Job Satisfaction: Whose Job is It?

Due to the rapid changes in the global marketplace, new and changing technologies, and significant competition in all industries, paternalistic organizations are quickly going the way of the dinosaur. Today’s employers expect their workers to be self-directed and responsible for their own career development. A critical component in establishing a “win-win” relationship between employers and their employees is having a mutual understanding of the importance of job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction - organization’s view. Organizations hire people to perform specific tasks that help them achieve their business goals. They want to hire the talent necessary to achieve organizational goals that are consistent with their mission and profitability. The process of selecting employees is dependent on accurate job descriptions, reasonable expectations and realistic, self-aware applicants. When an organization successfully finds people who “fit” the job requirements, who enjoy and are skilled in the tasks assigned to meet the organization’s goals, and appreciate the organization’s salary/benefit strategy, a win-win situation is created for the employer and employee.

Historically, the focus of organizations has been to establish a generally acceptable organizational culture. Organization-provided satisfiers (org-ps) are offered to employees in exchange for outcomes the organization considers valuable, such as high levels of performance and loyalty. Organizations benchmark their compensation and benefit strategies to remain competitive in hiring and retaining talent. They also face increasing expenses in benefits such as healthcare, retirement investments and tuition reimbursement.

Employers that understand another critical aspect of job satisfaction will gain an advantage in recruiting, retaining and developing talent. This second aspect is referred to as job-related satisfiers (job-rs), the satisfiers and enjoyment that an individual employee experiences from performing the actual work or tasks of his or her job.

Job Satisfaction - employee’s view. Starting with the end in mind, reflect for a moment on what people might be looking for when they take a job. Perhaps they are working mainly for a paycheck? Maybe their health benefits are most important, or a good retirement plan? Some people may be interested in tuition reimbursement, opportunities for advancement, or to learn new skills. All of these types of critical rewards are determined by the organization based on their strategy to be profitable and competitive in recruiting and retaining people.This is the heart of how employees and organizations negotiate the value of the labor exchange.

Job-related satisfiers have to do with the employee’s desire to use his/her abilities to make a contribution, to do meaningful work, and to be valued. These satisfiers are more directly related to how much we enjoy our day-to-day tasks and our role in the organization. How we perform on daily tasks is related to our productivity, and we expect to discuss the assignment and performance of our work with an immediate supervisor or manager.

The annual performance review is typically the main conversation to explore productivity and satisfaction. Since these conversations focus more on evaluation of performance, goal attainment and salary adjustments (org-ps), they seldom get to meaningful conversations about satisfaction with tasks or the “fit” of the current or future work itself (job-rs). Also, managers juggle multiple demands to achieve organizational goals, so they can easily under-appreciate the powerful influence that job-related satisfiers have on employees’ overall satisfaction. By taking the initiative to communicate with their managers, employees can help ensure that managers are better able to provide the necessary guidance or coaching support.

In summary, it is challenging for an organization and manager to identify and promote employee satisfaction at an individual level. This is surprising because these job-related satisfiers are highly motivating when met, (de-motivating when not met), and are at the heart of productivity and performance.

Job Satisfaction Model

Employees are in a better position for achieving success and satisfying work once they understand and can communicate how their own unique work profiles (aptitudes/abilities, interests, personality style & values) can meet an organization’s work–related requirements and opportunities.

A simple job satisfaction model shown of the following page demonstrates the organizing relationship of these different concepts.

  Job Satisfaction Model

The model is divided so the concepts on the left side identify what the employer wants and what it offers as rewards and benefits - the organization-provided satisfiers (org-ps, circles 1 and 5). The right side of the model shows what the employee contributes to accomplish specific tasks (circle 2) and ultimately the organization's goals (job-rs). The more self-aware an individual is about their aptitudes, personal style, and values, the greater the potential to identify and select jobs that fit. The more accurate the job description, the better the odds of attracting the right pool of applicants (circle 3). When there is a clear fit between the person and the job, there is a greater chance of successfully accomplishing goals (circle 4). This in turn leads to an increase in personal satisfaction (circles 6 and 7). In today's complex work environment, job descriptions are evolving as we take on special projects or are assigned to teams. This expanded complexity increases the need to be proactive in determining fit.

Performance & fit - the core of satisfaction

Job performance and fit are at the center of the diagram because they comprise the core of a win-win relationship between employer and employee, (circles 3 & 4). When we are relatively satisfied with our salary, vacation time and other organization-related rewards and we find a fit and enjoy our work, feel appreciated and understand that our contributions are needed (our job-related satisfiers), we develop a personal, higher level of commitment to the achievement of goals and thereby the success of the organization. Collectively, when individuals achieve higher levels of job satisfaction and performance, an organization is better positioned to meet its goals with improved productivity and profitability.

What happens when the job no longer fits?

We might select a position that is an excellent fit at any point in our working years. We perform well and enjoy the work, the benefits and rewards are in the right range - but over time the things begin to change. This can be the result of new and different goals that no longer use our full range of aptitudes/abilities, the introduction of technology that alters the work, the need for new knowledge or skills to accomplish the tasks, or perhaps the lack of anything new. These types of changes and others impact our level of satisfaction. The key is to take a step back, conduct an evaluation of what has changed and identify what specifically is impacting our current level of satisfaction.

First, it is important to determine whether any of the actual work requirements and expectations, (job-rs), or organization-provided satisfiers have changed. You may discover that the job is still satisfying, but the organization may be facing increased competition or costs that have impacted their profitability and capability to maintain its current salary and/or benefit strategy. This change may impact our satisfaction with the way the organization rewards us. In today's changing economy, a situational analysis should include industry trends to determine if the changes are specific to your organization or are industry-wide.

Second, since there are many aspects of job satisfaction, it may be time to re-evaluate what is most important for you. Our needs change over time. We may have experienced changes in our personal life or entered a new stage of life.

Finally, if the job itself has become unsatisfactory, determining what has changed is critical to planning effective next steps in your career decision making process. Unfortunately, without an analysis of what is contributing to our personal level of satisfaction, many of us make uninformed choices that don't actually improve our circumstances or satisfaction.

Tips to manage your career and job satisfaction

1. Become more self-aware. Learn about your aptitudes/abilities, preferences, values, and interests and be prepared to articulate where you can best contribute and what is important to you.

2. Practice using both personal and organizational information to analyze and evaluate different work requirements to help you evaluate what offers a good fit. Since most professional jobs today are a composite of projects, some will be more inviting to you than others. By understanding what you want and taking the opportunity to influence your manager, you are more likely to gain access to projects that are attractive to you.

3. Benchmark the type of work you perform in your organization with comparable work in similar organizations. This broader context will let you see trends and help you to evaluate the organization-provided rewards more objectively.

4. Identify specifically what is contributing to your satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Make a list. What items relate to the organization, department, or your job? Is there something you need to learn or change to improve the situation? Have the job responsibilities altered over time? Take the time to get at the root of what isn't working.

5. Learn how to talk with your manager about what types of projects you enjoy or specifically identify roles that are appealing. Also, share your thoughts about what you don't enjoy and why. Remember, at times we all have assignments find work tasks that are not satisfying.

6. Find a mentor in the organization to give you feedback and help you find developmental opportunities to contribute that more closely fit your work profile.

7. Build a professional support network to keep current on your field and understand the changes that may be coming.

8. Develop a relationship with a career professional.

9. Be proactive, conduct an annual career checkup.

© Copyright 2006, The Ball Foundation/Career Vision. Article may be reprinted with permission.
Career Vision is a career assessment and consulting organization that is dedicated to helping people and success and satisfaction in their work lives.

Direction. Decisions. Satisfaction.