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Are you happy at work?
A recent survey found that more than half of all American workers are reportedly either looking for a job or are open to other offers, and they’re looking for more than just money.
One of the most common reasons people look to leave their place of work is because they feel “undervalued”. In contrast, the research suggests that the key to keeping employees at their jobs depends on how well employers engage them and promote their development.
More specifically, the top five factors, identified in the study, that help keep people in their current jobs are:
1. having opportunities to learn
2. working for a company with a reputation as a good employer
3. having pay set fairly
4. having a manager who understands them
5. working in a company that retains high caliber people in general.
So although pay is an important factor it’s clearly only one of several variables that determine happiness at work. Are you happy in your place of work? If so, let us know what you enjoy most about your organisation or employer.
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April 11th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
The following is a letter I sent to the Minister of Education (Aust) with a copy of my booklet, he was not interested and wrote back that their web site www.myfuture.edu.au provides a personalized career exploration tool. I consider it misses the mark totally but the world is really ignorant of happiness and how to attain it.
Re: “How to choose a career.”
“Learning about my special talents”
Dear Dr Nelson,
My research indicates that no school teaches their students ‘How to select the career that will never become boring or stop being interesting or challenging and exciting’.
If students are taught how to choose (for them only) what type or group of careers will be fulfilling for them for the next 40+ years, throughout their whole working life, then their life will also experience most of the following:
o A desire to go to work, knowing they will enjoy what they do.
o Not be a “clock watcher” because the tasks are enjoyable and stimulating.
o Not as concerned with wages (unless they are exploitative). This will greatly change the role of unions. A wages arbitration system may no longer be required.
o Weekends will become a sad time in that the person is more likely to see the two days off as a period of time they are not allowed to do the job they love so much.
o Holidays are more likely to become a period of time for pursuing another passion (such as touring), often forced upon them as a rebuilding and stimulating break from their routine.
o If the employer and/or supervisor are not in their right vocation then they are very likely to place negative pressures on the employees, in turn lowering their own productivity and business efficiency.
o Where the employee is in their “right” career, they will go home happy because the job for them is not boring or stressful. When the working parent gets home, the family will benefit from the relaxed, still energetic parent willing to get involved in their homework, sports, gardening and outings. The family will experience far less periods of stress and conflict.
This knowledge enables the individual to understand that the part truths told to them by those they respected in the past have in fact been lying by keeping some information from them.
The knowledge contained in this booklet is also the guidance to teachers, community leaders and parents to change and do the positive thing – but because it is in the booklet for everybody else to understand, hopefully it will be a greater motivation for many people in the community to do the right thing in the future by the children in their care.
The knowledge the reader gains will enable them to make an extremely important decision, “Will I make the effort to be different and do the right thing by the young people who may one day come into my care, or will I continue the ‘system’ and just ‘go with the flow’ regardless of the effect on the children in my community?
The answer to the question includes making the decision “to understand my own natural talents” so that I place my own enjoyment in a job and the happiness in my home above my desire for a larger pay packet. Many values in the community continue to destroy a young person’s natural talent by referring to success as “wealth accumulated”.
The answer each person makes to the questions above will determine the power of the knowledge they gain within their own life. For all students it should be compulsory for every teacher to review the contents of this booklet on “How to choose a career!” at least once every term while they are in secondary school. If a student has lost their booklet it is crucial that they be given another one immediately so they have the maximum opportunity (and encouragement) to understand their own natural talent by the time they are required to choose a career, then prepare to leave school.
The Government and employers should be aware that there maybe a mass movement from all fields of employment to seek employment in unrelated fields. As this adjustment occurs it will naturally become a better balance throughout the community. Individual natural talents are balanced in the community according to the needs of the community at that time.
Benefits of recognizing natural talents:
· Students will develop stronger characters. As a result they will be less susceptible to violence and manipulation.
· Students who are given guidance to recognizing and understand their own natural talent is more likely to also recognize the talents of others which should reduce school yard violence.
· The student with a strong character is less likely to become involved in drugs that affect his or her life.
· A student is more likely to be settled at school if they have a clearer direction and purpose of their studies, and have an achievable goal at the end of school.
· Students who know their area of natural talent will not need to undertake several university degrees in order to eliminate professions he or she decides is definitely not for them. Resulting in lower university education debts that they need to repay.
The Government will save tens of millions of dollars:
q As a result of students “knowing” what career is right for them. Instead of swapping courses in an attempt to eliminate professions they are already getting bored with. Students only requiring one degree will greatly reduce the number of university places required.
q Industrial disputes will be greatly reduced.
q Organizations involved in supply of drugs will decrease due to smaller demand.
q Family break-ups would decrease because the home would be a happier place for both parents and children.
I recommend the Federal Education Department to publish and distribute both booklets to all students from Grade 5 to University. Initially it may be applicable for the booklets to also be given to all job seekers.
Yours sincerely
Dennis Gill
April 11th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
One of the things most employers miss is there bottom line will always be helped by a happy workforce. Happy workers are more productive and healthy people. There are less likely to miss work. They have more output. There is more cooperation between individuals, teams and departments in happy environments. All 5 of the top topics of that study are in direct alignment with the bottom line…it amazes me sometimes how it is ignored.
April 12th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
No doubt about it!
We’re currently most busy delivering our “Happiness @ Work” programs as more and more employers/organisations realise there are substantial benefits to be gained from enhancing the happiness (and hence the morale, engagement, satisfaction and productivity) or their employees. It really is a “win-win” as employees are happy and so to are the employers!
April 14th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Many of these things apply at the school age level as well, which can carry on to working age. At our primary school yesterday, there was an Easter hat parade followed by a picnic lunch with the parents. The children had the choice of an early mark and going home with their parents, or to stay at school for the rest of the afternoon. Most of them chose to stay at school, to be with their friends and because they love their school. My kids even insist on going earlier in the morning so they can spend extra time there. The most common comment from the children is that they are happy. It is a small school with 3 classes (the principal teaches years 4/5/6) and is like a country school right in the suburbs. It has a family-like supportive atmosphere and is very community oriented so the kids have a strong sense of belonging. Rewards are only given in response to appropriate input (not handed out willy-nilly in a politically correct fashion to appear ‘fair’). The children bond with all age groups and develop a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility through self-directed achievement.
April 17th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Hi! I work in a lovely environment. Our Manager has worked her way up to where she is and is so caring towards us all. We all get along and very rarly have a dispute amongst about 70 staff members. We have regular staff meetings where everybodies input is important and valued. We are constantly thanked for our wonderful effort in our workplace even to having it typed onto our pay advice fortnightly. If there ever is any nastiness it is addressed privately and with compassion and we are never informed who it is about. Their is hardly any bickering or gossip as
this is discouraged by our management. There is a very strong christian influence as we work for a church organisation. Are you sure you haven’t been to my workplace Dr.Happy?
April 19th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
I would have to say that my workplace generally does not have a happy environment. Indications of this is a high turn over of staff and general low morale when staff are talking to each other. There have been some team environments which have been wondefully encouraging, whereas others do not want you to achieve anything higher than what you are doing at the moment. It’s a sense of wanting to keep you down below them.
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:00 pm
I am currently experiencing the fact that even in the career of your dreams, you can encounter “spoilers”. There is a person who temporarily gained authority in my workplace, and used it to find spurious problems with two people she decided she didn’t like - myself being one of them. Knowing it was temporary, I went along with the 6 months of ridiculous impositions which were designed to destroy my love of the job, and hopefully push me out. Then things were supposed to get back to normal. Now I’m finding that, because there is new management who’ve been briefed by this lady, and the people who know my performance in real life have moved on, despite the fact that she’s moved back to her normal role I’m still under clouds of suspicion and having more and more conditions imposed on me, practically forcing me to become a clock watcher, denying me the chance to do the job to the level I want to do it (and know I can achieve) and refusing me any training or development opportunities.
It’s a struggle, sometimes, to keep the chin up and keep going in under that kind of cloud. No matter how good the job is, or how much you love it, it’s an unfortunate fact that there are people out there who will delight in trying to take your job away, and in some cases, they are in a position to do it.
Crystal (public service)