You Decide!

Dr. David Rafeedie     

Janet knew she had more to offer her organization than was being asked of her. When she started, the future looked wide open. Her expectations were high, and she was experiencing high job satisfaction. But things changed. Now her role seems like it is a dead end. Her ideas are not asked for, let alone valued. She has thought of ways to improve production and service but finds herself in a position that does not allow her the opportunity to share those ideas in a meaningful way with the right people. In a sense, she has been stereotyped in her role. Janet’s emotions are very fluid. At times she is angry. Sometimes she is frustrated. Often, she finds herself doing negative self-talk, and that doesn’t help her mood either. She is beginning to resent her immediate supervisor and the executives that run the company. She hated going to work. Janet is experiencing a classic case of job dissatisfaction.

In the past, I have worked for a variety of organizations of various sizes. I was in the Air Force and served during the Viet Nam war. I worked in the aerospace industry for a billion-dollar company. I worked in a small business that generated about 5 million dollars a year. And I have worked in various size churches, from small to large. I was a solo pastor and have also led teams of different sizes. In each of these environments, I have encountered job dissatisfaction. Been there myself!

Unfortunately, job dissatisfaction is all too prevalent in the workplace. It is a team killer. It can cause a toxic atmosphere in the office which leads to poor morale. Production and service will be diminished. There are a couple of perspectives from which to view job dissatisfaction. The employer views it one way, and the employee views it another. Both believe their perspective is the correct one.

From an employer perspective, the person is a poor employee—not a great hire. That might be true, but it could be something else as in Janet’s case. Ignoring job dissatisfaction is easy. Or deal with it by letting someone go. Of course, sometimes that is necessary. But the employer can decide to change their perspective on what is important. One simple principle to follow that will help to mitigate the problem is this: Your team is more important than the tasks they perform.

If you take the time to serve your team, to ensure they are a healthy team, the more productive they will be and the less job dissatisfaction the employer will encounter. At every level, if the team leader takes care of their team and teaches their subordinates to do the same, they will. The team leader a level down will do the same and on it goes. Make everything you do reproducible. Ask yourself, who are my team members. What is important to them? In what ways are they struggling? What do they find life-giving? You may not be able to satisfy their needs and aspirations but they will sense you care enough about them as people and that will go a long way toward job satisfaction.

From the employee perspective, the boss doesn’t know their job as well as they do. He doesn’t treat everyone fairly. The company is not a healthy work environment. That may be true, or it might be something else. But it might be you and the company are not a good fit for each other. It is perfectly appropriate to look for something that better suits you. That could be a win-win solution. But until you find something, why be miserable? No one experiencing job dissatisfaction is happy.

I guarantee you will begin to see a change in your perspective for the better if you follow the 3 Questions Rule. It will change you, and you will impact your work environment for the better. The 3 Questions Rule is simple. Simply ask yourself the three questions below every day at work.

The 3 Questions Rule:

What is one good thing at work that happened to you today?

What is one good thing at work you witnessed today?

What is one good thing you did at work today?

If you intentionally look, you will be able to answer all three questions. Write down the answers throughout the day and review them at home at the end of the day. I guarantee you will experience a change of attitude. Your circumstances will not seem so oppressive, and you will enjoy life a lot more.

When Janet started practicing the three questions rule her attitude changed. She impacted her team positively. Her employer still didn’t ask her for her ideas, but she was a happier and better employee because she took responsibility for her attitude. Janet went on to bigger and better things. When she left, her colleagues and superiors were sorry she decided to leave. She received a great reference!

Both the employer and the employee must decide to function like this. You have to decide to do so. The employer might still have to let someone go. The employee might still look and find a better opportunity elsewhere. But the leaving will be a positive one and the reference will be positive too.

The right coach can help you create a culture of job satisfaction. If you are reading this on social media, check out my website www.davidthecoach.com for more information on teams and other issues. Click on the “contact me” button if you want to have a conversation.