3 Things You Need To Know About Finding Your Work Bliss
Simply Hired Staff
Everyone wants a job that makes them happy. When your job makes you happy, it’s easier to feel engaged, productive, and satisfied at work — and that makes you a better employee.
Unfortunately, according to Gallup data on engagement in the office, only one-third of employees actually feel engaged at work.
So what’s the deal? And how can you find work that will actually make you happy and engaged?
Personality plays a role in job satisfaction
When it comes to being happy at work, who you are could be just as important as what you do. In fact, your personality could play a more important role in your job satisfaction than you may think.
Recently, the Truity team surveyed 25,759 respondents about their personality types, earnings, managerial responsibilities, job satisfaction and more. The study results suggest that certain Briggs Myers personality types are more likely to be satisfied at work than others.
Not sure what your Briggs Myers personality type is? Here’s a basic breakdown of the four categories. Think about where you fit into each category to guess your four-letter type before you read on:
- Energy Style (E vs. I) – Outgoing Extravert or reserved Introvert?
- Cognitive Style (N vs. S) – Imaginative Intuitive or realistic Sensor?
- Values Style (T vs. F) – Logical Thinker or compassionate Feeler?
- Life Style (J vs. P) – Organized Judger or flexible Perceiver?
As a job seeker, understanding your personality type and how it affects your job satisfaction can set you on a path towards your work bliss. These three things are important to know about being satisfied at work:
1. Job satisfaction is not all about income
One of the most interesting insights from the Truity study is that income doesn’t necessarily predict job satisfaction. Thinking personalities personality types who tend to seek monetary compensation and other status symbols in their careers — are among the highest earning types and manage the most people but lag behind when it comes to job satisfaction. Their counterparts, Feelers, make up four of the top five most satisfied employees.
As you can see, job satisfaction isn’t all about income.
Feelers take a different approach to work success. Instead of looking to income and other status-based symbols of success, Feelers tend to follow their hearts in their careers. They choose careers that allow them to serve others and make a positive impact on the world, not careers that lead to the stereotypical version of success.
2. It’s important to reevaluate your job satisfaction often
If you’re a Thinker, you may think that a raise or new parking space are the keys to job satisfaction. The data, however, suggests you may be wrong. Take time to really think about what motivates you in the office.
If you find that you put too much emphasis on income and power-based success measures, challenge yourself to find success measures that align with your personal values and attempt to achieve both.
If you’re a Feeler, continue doing what you’re doing, but don’t stop thinking about new ways to reflect your values in your work. Do your best to make connections between your work and the causes you care about, and you will continue to be satisfied at work.
3. It’s OK not to worry about job satisfaction
Yes, being satisfied at work is important. After all, 50 percent of Americans spend more than 40 hours per week at work, according to Gallup survey data from August 2014. But it’s also OK to worry about other things.
While ENTJs may be motivated by the pursuit of power and influence, ENFJs may use their careers to make a positive impact on the world. Other personality types like ISFPs — who perform lower on career success and satisfaction measures — may just put less of an emphasis on a high-profile career. For these personalities, having a rich and happy home life is the first priority and lets them recharge so they can keep doing good work.
No matter what your personality, take time to determine how you measure satisfaction in your work and personal life. Understanding what motivates you will help you make decisions about the jobs you consider and the direction you take your career, bringing you one step closer to your work bliss.
When is the last time you considered what makes you happy at work? How do you evaluate satisfaction at work?
Molly Owens is the CEO of Truity, a California-based provider of online personality and career assessments and developer of the TypeFinder personality type assessment. Learn more about personality type and career achievement and connect with Molly and Truity on Twitter and Facebook.
