Job Satisfaction - What’s your HQ?

A popular joke about job satisfaction goes this way:

What do you do for better job satisfaction?

Do only so much work that you feel you are paid more than you deserve!

We are sure you chuckled or this at least brought a wry smile to your face. The reason – while this might only be some job-related humor, the term job satisfaction rings close to many hearts.

So what exactly does job satisfaction mean? And what is HQ?

To better understand this, let’s hear Greg’s story. Greg is in his mid-thirties, and has just started a family. His previous job wasn’t bringing him enough funds to support his new responsibilities,

which is why he switched to a new organization. Great pay, a spanking new designation, a corner office – this new job had everything working for Greg on a materialistic plane. And initially, he was overjoyed too.

But as the days went by, Greg noticed that the workplace environment wasn’t exactly conducive to teamwork or work-life balance. He had to put in extra long hours at work, which meant he wasn’t paying enough attention at home. His immediate superiors were not exactly encouraging about his efforts and resorted to taking credit for his accomplishments. And yet, Greg stuck through all this. But when the time for performance appraisals was nigh, he started

feeling the real pressure. Once the review process was done and dusted, what Greg received was nowhere commensurate to his efforts or what he had compromised – his time, family life, hard work and mental peace. This left Greg severely disheartened and depressed, regretting his decision to make the job switch.

In retrospection, Greg’s story might ring true for a lot of us. In our bid to grow and reach higher places, and to progress to new heights in our careers, we often sacrifice the one thing that is essential for a stable professional life – job satisfaction.

Simply put, if you feel an exceeding level of comfort at work, an eagerness to be at your job every day, and enjoy an excellent camaraderie with your colleagues and management; not to mention your remuneration needs are met as well, chances are you are enjoying the elusive “job satisfaction”.

Now, many may question if the above definition seems idealistic and if it actually exists.

In fact, it does. While being ambitious is great, trading in your mental peace for a job that promises a lot more can be tricky. This is where your Happiness Quotient or HQ comes into reckoning. If you find yourself continually cribbing about your work, looking forward to your next vacation just to get away from the grind, and finding reasons to take a day off from work,

chances are your HQ’s at an all time low. This simply means your job and you are not a great fit! The solution: find a job or work that you love and a workplace that offers a positive and growth-oriented environment.

Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? SkillMirror can be your answer. We act as your guides and mentors – both, for organizations on the hunt for manpower and candidates looking for their next job switch. We specialize in matching candidate skills and profiles to the right job requirements. Our research-driven process backed by bleeding-edge technology takes into consideration candidates’ work style and behavioral traits as well via skill assessments, so that when they walk in through the doors of their next opportunity, they feel right at home. And organizations don’t need to worry about productivity, as they can relax knowing their new hire just loves the workplace.