If you really like your job but still find yourself feeling unfulfilled or unhappy, you’re not alone. Seventy percent of workers are in an unhappy place right now, the reasons not quite known but are varied. Some are unsatisfied with their compensation, some are bored with their job tasks, while others bring their home stress with them to work. Regardless of the reasons, there are a lot of miserable people out there which is impacting productivity and satisfaction (and the bottom line).
One other possibility is that it is the organization – either through value misalignment or not a ‘fit.’ If you really like the job tasks you do, and the people you work with, but still feel dissatisfied then you need to consider one of those two as an explanation. When your values and those things you hold dear, like honesty, hard work, recognition or growth, are not important to your employer, it will cause feelings of tension that can lead to dissatisfaction; likewise, when your personality and characteristics are out-of-sync with the culture of the organization you will begin to feel frustrated and dissatisfied. If not dealt with this dissatisfaction will lead to disengagement and you might spiral down from there.
If you find yourself coming home and kicking the dog or feeling emotionally exhausted you need to recognize the underlying source of that unhappiness. Go and assess all that you like about your job – do you enjoy daily tasks that you do, are you using your skills fully, are you able to contribute ideas through sharing of ideas and solutions, are you working to your potential, do you get recognized for your ideas or the work you perform? Now, think about the organization itself – do you feel valued and are you recognized for your contributions, do the physical surroundings appeal to you (workspace, noise level, etc.), do you liked the people you work with, do you feel you have adequate resources to perform your job well, is your work location easy to get to (traffic, distance, etc.), do you agree with the policies & procedures and the way work is carried out? Knowing the answer to these questions can give you great insight into your level of satisfaction with the job.
If you can”t answer positively to any of those questions, then it is critical that you look deeply to the source and determine what you can do to turn a negative into a positive one and explore how you might go about doing so. You might look at taking responsibility and committing to being more conscientious about your work or changing the way you think about the situation; you might look at how you can work within the environment you’re in so it feels less stressful. The job situation can continue to cause you unhappiness or it can bring you joy; it’s how you look at it that will determine you path – the choice is yours to make.
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