How to Make Work More Satisfying

Is your current job falling a little short of the one you dream of? You know the one where you’re motivated, inspired, respected and well paid. Do you dread going to work? Does your day drag on? Are you finding it harder and harder to get through the day?

Did you know that lack of job satisfaction can be a significant source of stress. Sometimes the job itself is the cause dissatisfaction e.g. insurmountable workload, lack of security, insufficient equipment and resources. At other times, the cause of job dissatisfaction is conflict with your co-worker or a manager, or being underpaid and not appreciated.

Generally, people approach work from three perspectives. It is ether a job, a career or a calling. All three perspectives are important, but for most of us one usually takes priority.

• A Job: If work is a job for you, your primary focus is on the financial rewards. In fact, the type of the work may hold little interest for you. What’s important is the money and if a higher paid job comes your way, you’ll likely move on.
• A Career: If you approach work as a career, you’ll be interested in advancement. You want to climb the career ladder as far as possible, or be among the most highly regarded professionals in your field. You’re motivated by the status, power and prestige that come with the job.
• A Calling: If however your work is your calling, you focus on the work itself. You’re less concerned about the financial gain or career advancement but look for the fulfilment that the work brings.

What is your approach to work? Do you recognise your approach to work?

One approach isn’t necessarily better than the others, but if you’re dissatisfied with your job it’s helpful to reflect on why you work at all.  By understanding why you work, you can start to understand how the dissatisfaction originates.

Depending on the underlying cause of your dissatisfaction, there may be several ways to increase your job satisfaction. With a little imagination and some creativity, you can generate new opportunities, new challenges and make the best of the job you already have. And you never know; you may just enjoy it!

Here are some ideas that may help:
- Daily Intention: Set an intention each day to find something that you will enjoy. It’s amazing what can happen when you start looking for it!
- Change Your Attitude: Instead of thinking of your job as being boring, dulI and unsatisfying, imagine yourself in your dream job. If you want to be a project manager, see yourself as that (even if the project is self-management). 
- Break Your Habits: Travel to work a different way, even if it’s just getting off the bus one stop earlier, or having coffee/lunch with different people or in a different place.
- Get out: Take advantage of your work breaks. Go for a walk, meet a friend (but don’t talk about work), read a book or listen to your favourite music.
- Improve your skills: Volunteer for on-job education. If this is not available find a course that will improve your skill and/or education level.
- Develop your own project: Take on the challenge creating a project that can motivate you and give you a sense of control. Start small, and then move onto larger goals. Work on something you care about that can also boost your confidence and job satisfaction.
- Get focused: Think back to when you accepted the position. Why did you except the job in the first place? What did you expect to get from the job? Why did you think it would be good? Has it provided that? If not, why not? What can you do to achieve it?
- Mentor a co-worker: Having mastered a job, you may find that it becomes routine for you. Helping a new co-worker advance his or her skills can often restore the challenge and the satisfaction you desire.
- Volunteer: If your company is launching a new project (e.g. doing a survey) volunteer to take part.
Ask for a new challenge: When you’re comfortable about doing it, discuss your need for new challenges with your supervisor.
- Cross-training: Talk with your boss about training for a different task to combat boredom and fatigue. Once you’ve completed the training, you can switch back and forth.
- Be the best you can be: It’s hard to be proud of a job when you know you haven’t done the best you can. – Don’t give yourself an excuse not to be satisfied with the job you have done.
- Be grateful: Celebrate and be grateful for your achievements every day, whether they’re small or large. If you don’t think you have much to celebrate and be grateful for, start looking for something that will make you happy and be grateful for it. It may simply be that surviving a long day, a chance meeting with an old friend or a particularly good cup of coffee. Celebrate the small things and the bigger things will come.