How to get better job satisfaction

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When you enjoy your work, it has a direct positive impact on your health and your chances of succeeding in your work life.

When and in what contexts we experience job satisfaction is very individual. It also typically changes throughout one’s working life. What creates job satisfaction for you is therefore not necessarily the same as what makes your colleagues enjoy their work.

It is a good idea to think about what basic needs you have that you would like to have met in order to have satisfaction in your job.

There are generally 9 factors that have been proved to increase satisfaction at work and can thus be said to define a “good” job.

Nine factors of a good job

Influence on your own work:

This particularly has to do with influence on your own working conditions, planning and performance of your work, layout of the workspace, who you work with and the placement of your working hours.

Meaning in your work:

Your work should make sense. For example, you should be able to see how you contribute to the overall product or primary service at your workplace. You should be able to see the overall purpose of the company's production. Does this production add value for the customers or society?

Predictability:

Timely information creates predictability, and predictability reduces insecurity and uncertainty. However, this does not mean that at a good job you are supposed to be able to predict all the individual details of the working day. Predictability is about the major elements.

Social support:

This can come from both your colleagues and your manager. The support can be both practical and psychological. The important thing is that the support is given to you in the right way and at the right time.

Reward:

Salary, perks, career, appreciation and recognition are examples of rewards. The important thing about rewards is that they must be proportionate to your effort. Otherwise, you will perceive it as unfair.

Demands at work:

The demands at work must be neither too high nor too low. They must be appropriate. It is important that you know what demands are placed on you. They must be clear and you should know when the work is done well enough. Demands can be quantitative (workload and pace), emotional and social.

Trust:

This is about the expectations you and your management have of each other. Can you count on each other and do you trust what your colleagues and management say? Does your management trust that you and your colleagues can do a good job? For example, do you think that they do what they say and say what they are doing in your company and act transparently and with explanation?

Fair treatment:

Do you feel that things are going right for you? Do you feel sufficiently involved in decision-making processes and is there a fair distribution of benefits? Do you feel recognised and rewarded for your efforts? Are you and others treated with respect and dignity?

Cooperation:

This particularly has to do with whether you, your colleagues and the management are able to work constructively and effectively together on the core tasks the workplace was created to solve.

Advice developed by the National Research Centre for Work Environment.

How to work with your own job satisfaction

If you want to go a step further on getting a measure of your job satisfaction at work, you can also ask yourself a series of questions that revolve around all nine factors of a good job.

These are questions that relate to your company, your job and your tasks, your development, your relationship with your immediate manager and your colleagues and your balance between work and free time. The questions are from the book “Manual til et bedre arbejdsliv” (“Manual for a Better Working Life”) by occupational psychologist Marianne Boje Andersen.

Your company

Can you recommend your company to others?
Do you feel at home in the company’s culture?
Does the purpose of your workplace give you a sense that your work is important?

Your job and your tasks

Are you proud of and enjoy your job?
Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best at your workplace every day?
Are you getting the salary and status you think you should have?
Do you have the influence on your job that you want?
Can you usually complete your tasks within normal working hours?
Are you committed to your tasks?
Is there a good match between your challenges and your skills?
Do you know what is expected of you – is your role clear?
Do you feel that your opinion matters in your workplace?
Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do a good job?
Have you received recognition or praise for having done a good job within the last week?
Do you have clear, meaningful and realistic goals for your work?
Does your job also have space for the calm and concentration you need?

Your development

Do you get tasks that develop you?
Do you get the supplementary training you need and is your job leading you in the right direction?
Have you had opportunities to learn and grow at your workplace over the past year?
Within the past six months, has anyone at your workplace spoken to you about your development?
Does your labour market value increase through your current job?

Your manager

Does your manager have an overview of your company/department’s mission and goals?
Does your manager create team spirit?
Do you know how to get a hold of your manager?
Does your manager regularly provide constructive feedback on your results?
Does your manager know your potential?
Does your manager support you in your considerations on your career and continuing education?
Does it seem like your manager likes you as a person?

Your colleagues

Do you have the cooperation with your colleagues that you need?
Do you trust your colleagues?
Are your colleagues professionally competent?
Are you respected by your colleagues?
Do you get good feedback from your colleagues?
Do you have the knowledge sharing with your colleagues that you need?
Does the social interaction fit what you need and want?
Are there one or more people at your workplace who encourage you to develop?
Are your colleagues committed to doing a good job?
Are there one or more colleagues who seem to like you as a person?

Your balance between work, family and leisure

Is there a good balance between your work life and what you want for your family life and private life?
Do you feel you have enough time for your family?
Do you feel you have enough time for your friends?
Do you have enough time of your own?

Want to achieve better job satisfaction?

Do you have any job satisfaction challenges you need to talk about? If you prefer an independent person outside your company, you can book a free job satisfaction meeting with a consultant at Finansforbundet.

Book an interview

How to increase your colleagues’ job satisfaction

Just the fact that you are satisfied at work means something to your colleagues. It has a positive contagious, collective effect.

But you can also actively help create job satisfaction for others if you contribute to positive cooperation and a positive atmosphere in your department and at your workplace.

Here are some examples of initiatives you can take to increase the job satisfaction of your colleagues.

Praise/acknowledge your colleagues for their efforts in various areas, be it professional or social. It helps them grow.
When you meet in the morning, great your colleagues and smile pleasantly.
If one of your colleagues seems stressed, ask if you can give them a helping hand. You may need it yourself at some point.
If a colleague has been sick for a long time, send them a thoughtful greeting. Show you are thinking of them.
Show trust in your colleagues and focus on mutual respect. It promotes good cooperation.
Contribute to a culture where you often give each other constructive feedback. This not only develops the person you give the feedback to but also yourself.
Share your knowledge with your colleagues. There will certainly be situations where you yourself will be glad to get the knowledge you need.
Participate when social interaction is initiated. Social contact extends life and relationships are the foundation for all cooperation.

Remember that when you make others happy, you automatically become happier yourself.