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CREATING YOUR OWN JOB SATISFACTION

A lot of people think that job satisfaction is only for other people. They look with envy on people who love their jobs and who don’t think of them as work. The idea of earning a living from something you really like doing only applies to a few very lucky people, they think. But this isn’t so. It’s not only people in the so-called ‘glamour professions’, for example, who can get genuine job satisfaction. You don’t have to be in the arts or a sports person to get enjoyment from what you do for a living. Even if you’re in a boring job, it’s quite possible to get some satisfaction from it.

The key to this is your attitude. You may think it’s unlikely that you can derive much satisfaction from a dull job that doesn’t require much thought and that involves a lot of routine procedures. But if you approach it with the right attitude, and put some effort in, you may be surprised at how enjoyable you can make it. Of course, if you just sit there telling yourself how boring your job is, you’ll never get anything out of it. But if you set out to find ways of making it enjoyable, there’s a good chance you’ll manage to.

One thing you can do is to set yourself challenges. Think about what you can do for yourself to make your work a little bit more interesting. If you’ve got a repetitive job, set yourself some targets to meet and try to beat your previous records. Or use your initiative in other ways. Think about ways you could develop your career into more interesting areas – see how you could improve your skills by doing a course, for example, or look into new skills you could get that would stand you in good stead for the future.

For some people, it’s not boredom that’s the problem, it’s the fact that their jobs involve a significant amount of unpleasantness. But if you keep telling yourself your job is horrible and there’s nothing you can do about it, you’ll get stuck in a rut and you’ll never get out of it. Focus on developing a positive attitude and try to keep any negative thoughts about your job out of your mind. Keep a sense of perspective – if something’s gone wrong on a particular day, decide whether it really matters or not. If it isn’t actually all that important, don’t dwell on it, let it go. Learn from it, and take an upbeat view of what’s happened – you’ll know how to avoid the problem in future, or what to do about it if it happens again.

Of course, you may reach the point where you feel totally trapped in a job. If this mindset starts to overwhelm you, check out the options you may have in the place where you work. Map out a plan for improving your situation there. Are there other roles in the organization you could apply for? Could you ask to be given different tasks? Could you get a different kind of assignment or go to another department where your skills are required? Finding out there are other options will give you a sense of control over your own working life. Even if you have no job satisfaction right now, you’ll feel better if you know that there is a realistic prospect of work that gives you a degree of it.

Expectations are another key ingredient in job satisfaction. Take a long hard look at what you really are capable of. Sometimes it’s important to accept that you couldn’t really do the much more interesting or high-powered job you aspire to. Try to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. Focus on the things you really are good at, rather than on things that, if you’re really honest with yourself, you couldn’t actually do. Make the most of your situation and feel good about what you can do, rather than feeling bad about what you can’t do.

Work is a very important part of most people’s lives and it’s important to get at least some satisfaction from it. If you really dislike your time at work, the rest of your life is affected too, and you can easily get a negative outlook on life in general. It’s in your own hands to avoid this. Even if you can’t get the job of your dreams, you can take steps to create your own job satisfaction.

1   The writer’s aim in the first paragraph is to ________.

     A  distinguish between different kinds of work         

     B  correct a false belief      

    C  define the term ‘job satisfaction’  

       

2   In the second paragraph, the writer ________.

    A  warns readers against a certain attitude         

    B  advises readers not to have unrealistic ideas about work      

    C  suggests to readers that most jobs are dull         

3   In the third paragraph, the writer emphasizes ________.

   A  how easy it can be to progress in a career      

   B  a particular route to job satisfaction      

   C  the need for people to motivate themselves    

  

4   The writer uses the phrase ‘stuck in a rut’ to refer to ________.

      A  a situation that won’t improve         

      B  the bad behaviour of others      

      C  the danger of being too sensitive    

     

5   What is the writer’s advice if something goes wrong?

    A  Pretend that it didn’t happen.         

    B  Use the experience to your advantage.      

    C  Don’t think about it until later.  

       

6   The writer says that people who feel ‘trapped’ in a job should consider ________.

     A  discussing their unhappiness with managers      

     B  moving to a different company or organization      

    C  changing the kind of work they do  

       

7   The writer says that you will feel better about your working life if you ________.

     A  think that some job satisfaction is possible in the future      

     B  choose a particular career option for the future      

    C  stop aiming for job satisfaction for a while  

       

8   What does the writer say about expectations of work?

     A  Too many people have unrealistic ones.      

     B  They should be based on real ability.         

     C  They may change as time passes.         

9   In the final paragraph, the writer says that ________.

     A  lack of job satisfaction has serious consequences for people      

     B  a negative attitude to life leads to a negative attitude to work      

     C  there is more to life than job satisfaction   

      

10   Which of the following best sums up the writer’s view in the text as a whole?

       A  Some people find it easier to get job satisfaction than others.      

       B  Everyone can get a certain amount of job satisfaction.      

       C  Job satisfaction is the most important issue in the workplace today.     

    

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