Finding Satisfying and Gainful Employment - Essay Example

Satisfying job Finding satisfying and gainful employment is a challenge the vast majority of adults will face. In order to meet one’s wants and needsa person must earn money for a living, as life is expensive. Apart from the basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, people also spend a lot of money on healthcare, utility bills and entertainment. However, there is no guarantee that only these things will be satisfying or motivate you to work. Unless people work in a dynamic environment, work usually turns into a daily grind, especially office jobs. People are assigned certain responsibilities that they are expected to fulfill on a daily basis, or meet in an eight hour fixed time period. You end up doing the same thing over again and again, and it eventually makes you bored about your job. As a result, your interest in the job starts to disappear and you feel that you cannot be there anymore. While money is a major contributor to job satisfaction, there are many other things that are of similar importance. For many people the main purpose of work is to earn money. It is difficult to imagine life without money, because everything has its own exchange value which money is needed to pay. Payday is the happiest of days in these workers’ calendars. People receive remuneration for the time and effort dedicated to their work. Moreover, it becomes even more pleasant if there is a bonus for good performance or for the amount of work done, as then at least a person can feel appreciated. If a person runs their own business, they are oftentimes satisfied with their work if it has regular profit. If people are paid less than what they think they can get, it makes them upset with their work and discourages their motivation for better performance. For instance, my friend’s coworker always complains about her salary, which is not equal to her ten years of working experience and professional performance. No matter how well and how fast she can finish her duties, she still gets the same amount of salary. As a result, she becomes lazy on the job. She takes personal phone calls during work hours, and she even once stayed in the bathroom doing her nail polish until everyone could smell the chemical odor from the paint. It is all because she barely gets her salary increased and never receives a bonus for good performance. It is true that a person is not happy when they do not have what they deserve. That is why people who get more money at work are usually more satisfied. The situation is made even worse if no opportunity for a promotion is given. The ability to be promoted or gain job advancement is recognized as a crucial aspect of gainful employment and is essential for long-term job satisfaction. Lack of promotion demoralizes the employee. If one knows they have no chance to make it up the corporate ladder, they will not give the best shot on their works since there is nothing in it for them. Since their professional performance and skills are not appreciated by the company, they start to think the jobs are not suitable for them. They believe this is the reason why they don’t get promoted. Therefore, many people keep changing jobs because they are looking for the best promotion to increase their salary. But most employers do not appreciate the fact that career advancement is a major motivating factor that not only boosts performance but also creates a sense of pride in the advancing worker. More employers and companies need to take up this practice. Many individuals seek different things from their work environment. One considers that in the recent Presidential election candidate Mitt Romney had more money than he could ever spend. Still, he pursued the presidency conceivably for the power and esteem it would grant him. Oftentimes power or public awareness can be a motivating factor for enjoying a job or pursuing a career. One recognizes the significant premium that is placed on acting jobs where the individual appears on the television or movie theatre. Even in more normal professions these fringe benefits constitute power motivating circumstances. For instance, while a writer or journalist may not make a substantial sum of money they are given the opportunity to see their words in print. Journalists also gain access to people and events that they would otherwise be restricted to. Ultimately, these collective and disparate fringe benefits can make even a quotidian job exciting and motivating. Another group of people pursue a job because it allows them to do what they love doing for a living. People who want to be a teacher or doctor are not looking for the high salary or promotion as their first priority, because these jobs allow them to achieve a higher purpose. For example, teachers salaries are not that high and the work is challenging but if a person feels that they like teaching and interacting with students, this work will make them happy. Working as a teacher you get something more than money; it is a wonderful feeling when you see the results of your work from your students and they appreciate you. The same thing is true with the doctors; they save lives, they cure people, and people respect them for their professional skills. Every person wants to be respected by the society they live in and such jobs give them an opportunity to achieve this respect and success. Additionally, in these situations the individuals that find the greatest success are those whose aptitudes and potentials in life are best suited for the specific profession. Having good coworkers can be another of the reasons for you to stay in the job you have. The people you work with are really important too, because you see them every day and you have to communicate with them. Having intelligent and inspiring people around you can sometimes function as a benefit unto itself, as these individuals can aid your professional development, or even lighten the day. Sometimes work is not so good. My friend had an experience working in an office and the working environments were horrible, but the people who worked there were nice and kind; these people made him feel better and even motivated him to continue working there. Maybe if you work hard and share this experience with someone else, you become closer to each other and it is easier to work together, even though it is a horrible environment. With these people you spend eight or even more hours a day, it is better to be friendly. If your coworkers are your enemies then any work turns becomes horrible because of their unpleasant attitude. Even people with harsh and strong tempers cannot resist cold wars at work. A competition may lead to really unpleasant things when coworkers try to say something mean or lie something about you to the boss in order to get promoted. In order to be satisfied with your job, those are the elements you have to consider when you try to determine a good job. If you feel important at work you will be happy to work. People are happy when they can feel that they are needed and their work is appreciated. Once you feel happy with what you do, you like the people at work and you are paid for what you deserve. The key is in your own attitude towards what you do and your personal perception of the world. Some people are satisfied with work just because they like it, some of them have to consider more points to feel happy with their work and some people do not like anything at all. People are different and they all have individual criteria to which they judge whether they are satisfied or not. Read More