Job Satisfaction: Do You Feel Boxed In?

How do you see your present job: as a rigid four equal sided box with no give and take or irregularly shaped which has a certain amount of flexibility?

Most professional jobs can be molded or shaped that will lead to a better fit with your talents and interests. In most cases, that will lead to greater job satisfaction.

In other words, first look at changing aspects of your job before changing your position or employer. Here are three things to focus on in job redesign – shaping your job to fit you better.

1. Task content:
This involves improving the way that things are done using skills that you already have; or using your knowledge to change working methods so that you can generate better results. Michael suggested to his boss that they change the intake procedure so that there would be less errors and duplication.

So what changes in your job can you suggest to your boss that will benefit the department and also give you greater job satisfaction?

2. Relationships:
Here, you look for ways to connect with others during the course of your work. For example, Joe volunteers to teach all new hires throughout the company on the internal reporting system. This does two things: He interacts with people from different departments and he gets known as the IT person to go to.

So how can you modify your job to allow for more interactions with others inside and outside the department and the company?

3. Purpose:
You can also redefine your job to reflect what you see as being the real impact of what you do. For example: Mary, a receptionist for a marketing firm, sees her job as an ambassador for the company. She greets visitors with an enormous smile, offers refreshments and engages them in conversation. She is not “just” a receptionist; she IS the company when people come in.

So how do you see your job? Can you identify how what you do makes an impact for your boss, your department, the company? Everyone should know and let others know their contribution.

Career Success Tip:

Job redesign gives you the chance to turn a dissatisfying situation around. The changes you make must not only bring you greater satisfaction but must also have positive outcomes for your team or department and of course your boss. Also see Job Satisfaction: Do You Have It?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?