Are You Happy or Satisfied?
Job Happiness and Job Satisfaction are popular terms in the Human Resource Management sector. During recruitment and headhunting, it is not uncommon to find candidates who state they wish to work in a company they find Happiness and Job Satisfaction from their work.
The two terms are quite different and cannot be used interchangeably as their meanings mean different things.
Happiness is an emotion we experience and is associated with feelings of joy and achievement. Essentially happiness is a state of mind. Job satisfaction on the other hand is a feeling of contentment from the work we are doing and/or doing. Sounds similar?
Well, they are and despite having different meanings, it is often rare to find Job Happiness without Job Satisfaction and vice versa. To understand this better, let us look at the reasons for the lack of Job Happiness and Job Satisfaction.
Reasons For Lack of Happiness
- Lack of Remuneration – If employees feel they are not being fairly compensated for the work they do, they are likely to feel disappointed in the organization. This occurs at varying degrees as it can be mitigated with good culture. However, if an employee has pressing bills to take care of, they might not feel happy for long.
- Lack of Recognition – Employees like to be recognized for a job well done. If they feel they did their best but do not receive well deserved positive feedback, their job happiness might wane.
- Lack of work-life balance – Employees without work-life balance tend to be stressed out and overwhelmed. They might even carry some resentment for the work they do.
Reasons for Lack of Job Satisfaction
- Poor Stress Management – Employees who are overly stressed out tend to lack the stamina to perform well for very long. If they do not perform well there is no job satisfaction.
- Limited Career Growth – When employees find they are not progressing in their career either at work or in their field, Job Satisfaction starts to wane. If an employee for instance finds they are doing valuable work but they are not getting promoted or getting more responsibility, their Job Satisfaction is impacted.
- Lack of Interest – This is perhaps the biggest reason an employee lacks job satisfaction. If employees are not doing work they are interested in or find they are in an industry they do not enjoy but pays the bills, then Job Satisfaction decreases significantly.
If you notice, the reasons for the Lack of Job Happiness can spill into the reasons for the Lack of Job Satisfaction. To ensure employees have a healthy balance of Job Happiness and Job Satisfaction, it is important to have a good office culture. This will enable you to recruit employees who can mix in and contribute to a positive working space. As such, Job Happiness and Satisfaction increases. This is why Summit Recruitment and Search is your preferred recruitment company in Africa as our assessments and interview processes ensure you find employees who jell well with the culture in your organization.
