What Exactly Is Job Satisfaction?
The feelings of joy and satisfaction are experienced individually and mean something different to each of us. Fundamentally, however, joy and specifically job satisfaction, is evoked from transmissions in your brain.
We, as people, are all driven by different goals. Therefore, the primary nature of job satisfaction and the well-being of employees, is experienced individually. The feeling you get, when you think of your job, be it negative or positive, is exactly your perception of your job satisfaction right now. Luckily, there is a range of tools and practices, you can make use of, to increase your own job satisfaction.
Job Satisfaction Is at Your Own Risk – And With a Heavy Chance of Excitement
When I look back at the days of the past, one things is very clear to me: In the best of times – we are talking weeks, months and years of joy and job satisfaction – I had a say when it came to my own happiness. I came to work in a splendid mood and engaged every assignment head-on. Back then, I did not take any credit for the good days. I felt it was my colleagues and the positive atmosphere at work, making those days a joyous experience.
In the same manner, I did not take any responsibility for the bad days either. Looking back, there were also weeks and months where I dreaded going to work. To me, it was the bad assignments, the lack of understanding from my boss, or even the weather getting the blame for my lack of motivation. When we end up being too humble to take ownership of the good that we bring, or too proud to take responsibility for the equally bad we sometimes put on others, we adversely end up renouncing ourselves of the opportunity to influence what is going on.
Often, things do not come out in black and white. While everyone can be in the midst of a tough period in their life, remember that it also affects your colleagues. It’s for the very same reason, Thomas Flindt’s lecture on job satisfaction also contains the dimension of “Work-life-balance”. It all comes back to the understanding and insight, that every aspect of life helps to influence and shape the complete human being. When you hold a solid grasp on housing, private economy and your relationship, you also hold the responsibility to be a positive influence on your environment.
Five Ways of Improving Job Satisfaction by Thomas Flindt
Presented underneath are 5 excercises that will help to show you, why being happy at work is important for your well-being. They also prove, how being happy becomes easier when we begin to demand it from ourselves.
1. Choose to be Happy at Work
Job satisfaction is important to us. We spend 8 hours a day at work. That’s exactly why we should use our own influenceto create the best possible conditions for a joyous work environmnet. This requires a conscious decision from us. You need to decide that you’re going to create a good working environment today. Try to ask yourself the question “how can I help lift the mood of my colleagues today?”
2. Choose to be Your Best Self Today
Just before I enter the scene and meet the audience, I make use of my own techniques to keep up the spirit. I straighten up and raise both arms over my head in a victory position. I stay in this pose for about 30 seconds. During many of my talks, I ask the audience to do the same thing. This is one way of deceiving the brain into thinking that you just won something, and for that reason, you should be happy. As ridiculous as it may sound, it is a well known trick that actually works. It is simple and easy, and can be used as often as you like. There’s a lot to be gained from assuming a power position and exuding confidence. It’s not really a question of whether it works – it’s a question of remembering to do it and simply doing it.
3. Smile
When we smile, we produce the chemical Serotonin. We also produce smiles for other people to put on. It’s a win-win situation in that sense. I often stress the importance of smiling and expressing excitement. I often put on a smile when driving home from work, hoping it will stick. I know it helps “tricking” the brain, and that I am happier when I arrive. Since your brain doesn’t know the difference between a “fake” and a real smile, why should you discriminate between the two? Make a habit out of smiling at your colleagues, when you share a glimpse in the hallway. Even if it’s a smile you chose to wear, it brings good energy to the table and requires very little from you.
4. Acknowledge One Another
People grow from acknowledgement. Most research in the area of “working environments” will show you that more or less everyone wishes for more acknowledgement at work. Both recognition and reward are important factors when it comes to keeping spirits high. Job satisfaction naturally dwindles if you’re rarely met with recognition for the good efforts you put in at work. I suggest you try to acknowledge all the good being done at your work place. Several studies show that job satisfaction increases, not only for the recipient, but also for the one giving out compliments. There’s hardly anything to lose.
5. Channel Your Excitement
When we celebrate just about anything, our brain produces Dopamine. This is a neural hormone creating a feeling of excessive energy and joy. You need to let go of any restraint that makes you think you shouldn’t be celebrating successes at work. My suggestion, is to celebrate whenever a task is completed in a manner you’re satisfied with. It’s more than okay to overdo it and blurt out a “YES” or “Awesome!”, because the room will get filled with excitement. Way too many people choose to simply move on to the next task, without celebrating that they’ve done a good job on an assignment.
Loving Going to Work and Employee Well-being
If you would like to explore more on the subject, we advise you to read our post on the matter of employee well-being here.
