“Personal satisfaction is the most important ingredient of success”.
-Denis Waitley
Do your energy levels seem to be fading? Are you not as motivated and engaged as you usually are? Does productivity seem to be slipping?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, you may be experiencing a drop in your work satisfaction levels.
Per Wikipedia, job satisfaction is:
How content an individual is with his or her job. The happier people are within their job, the more satisfied they are said to be. Job satisfaction is not the same as motivation, although it is clearly linked. Job design aims to enhance job satisfaction and performance. Methods include job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. Other influences on satisfaction include the management style and culture, employee involvement, empowerment and autonomous work groups.
Right Management conducted a work satisfaction survey mid April through mid May. The results: only 19% of the respondents were satisfied with their jobs; roughly 66% reported they were unhappy at work.
Despite these dismal results, most were reluctant to leave their job. High unemployment rates and minimal growth opportunities are contributing factors, but what does this mean to the work environment and to leadership?
A study conducted by A.I. LeDue, jr showed that workers and their bosses had very different ideas as to what was included in job satisfaction.
PRIORITY RANKING OF FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR JOB SATISFACTION
ITEM Employee ranking Boss ranking
| Full appreciation of work done | 1 | 8 |
| Feeling of being in on things | 2 | 10 |
| Sympathetic help on personnel problems | 3 | 9 |
| Job security | 4 | 2 |
| Good wages | 5 | 1 |
| Interesting work | 6 | 5 |
| Promotions | 7 | 3 |
| Personal loyalty to coworkers | 8 | 6 |
| Good working conditions | 9 | 4 |
| Tactful disciplining | 10 | 7 |
As a leader you may want to poll your team and determine what’s important to them. Don’t make the mistake of believing that what’s important to you is equally important to them.
Strong leaders find ways to keep interest levels high, reward and recognize accomplishments, and show that the work that is performed is appreciated, and the individual valued.
Are you up to the challenge?