whether these are right and understand what your manager is expecting and wanting from you. Discuss and agree what you each want and will do in order to make it work. Outline what’s important to you – what you are happy to do and what you are not willing to do.
It’s important to be clear with yourself and your boss about what you are expecting and wanting from your role.
3. Set yourself a new challenge
To keep things fresh and interesting, find new things to learn about and get involved in. There may be areas of your job that you can expand and develop – to make it your own. It’s important that we feel like we are developing and growing otherwise a job feels stale and we get bored and de-motivated by it.
Also establish what you will do and what you will not do. Having this clarity around your boundaries will be helpful for you.
4. Beat boredom
Be curious and open to new ideas and areas that you can get involved in. Build your network and connections at work. See what other people are doing and what they need in case you can contribute, learn and expand your skills, knowledge. Taking on extra tasks can take you up to a promotion quicker if it builds on your key skills and makes you a valuable asset to the team and company.
5. Organise your Time
Make sure you balance your time well. It is the most valuable resource we have and so using it effectively is key. Knowing what to do when you are most effective can be really useful. E.g. are you best in the mornings / evenings/ after lunch? When are your energy levels high? Use this time to do your most important work. Look at when the best times are for you to work productively and use the other time to relax and do less demanding tasks.
In order to continue your learning and development it can also be good to look at external events that you can go to. See how best to manage your time and mix things up a little bit so that you can contribute to your team but also learn and get out and about more if that’s something of interest to you.
Meetings can eat into your diary so maybe take a hard look at what you really need to go to and what you could miss or organise more effectively. Do you need to attend all the meetings? Do you need to stay for all of it or just part of it? Can you send someone else?
6. Clarify professional / personal priorities
Be clear on what your priorities are and also what is generally really important to you. What are you interested in? What matters to you the most?
Getting alignment between your work and personal priorities is also important in order for you to feel happy, fulfilled and satisfied with all aspects of your life.
7. Know your strengths
The best way to be productive and happy at work is to harness your strengths. If you play on what you are naturally good at you will find everything relatively easy and interesting. Since you will be enjoying it and you will be good at it – you will be a good person to work with and be around. It’s a self reinforcing cycle if you know what your strengths are and make sure you use them. You will be more productive, your output will be of a high quality, you will need to spend less time working because it’s easier for you and more natural – and you will ultimately like what you are doing.
8. Positive attitude and finding a sense of purpose
If you are doing something you enjoy and that is using your talents and strengths, you will have a positive attitude towards it. If you find something that is meaningful and purposeful for you – you will have a positive attitude towards it.
If you are stuck doing something that you don’t enjoy, are not very good at or that makes you use skills that you have but aren’tnaturally incline to want to use or develop – you will have a negative attitude towards it and feel unfulfilled.
Finding a sense of purpose comes from aligning everything about you – what you want, what you care about, what you can do and then doing it. You need to understand your value system and be doing something that you believe in and agree with in order to have a sense of purpose from it.
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