The elusive job satisfaction

Some jobs bring you a lot of money; others don't. However, you find people doing all kinds of jobs to earn a living. The problem is that even if you get a lot of money, you will not get any job satisfaction.

On the other hand, whether you get any job satisfaction or not, you will have to do some job to earn money. Although money is not everything, you cannot live without it. When you have no money, you naturally feel miserable.

I remember an ancient Chinese saying: "Find a job you enjoy doing and you will not have to work a day in your life." It simply means that when you are doing a job, you will not consider it something tedious.

The Chinese saying makes us believe that if we enjoy our jobs, we will be happier than a person who earns a lot of money without getting any job satisfaction. If you think that your job is drudgery, you will not enjoy job satisfaction.

Throughout our lives we seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. We do not like diseases, medicine, operations, injections, and amputations because they give us pain. If we can satisfy our five sensory organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin - that is considered pleasurable.

Even a child is ever on the look out for things that give him pleasure. Children like to play, watch television and go on picnics.

Most of them do not derive any pleasure by learning mathematics or history. As adults we look for jobs that give us money, pleasure and some prestige.

One major problem young people face is whether they can find jobs that give them satisfaction. About 50 years ago, I had to work in a government office in the dry zone. The salary was poor and the living conditions were deplorable. What is more, I did not get any job satisfaction because I was at the beck and call of anyone who could spare five cents to buy a postage stamp! However, I had to do that job for some time as I needed some money to make ends meet. It took me nearly two decades to get out of the rut and find a job that gave me happiness.

The importance of money need not be overstated. Nobody can live without money and our happiness is closely linked with it. If your means of earning a living is unpleasant - like working in a mortuary - or even difficult - like working as a labourer - you will find yourself in a dilemma. You cannot give it up because you need money.

If all of us refuse to do unpleasant jobs, the world will come to a standstill.

One way out of this situation is to gain qualifications for jobs that give you satisfaction. While doing boring jobs many employees pursue higher studies and gain qualifications for higher positions. However, all employees do not have the desire or the inclination to follow academic or professional courses. In such situations the best course of action is to enjoy the job you are doing however unpleasant it may be. This is not something unreasonable as it sounds. It is like saying that if you cannot marry someone you like, then learn to love the person you marry!

If you get a lot of money by doing a particular job, you will find it easy to enjoy it. Think of the pleasures you can enjoy by doing that job even if you do not think it is the ideal job for you. In psychology we call this programming or conditioning. When you program your brain to enjoy a particular job, you will begin to like it. Most of us have been programmed to enjoy menial jobs simply because we earn money by doing them.

If we can find jobs that give us maximum happiness, we are extremely lucky. However, the human predicament is such that most of us do not get the jobs we desire to do. Modern psychologists tell us that if you cannot find the ideal job, do not be disheartened. Try to enjoy the job you are doing now because it sustains your life. You simply cannot live without doing a job. Therefore, do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do!

Most professions require you to have the right academic and professional qualifications. In addition, you should have the right attitude to do certain jobs. If you do not have the right language skills, do not become a teacher or a journalist. If you have no compassion for human beings, do not become a doctor or a nurse. If by some quirk of fate you become one, change your attitude! Then you will get immense job satisfaction.