A recent global job satisfaction survey by accenture has shown that more and more people feel unsatisfied at work or somehow disconnected from their job. A global average of nearly 60% claim not to be satisfied with their career – and here in Singapore, where I live, the situation is even worse with 76% claiming to be dissatisfied with their jobs (the second lowest result globally!).
Wow, I don’t know what you think but these results really struck me – although the trend didn’t come totally unexpected. I have seen and heard it too often and experienced it myself big time at the end of my 12-year stint with my former employer (a Fortune 500 company).
What makes people unhappy at work?
Of course, the survey results came with a whole bunch of interpretation and analysis naming things like perceived underpayment and lack of growth opportunities as key factors for the low satisfaction rates.
But whatever reasons are stated by the different participants – they all have something in common: They are consciously or sub-consciously linked to the personal value system of each individual.
And if you look around you, they’re easy to spot almost everywhere: People performing jobs which – at least to a certain extent – do not align with their core values very well.
Sounds a bit fuzzy and theoretical, right? So, what does this really mean? It simply means that people often have to work on stuff or in an environment that doesn’t make them feel happy or fulfilled. Even worse: they are often stuck in a work situation which constantly attacks some of their core values. This makes them feel really miserable – because our core values are our most important and powerful happy makers if we manage to treat them well!
So, why don’t people take control and start to actively change this situation more often? Why don’t they simply start to say no and do more of the things they like? The answer is that there is a huge lack of self-awareness and clarity out there. People often feel lost and don’t know what their values are. They only feel a kind of general unhappiness but don’t have a clue why exactly that is, how to analyze the situation and how to change it to the better.
How about you?
Do you know what makes you happy and gives you satisfaction?
If you need some orientation, read on!
What are your core values?
Please take a look at the following three questions and write down your answers if you can:
- What makes me really happy?
- Which values have a clear priority in my life?
- To which degree do I live my life in line with those core values?
To help you a bit with this exercise, I’ve attached a list of the most common core values (please feel free to add your own if required!). If in doubt, please start with your Top 10 and then eliminate one by one until you end up with your 3 most important values. Only then continue to read…
I’m curious, are your most important values more materialistic or non-materialistic in nature? There is no right or wrong here but you might want to note that it has been proven that non-materialistic values tend to lead to a deeper and longer-lasting level of satisfaction.
Let’s transfer this whole discussion back to work now! Think about when and where you actually live your values at work. You should be able to identify these situations by thinking about where and when you feel closely aligned with what you do, be very satisfied and kind of at terms with yourself and your environment.
How often do you get into this state? Do your core values get violated in your current work environment from time to time? Do you feel a lack of space for them at the moment? If yes, it’s about time to ask the following questions – separately for each of your 3 core values:
- What will I do to ensure this value gets considered more often at work?
- What makes this particular value so important to me?
- What possibilities open up for me once it has been satisfied?
- How do I recognize that it has been satisfied?
- How do I commit to giving it more space every day at work?
Write down the answers for all 3 values. Then, start implementing your plan and observe the impact on your satisfaction level over the next couple of days and weeks. What has changed?
It helps to keep your list of 3 core values handy (add one or two more if you like). Print it out and place it somewhere you can see them regularly.
It helps to repeat this exercise every now and then – latest when you start feeling a subtle but constant level of frustration again.
What are the 3 values that you see being violated most often in your job?