When you’re not happy in your job, it’s almost never the work itself. It’s the people and the quality of life! And then it’s what you want to get out of work.
As a career coach, people contact me when they’re considering a job change. Of course I want to know what people want to get out of work. Your career satisfaction is my priority, so to speak.
What I’ve learned is:
1) money and benefits don’t equal job satisfaction or longevity,
2) people care a lot about work culture and supervision style,
3) more and more people say they want “work-life” balance; they want to go home at the end of the day and turn off email, text and cell, or they want to work remotely some of the time,
4) people want to be appreciated and recognized, and
5) people want to work in a healthy work environment, an organization with vision or stability, not a place where there are lay-offs, no paychecks, downsizing, etc.
Gee, that’s not about the work doing stuff, is it?
What’s next to ensure job satisfaction? Do your homework about organizations that interest you by looking websites, LinkedIn, Guide Star and networking. Get busy finding out about work culture and supervision style. Find out how people in an organization celebrate their successes and work through challenges. What do the busy times look like? What gets people promoted? What are the practices for doing performance reviews?
Here’s an article from the New York Times to help shape your questions. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/opinion/sunday/the-one-question-you-should-ask-about-every-new-job.html?_r=0
So, at your next interview, take a good careful look at your potential co-workers and boss and consider whether you can communicate with them and what your gut says about if they’re trustworthy. And then make sure you know that what you’re going to be doing day-to-day is interesting and satisfying!