Elements Required for Career Satisfaction

Requirements for Career Satisfaction

Difficult working environments can certainly make it challenging to build a satisfying and meaningful career. However, it is possible to overcome this situation. Career experts and researchers list the elements that ensure we are truly satisfied with our work as follows:

Contents

1. 1. Having more control over how things are done
2. 2. Valuing work-life boundaries
3. 3. Freedom to experiment and make mistakes
4. 4. Having trustworthy colleagues
5. 5. Feedback is important
6. 6. Variable tasks that keep the job interesting
7. 7. Feeling valued

1. Having More Control Over How Things Are Done

Most of us truly desire autonomy at work. A study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 2016, involving over 2,000 participants, found that the most desired power among individuals is not the ability to tell others what to do as a boss, but rather the ability to have more control over how their workdays unfold. However, achieving this autonomy can sometimes depend on your work environment and your manager. Kevin Hoff, a psychology professor studying job satisfaction at Michigan State University, notes that professionals can negotiate for more autonomy, but it also depends on trust in a boss.

2. Valuing Work-Life Boundaries

Like prioritizing autonomy, flexibility is not just a nice feature; it can also be a critical element for a person to maintain control over their career and feel satisfied. Part of having this control involves setting and adhering to work-life boundaries. Career coach Jasmine Escalera emphasizes that when you need more flexibility, it’s important to relate it to what you genuinely want to do: “Sometimes we say ‘I want more flexibility’, but we have no purpose behind it.” Those who are most successful in achieving flexibility can also communicate to their teams that this is a priority. Escalera states, “This is necessary to build a life that aligns with what you want both inside and outside of work.“

3. Freedom to Experiment and Make Mistakes

If you are always leaning back with anxiety, you cannot be satisfied in your job. Management researcher Amy Edmondson states, “Based on my experience coaching hundreds of leaders, training thousands more, and being a human manager myself, I believe that professionals thrive in a work environment that fosters psychological safety for them to be their true selves.” Being creative, having the ability to try, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes without shame or punishment is extremely important for our satisfaction at work.

4. Having Trustworthy Colleagues

Having someone you can trust and rely on during a meeting can have a significant impact on how you feel about your workday. Hoff says, “If you have someone in your team whom you know is really there for you and you understand each other, this can change your satisfaction with your job.” Research supports this as well. A Gallup survey conducted with over 195,600 employees in the U.S. found that professionals who reported having close friends at work were the most engaged in their jobs.

5. Feedback is Important

Hoff emphasizes that one of the strong determinants of job satisfaction is whether you receive feedback from your work, referring to a job characteristics theory developed by organizational psychologists Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham. In some ways, receiving feedback at work can influence other satisfaction factors, such as feeling that your tasks have meaning. Hoff states, “Hearing from your supervisor that you did a good job takes away some of the uncertainty about why you are doing what you do and how you can do it better.“

6. Variable Tasks That Keep the Job Interesting

According to Hackman and Oldham’s theory, when tasks are variable and not monotonous, employees are more likely to feel satisfied. There is an advantage to working at a consistent and steady pace, but most people want to broaden their roles to learn new things, improve their skills, and grow professionally. If there is no variability in your role, you may find fewer opportunities for career development.

7. Feeling Valued

Ultimately, one of the core elements of career satisfaction is being open to regularly reassessing what you want. Escalera states, “When we think about what satisfaction or meaning in your career means to you, we first ask, ‘Well, based on the life I have today, what does that mean for me?’ ” In other words, being satisfied with your job involves questioning what you value and being open to the changing answers over time. Escalera notes, “So many people say, ‘I don’t feel valued.’ And when asked, ‘Well, what does value mean to you?’ they have no definition.” Being in the driver’s seat of your career will develop by listening to your own desires rather than what others think is best for you. Knowing what you prioritize most in your next job will bring you closer to creating a fulfilling career.