Know The Telltale Signs of Job Dissatisfaction

If you’re asking yourself if you’re happy in your job, perhaps it’s time to find out!

Job satisfaction is vital for personal happiness as we spend so much of our lives working.

Employers know up to half their staff are likely to be unsatisfied in their role, at some time. Retaining employees, especially key workers, is a top priority for management, so there is no avoiding the work that needs to be done in identifying job dissatisfaction.

Levels of happiness at work vary all the time. External and internal factors can trigger a burst of joy and contentment in much the same way it can impose a sense of loss and feeling of doom.

Humans are complex creatures. Whatever you do in your efforts to turn the frown upside down, remember, you can not please all of the people all of the time. There will be some workers who you can not keep insofar as no matter what you offer them, they will leave their role and your business.

However, the odds are in your favour to keep the staff you want. Being alert to huge swings in sentiment within your team or with individual worker forearms you that action is required to remove the discontent.

In this article, we look at some of the more obvious telltales signs that you need to act on and some tips on how to go about it.

Recognition

All workers want to be appreciated, and that includes you. But, when you’re at the top as a business owner, it’s lonely and hard to get recognition for your hard work and success. One way around this is to get a mentor who is in the know and can step up to offer encouragement and that all-important pat-on-the-back when you’re successful in your role.

Among your workers, you’ll realise it is often the loudest or most extroverted that gets heard and the quietest or introverted unconsciously ignored. However, everyone needs recognition, so you need to seek opportunities to identify and reward each worker.

While this task does take time, its action is advantageous given recognition is up there in the list of top reasons for job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Of course, avoiding unhappiness at work is impossible, but you can minimize it by showing your support.

Top tip

Part of being a great people leader or manager is knowing when things are not going, and you’d like with a team or individual.

Team and individual meetings will identify what matters to them. As recognition is high on most worker’s list of job fulfilment, try:

• Team meals out – at a favorite eatery
• Bring food in – and enjoy it together in the team meeting room
• Adventure days – take the team on an excursion
• Time off – an extra day off work

Career or Role Progression

Workers need to know they’re not in a dead-end role. Even if the role is not the most exciting, there needs to be light at the end of the tunnel with other opportunities to step up within the business and provide more remuneration and job benefits.

Action

Start a career plan for every worker to know you and the business is invested in them. There doesn’t need to be any guarantee of a new or different role. The plan is about opportunity and hope. No one wants to know what they’re doing is the best they can achieve.

Job satisfaction does mean different things to different people when it comes to career or job progression.

Not everyone is driven by moving up the hierarchy to a management role. However, training and development to acquire new specialist skills will keep many workers happy at work. So put your top talent through extra qualifications like an MBA or PhD.

Create a new role

When you identify a worker who may not have an obvious career path within your business, this may be an opportunity to develop a new role for them. All businesses change, and hanging onto top talent can be all it takes to move into a new service line.

Employee Benefits

Are you offering your workers what they want with job benefits? The top Employee benefits sought after by workers include:

• Health insurance
• The flexibility of work hours and remote working
• More vacation time
• Free fitness membership
• Company events
• Team building
• Training and development

Summary

Job satisfaction is fundamental for personal happiness. However, it should be mentioned that it alone will not make you happy, and as a leader, you are not solely responsible for a worker’s sense of achievement in their role. Many factors can change how we all feel about our job. Many of them are external, like a global downturn or a fun sports event like the Olympics.

What is important to gauging job satisfaction is being aware of what makes you or your staff content in the role and business. Then taking the right actions to stay the course and on the right path to fulfilment.