Not Happy at Work? (Really?)

Hi everyone,

Today I wanted to talk about job happiness and job satisfaction. Can you have control of your happiness or satisfaction on the job? I'm a firm believer that we all have the ability to enjoy what we do no matter what it is or what we're doing. But how? What's the secret?

An article was published by the Washington Post earlier this year that found only 45% of Americans were satisfied with their work which was a drop from 49% from their 2008 study. The article went on to say that the drop in workers' happiness can be partly blamed on the worst recession since the 1930s, which made it difficult for some people to find challenging and suitable jobs. But worker dissatisfaction has been on the rise for more than two decades. Workers have grown steadily more unhappy for a variety of reasons;
-Fewer workers considered their jobs to be interesting.
-Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
-The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers' take-home pay.

I personally have seen customer service drop considerably over the last 5 years and it has been concerning to me. I'm very fortunate to have a staff at TechSkills of California that loves what they do and put our students and fellow staff members first in all situations. It's very rare to find this type of employment mindset in the work world today. Really? Can TechSkills of California really be that far ahead of the other 55% of American employees that are dissatisfied with their jobs? Really?

Here is my belief on the subject; There are many legitimate reasons that can cause dissatisfaction on the job, but In my experience I have found two main reasons; mistreatment or incompetence by an immediate supervisor and employees do not feel that they belong to the team or organization. Okay, so now we come back around to our original questions; How can we find job satisfaction with our current employment? What's the secret? Well, here you go......

Finding happiness and satisfaction on the job requires having goals. How can you even give yourself a chance to enjoy what you do if enjoying it is not even a goal? I believe goals are absolutely essential! Lou Tice from The Pacific Institute Sums it up nicely below:

When you give up on your goals or when you have no goals at all, your whole system slows down and eventually shuts down. You become depressed and sluggish, and you may very well become seriously ill. Humans are teleological beings. In other words, we think in terms of purpose and we are naturally goal-oriented. We move towards and become like what we think about. A teleological nature means that it is absolutely critical for us to have goals.

If we lock on to "my job stinks and I hate it", then guess what.... we hate it. If you lock on to "I'm going to excel on the job and do my best to make it the best place to work", then guess what... you make it happen. Really? Can it be that easy? For us to change and grow, we need something tugging at us from the future, something to, quite literally, look forward to.

Lou Tice goes on to say... So, if you don't deliberately think about how you want your life to be, you'll just repeat the past or the present over and over again, with minor variations. You'll end up, at best, in a rut. Once you have a clear picture of where you want to go, your teleological nature will take over and help guide you to your goal.

That's the secret! Set a goal to success and then make a habit of take the actions to lead toward that success and watch your job happiness and satisfaction increase. Oh, and don't forget about your income!! Go make it happen today. Set goals for what you want, concentrate on them daily, make them habits and watch your life change before your eyes. It's work, but it's worth it! I guarantee it!

Scott King
Director
TechSkills of California
1215 Howe Ave
Sacramento, Ca. 95825
(916) 649-9600
http://www.techskills-ca.com

TechSkills of California is committed to delivering vocational training programs that correspond to the ever-changing needs of businesses in Northern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. We offer career programs in Information Technology, Health Services and Business Skills. We provide the training you need to get the skills for an exciting new career. Your future is calling! For more information on getting started with your new career contact Scott King at 916-649-9600.

Check out Lou Tice and the Pacific Institute at http://www.thepacificinstitute.us/v2/