by Alison Hill
Challenge Consulting has some fresh ideas for you this September. It’s the start of a new season and the sun is shining. As well as being an excellent time to get outdoors for a lunchtime walk, Spring is a reminder that it’s a good idea to revisit your career plan and reconsider your level of job satisfaction.
But if winter is still hanging heavily over you, start small. Take the first step towards job satisfaction by changing one thing to create a satisfying work environment for yourself.
You may be just starting out in the workforce and wondering how to make career choices, or you may be in a leadership position and keen to improve your team’s job satisfaction as you progress your own career. No matter where you are starting from, finding the career and the role that brings you great satisfaction is a process.
We all wish we could have a job that didn’t feel like work. One where the hours would fly past, and the bank account would fill up while we did what we loved. For some lucky people this is reality, but for most of us, work involves a fair amount of doing something a little boring (or a lot!), somewhat frustrating and that doesn’t result in rivers of gold pouring into our coffers. The reality of work for most of us is that we find satisfaction in a practical choice of career.
Luckily, it is possible to create satisfaction in almost any career choice, no matter how unglamorous. In September’s newsletters we will look at some of the ways this can be achieved. From choosing a career to deciding to make a career change, we will bring you tips about spring cleaning your work life. We’ll look at values and meaning in work too as they are often a very important – and overlooked – part of job satisfaction.
Work plays such a big part in our lives that it’s really worth taking time out to examine what makes us happy and productive, and what to do if we’re not feeling the love for our job right now. Even if you are not in your dream career yet, knowing what the key elements of job satisfaction are is the first step towards making the changes that will lead to feeling motivated at the start of each working day and satisfied by the end of it. The mix is unique for each of us. Take some time this month to work out what will bring you the most satisfaction. Whether it’s pursuing a high-powered financial services career or helping others, or even making money from your hobby, it starts with finding out your unique mix of ingredients for satisfaction.
I’m off to pick a bunch of Spring flowers for my desk. What will your one small thing be today?
