Is there such a thing as job satisfaction?

Spinky

Spinky

I want all the bags
O.G.
Jun 25, 2007
1,060
26
#1
I've been struggling with this for the past year or so. Currently, I have a job that I'm over qualified for, but the pay is good, as are the hours. This job basically fell into my lap a couple of years ago, and I had every intention of being there only a year at most. It's now been two. I have been looking for something else, but with the economy being the way it is now, there's not a whole lot out there.

I wonder if I'm being too picky? Should I just be thankful I have a decent job and say the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side?

I feel so blah about work lately! I'd love some opinions from you guys!
 
#2
Spinky said:
I've been struggling with this for the past year or so. Currently, I have a job that I'm over qualified for, but the pay is good, as are the hours. This job basically fell into my lap a couple of years ago, and I had every intention of being there only a year at most. It's now been two. I have been looking for something else, but with the economy being the way it is now, there's not a whole lot out there.

I wonder if I'm being too picky? Should I just be thankful I have a decent job and say the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side?

I feel so blah about work lately! I'd love some opinions from you guys!
Click to expand...


To answer your question yes its tough right now and with so many people out of work you should definitely be grateful that you are not. To answer your other question yes there is such a thing as job satisfaction, I am very satisfied/happy with my current job. I work in research which is for the greater good so i'm happy that instead of making some big company money I am a part of something that will help human kind. This is the first job that i've had that I feel this way about though, but just wanted you to know that it does exist. I hope you feel better about your job soon! :smile:
 
#3
I also think that there's job satisfaction in almost all lines of work, but you have to look for it.

I'm an insurance agent so it's extremely easy for me to be irritated with all of the paperwork, dealing with mortgage companies/real estate agents/etc., having to answer questions and talk to people all day long, etc.

But at the end of the day, if I've saved someone hundreds of dollars on their home or auto insurance for the same, if not BETTER, coverage: that's great!

Right now, be thankful you have a great job with good pay and good hours! :smile:
 
#4
Spinky said:
I've been struggling with this for the past year or so. Currently, I have a job that I'm over qualified for, but the pay is good, as are the hours. This job basically fell into my lap a couple of years ago, and I had every intention of being there only a year at most. It's now been two. I have been looking for something else, but with the economy being the way it is now, there's not a whole lot out there.

I wonder if I'm being too picky? Should I just be thankful I have a decent job and say the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side?

I feel so blah about work lately! I'd love some opinions from you guys!
Click to expand...

I totally understand where you are coming from because I am stuck in a similiar situation as you. I came to my current job with the intension of staying for about 2 years because at the time I was working on my graduate degree. I was hoping that once I've completed my degree I would find another job and quit this one. But for me, I ran into financial issues. I was actively looking for jobs after I finished my degree but my only problem was that the industry I was trying to persuade paid significantly lower than what I am currently making. I really cant afford to make less than my currently salary so I thought my next move should be to stay in my current industry and find another job. Unfortunately the economy right now is not helping and September will come my 4th year at my current job. I guess right now I'm just thankful that I still have a job and kind of waiting it out for the job market to get better.
 
#5
Is there job satisfaction? I know there is for some, but I have wondered if I will ever be one of them. A couple of weeks ago I was laid off and of course this has given me a new perspective. I wish I had my old job back.

Yes, I think right now, in this economy you should be thankful you have a decent job. Of course that doesn't mean you can't try and work on finding more fulfillment. That might mean changing your attitude, your employer, the department, talking to your boss about a new challenge... anything really. Everybody has to find their own way to what will make them happy. Good luck :tup:
 
#6
Yeah, it's out there.

My job itself is fine. Pay is decent for the area, but not great. Enough to pay the bills and stash some away.

It's the people I work for and with that make it difficult. Most of the time I work alone, but there is some overlap that makes my skin crawl.
 
#7
Yes, I love my job in everyway, field of work, type of work, work load, work colleagues, pay, bonus, hours, holiday, flexible benefits. I know I am lucky.
You can still look while holding down a job X
 
#8
I think that it is absolutely possible to have job satisfaction, but it is not always the case. For me, just having a job was a blessing enough; I didn't figure I had to like, love, OR be satisfied with it--only show up and do it well. I mean, as I was raised to believe, that's why it's called "work." You know? If it was meant to be all nice and good and fun and pleasant and perfect, it would be called "play."
 
#9
I think that in a lot of cases, job satisfaction is psychological... Because even if it's not your "dream job," if you're decently paid and you like the job and hours, how could you NOT be satisfied? I think that if you can't be happy at a job like that, you might never be really "satisfied" anywhere. Idk if I'm making sense here :confused1:
 
#10
Good pay isn't the primary motivator, so the surveys say. Interesting work is the key.

I've worked places where I'm paid very well (on a payscale of my type of work), and even then at the 'low' end of that company's range, meaning I had nowhere to go but up in pay). But, the culture was awful, the work was boring and I literally had to slow down and lower my expectations. The days dragged by, some people literally walked by shuffling their feet - drove me nuts!

My most recent job was very fast paced, lower pay than the job I mentioned above, and I LOVED it. OK, I had my crappy days but overall I loved the energy, fast pace, CAN DO culture, teamwork, humor, you name it. My contract was up at end of July so I'm unemployed right now.

My advice: save up your $$. Remember the old saying "the grass is always greener over the septic tank", LOL. More advice: don't expect your job to be your sole means of satisfaction (I point the finger at myself on this, heh). Do you want to live to work or work to live? Balance is important.
 
#11
claireZk said:
I think that in a lot of cases, job satisfaction is psychological... Because even if it's not your "dream job," if you're decently paid and you like the job and hours, how could you NOT be satisfied? I think that if you can't be happy at a job like that, you might never be really "satisfied" anywhere. Idk if I'm making sense here :confused1:
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advise - I really do appreciate them. And good for those of you that have found job satisfaction.

In reference to the quote above (the bolded part), I've asked myself this a million times and have gone back and forth so many times. The thing is, it's so unfulfilling and unchallenging. If I work at my normal, efficient speed I'm done all my daily duties by noon. I find I have to slow right down to spread my work out throughout the day, and that makes it so boring. I'm always wandering the building to try and find anything to do, but often no one needs any help.

And Pursegrrl, I most definitely want to "Work to Live" which is why I find it easier to put up with this. Hmmmm...maybe I should go buy myself a new bag to make it a bit more worth it! ;)
 
#12
first, what is it that you would rather be doing? My answer would depend on this.
Because of the economy, if you want to be say, a trapeze artist, I would say wait till the economy recovers more. But if you want to be a doctor, and you are going to school, I say stay the path...
 
#13
You are not being too picky! I feel like life is too short to not do something you LOVE! I am getting paid minimum wage, and struggling a little bit, but I am happy where I work, and to me that is one of my main goals in life.

Waste is money AND time!!! Just because the money is good there, if you are not enjoying it think about how much time you are throwing away probably dreaming about what else is out there.
 
#14
Yes, I am living it right now!

But it took me 5 1/2 years for this job to become available so I ended up working in the job that was "ok" and not as satisfying (sp??!) until this one came open! So I guess in retrospect...I had to make that "ok" job as satisfying as possible knowing that grass WAS greener on the other side, just not necessarily tomorrow! KWIM!? Good luck!!!
 
#15
Under the Human Resources major at my school, I am told there is such a thing called job satisfaction. AND surprisingly, employees lose satisfaction and motivation if they are not being challenged enough at work. This makes sense though, although the hours and pay are great - one can feel the need to actually develop themselves through the challenges against their current skills and knowledge. When this is not met, dissatisfaction can occur.
 
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