I am graduating at the end of this year and i am happy to have found work. But lately ive seen lots of employees changing jobs and career paths.
For me, im planning to stick to my current workplace for many many years to come and im not even thinking about ever changing.

Its got me thinking, so my questions are:

In todays working environment do you think job satisfaction is important?

What do you think makes it important (or not) and what should managers do to make it satisfying?

 

I like your sig

 

Your first job out of college, get 3 yrs in, then see about moving on. After 3 yrs, you might want to move within the company, or move on. As well, you will have built contacts and might be drafted out.

 

Ideally you'll find something you enjoy so much that you'd do it even if they didn't pay you, and, yet, they'll still pay you. Seek that something.

Magic falls under that rubric for me, as does teaching.

Now, if I could only find someone who would pay me $150,000 / year to ride horses . . . .

 

I do not think there are that many "enjoyable" jobs out there that pay the bills. I have a pretty easy job but I have to put in the time and be here.. blaaa

like majician said ideally you would find something you enjoy....goodluck with that!

I am just hoping to be able to retire early enough that I can go do that enjoyable something as part of my retirement....

I cannot imagine anyone actually saying that they chose Accounting (what I do) as a satisfying profession.

 

I'd almost guarantee that your first job out of college will be your last. It's ok and even expected that you shift jobs at least once or twice throughout your career. Also, make sure you enjoy your career, because you can always change jobs, but a cross-industry shift may be difficult.

To your initial question, job satisfaction is very important, in my opinion.

 

^^Shifting industries is tough. When I graduated college, I started working in the garment/fashion industry as Business system Admin. After 2.5 years, I found a job in the software industry but I was able to make the transition because I picked up on Supply Chain Management while supporting their ERP. I'm currently working in the Financial Industry (which I originally wanted to start out from when I graduated). This transition was a hard sell and for the most part, I think I lucked out.

Some people chase the money, which I did in the beginning. But just remember that every job you take, you're setting up or pigeon holing yourself for the next job.

To me job satisfaction comes in the form of challange and learning. If and when I feel like I'm no longer learning anything, I'm on my way out. Then again, I still have time and no family of mine own to support.

 

Job satisfaction is important I believe. You see many professionals saying "you gotta love what you do" and may be bored of hearing all these, but they are very true. Some people satisfy if they get $$$, some people seek for recognition and challenge. They say a person earning $70,000 while his co-workers are earning $60,000 is happier than a person earning $80,000 while his co-workers are earning $90,000. Anyways, always be open to new opportunities.

 

Job satisfaction is what keeps people in their job beyond the simple desire to pay the bills. But what satisfies changes over time. People mature and other aspects of their life change. Their wants and needs change, and what once was satisfying can become stale or limiting.

People get married, have kids, spouses get opportunities in other cities, older family members become more important, etc., etc. "Managers" should do their job - i.e. keep the employee happy and productive. But not every situation can be resolved by action by management. People change jobs for reasons other than a lack of satisfaction. Sometimes they need to move on to grow professionally, sometimes they just want a change of scenery. And often they just need more money, despite how happy they might be at their current job.

Realistically, the last thing a person can count on these days is their employer. Almost none offer pensions, most defer responsibility for retirement entirely onto the worker, and everybody is trained to say "that's the way it is today" as if that's an answer at all. The concept of "at-will" emplyyment is universal - the employer can jettison employees at will, without explanation. Gee, such dedication to the workforce :/ In the IT business, if you have a contract, it's short-term and not a situation to be envied. "Contractor" is a dirty euphemism for disposable.

Before asking why people change jobs, ask yourself why anyone would retain any loyalty to a company if the management isn't going to demonstrate any loyalty to the employee by offering a pension, education opportunities, policies designed to keep employees within the company at all costs, etc. You can't expect loyalty if you only match retirement contributions up to 3-5%, vested over five years - that's not committment on the part of the employer, it's a bet against long-term employees.

Ask yourself what you will be doing at your current company in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. Look for individuals at your current employer who have been with the company for at least 20 years, and see if that's where you want to be and if you are heading down a path to get there. If you can't find anyone who has been there for at least 20 years, you can presume neither will you, whether you want to leave or not.

 

I'm not coming at this from a corporate perspective, but here it is nonetheless...

Job satisfaction is definitely important. Often people underestimate how much the stresses at home can impact work productivity and how work stress can impact your personal life.

Something that has helped me immensely is a very supportive supervisor. She makes accomodations for our team to acknowledge the reality of life. So we're allowed to be flexible with our schedules (working say 7-3 instead of regular office hours), letting us work from home and the occasional off-site team meeting. She regularly acknowledges our heavy workloads and makes adjustments when she is able. We all have the sense that she genuinely wants us to be happy, successful and to develop further as professionals. She has managed to creatively support a team in arguably the most stressful job in my field.