Staying Happy at Work
From Brad
In a previous column (TGIM: Thank Goodness it’s Monday?, February 2007), I revealed that, believe it or not, on average, we are much happier on workdays than we are on weekends or during the holidays. Unlike our typical use of free time, work provides us with opportunities to use our skills to achieve goals. Even if it is just the goal of making money, work is more satisfying and reinforcing than watching our free time slip away while we are engaged in more passive activities, such as watching television.
While it may be true that most of us find more fulfillment at work than during our free time, it is also true that some jobs are more satisfying than others. How satisfying is your job? Researchers at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that of the 27,000 people they surveyed, 47% were satisfied and 33% were “very happy” with their jobs. Those who reported the highest levels of satisfaction had jobs that involved helping others. Firefighters, clergy, special education teachers, and physical therapists were among those reporting the highest levels of job satisfaction, while salespeople, food preparers, and packagers reported the least amount of job satisfaction. But take heart. Whether you are employed in a job that typically provides less satisfaction, or you are an unhappy firefighter, clergy member, special education teacher or physical therapist, you can increase your happiness at work regardless of the characteristics of your particular job tasks.
Research has shown that high worker autonomy, more task variety, and a belief that one’s work is important are all associated with increased job satisfaction. However, researchers from Michigan State University recently discovered something even more important to job satisfaction- social relationships. They found that workplace friendships, frequency of interactions with others, and emotional support were strong predictors of happiness at work. They even found that the presence of these social supports can make up for lower pay. So if you are an employer or an employee in an industry with lower job satisfaction, or you are unhappy in a job with typical high job satisfaction, consider the following suggestions to help make an unsatisfying job better:
1. Encourage social interactions in the workplace. If you are an employee, make a point of getting to know your coworkers. When you know and like the people you work with, you will look forward to going to work. If you are an employer, support and encourage connections between workers. An employer sponsored lunch, after hours social, or a weekend barbeque is a great place to start.
2. Find ways to encourage more worker autonomy. No one likes to have someone looking over his or her shoulder, and having choices makes everyone happier.
3. Redesign a job to make it more challenging. This might involve rotating workers through a variety of tasks with increasing responsibility. Even rote tasks can become challenging when workers are encouraged to increase speed or output to earn an added benefit or reward.
4. Identify a clear purpose, mission statement, and value of a particular job. Highlight how the job provides benefit to others, or how it fits into a larger social or industrial picture. Periodically remind employees of their specific positive contribution to the whole.
5. Consider including team building activities into your regular staff trainings. An afternoon of volunteer work or structured group activity can do wonders to increase morale. For a structured, facilitated, novel team building activity, consider taking your staff to an adventure course. For example, “Just Live!, Inc” in Puhi, Kauai has an Outdoor Teambuilding Facility and Ropes Course Challenge designed to assist with corporate teambuilding (www.justlive.org; 808-482-1295).
Even if your job is not all you want it to be, some simple steps can help you feel more satisfied about your work life.
Dr. Brad Klontz is the 2007 President-Elect of the Hawaii Psychological Association and coauthor of The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge. He can be reached by e-mail at brad@klontzcoaching.com. For free, confidential referrals to a psychologist in your area, contact the HPA online at www.hawaiipsych.org or call (808) 521-8995.
