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What is most Satisfying about your Job?

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Are you satisfied in your present job and career?

Of the many I have asked this question I got a mix of positive and negative responses, but what was surprising was a large percentage of them had not really taken time to stop and think if they really loved what they were doing or were they truly satisfied at work? We often fall in the “cycle-of-work” getting one task done after the other either the way it is being done or innovating here and there, often ignoring exploring further career satisfaction and contentment at work. “If it has been done this way, then perhaps this is way to do it!”

How can I find satisfaction at work?
Finding satisfaction at work and in your career does not mean that if you feel dissatisfied at work it is time to leave and apply for a new position or a new company, job hopping is not the solution to finding the right job or the perfect job. First take time to assess what would make you feel satisfied; often we focus on what we don’t want but fail to address what we most desire. List your priorities and see what value you see in your present career and how could you possibly get what you want. Knowing what you want is the key to getting what you want.

I put forward this question to a few friends and the following is a compilation of answers from few of them.

What is most satisfying about your present job?

  • For me my current job offers what I feel is most important in my life at this time. It offers me lot of flexibility in terms of number hours I have to be at work and days that I can telecommute. At the same time I am satisfied with my role and responsibilities. My job gives me opportunities for training in both technical, personal development areas. With two kids I have always been able have a fairly decent work life balance. So I don’t feel I am compromising my career growth or feel guilty that I am not spending more time with my family.
    - Sandhya
  • My answer would be “lets me telecommute” followed by “gives flexibility”.
    - Anu
  • Ability to directly influence corporate goals especially as it relates to the growth of the company.
    - SP
  • - My work offers me freedom and flexibility
    - I enjoy the leadership role that I play
    - being part of a big market ecosystem
    - My work helps me develop my knowledge base, it is a brain-stimulant because of the many challenges that I tackle at work
    - It gives me a sense of achievement at the end of the day
    - And of course, the money that it offers.
    - Usha
  • Flexible timings.. no longer hours at work..lets me telecommute…
    - Snehal
  • Mostly I like the friendly work environment. Almost every time colleagues find spare time to help each other although they are not working on the same project.I also like the combination of computer work and interacting with people (talking to clients). There are also lots of opportunities to grow within the company. My manager encourages me to take responsibilities.
    - Dorit
  • To me the most satisfying about my job is it gives flexibility. I support companies which give the option to be flexible (not abusing it), and have the trust that the employee can get the job done. Sometimes one can be in the office from 9-5 and still not get the work done (chatting with others, doing personal things). Also, by giving flexibility to ones who needs its, can be great for both the company and the individual, since the company is getting good quality employee and the individual can be part of both the corporate world and be part of the family.
    - Jay

From the answers I received I feel flexibility tops the list when it comes to a career woman seeking satisfaction at work.

If you feel that money and/or location can bring in more satisfaction, see what this survey had to say:

“Money rarely buys happiness but it can buy job satisfaction—people making under $15,000 per year reported the lowest satisfaction while those making more than $50,000 per year said they were the most satisfied.
People living in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the most disgruntled (less than 41 percent say they are satisfied with their current job), and people living in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico were most likely to whistle while they work (56 percent reported being satisfied). “

What is most satisfying about your job?

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Is a Career Woman Happier than a Stay at Home Mom?

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I often see this query being searched on the web or being asked around when in a social gathering with women struggling with work-life balance issues or just wanting to be out of the house and finding new careers or jobs that satisfy them the most. There is a lot of judgement, discussions and criticism flowing around on the issue deciding on being a working mother as compared to being a stay-at-home mom. Of course, you are free to judge and criticize but do it mostly for your particular situation. What satisfies you might not be appealing to others.

There is no one answer to this question: it is not about yes a working mother is happier or a stay at home mom is, life is always about give and take and we all sacrifice a part of ourselves to make the some aspect of life complete. It is also not about having a complete balance – there is no such thing, always there is a trade-off and that is why there is no concrete answer to this question. However in this article we take an in-depth look at both perspectives and please share yours as well!

The Career Woman

I have heard many career women talk about how grateful they are that they have jobs and something to look forward to other than just taking care of the household chores. They often cite that they would not been “good moms” had they decided not to go to work after having kids. Of the few I asked this question, I got the following interesting answers:

  • “I would have been a grumpy mom had I been a stay-at-home mom. I would not have given the quality time I am giving now to my kids.”
  • “I would have been a horrible mom, always shouting and screaming at them for this or that. I feel blessed to be out of the house for a few hours of the day and return home waiting to hug and play with my kids!”
  • “I would have felt stifled at home, not finding the outlet to my creativity or just being at the place of work and interacting intellectually with like-minded personalities. I know it is hard to balance work and family but I find most satisfaction in the juggle than not having the option to juggle at all!”

Some great answers there, but I feel the point is about having a choice. The choice to be a stay at home mother or being a working parent. At times, women don’t even have the choice on what they truly want depending on financial circumstances, personal issues or a child’s health or disability problem. You may choose to be a working mom or a stay at home mom, but feel grateful that you have a choice.

On the other hand, I have a friend who recently took up full-time work after being on a contract job for almost 3 years, the reason she preferred the contract jobs was she could always work on 2-3 months on a project and then take off during the summer breaks, the winter breaks the not-so-planned breaks when the kids are down under weather. Now since her younger child is 4 years old she thought it is time for her to consider full-time work, but have the vacations changed? No. Are the possibilities low of the unexpected events? Probably slightly since the kids are grown up but there’re still there. With the summer vacations here she is now struggling how to manage everything with no accrued vacation; she wishes she was back to part-time work or on a contract employment.

The struggles, the dilemmas for a career woman are ever present and we have to deal with them day in and out. But it is through challenges and some struggles that life becomes more meaningful and exciting, so I see no reason on shying away from them.

According to an article in the BBC news columns, a survey says that Working women with children are significantly happier than stay-at-home mothers, regardless of how many hours they work. The Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness survey also found that job satisfaction for women with partners is greater when they work part-time, irrespective of how small or large these jobs are.

The Stay-at-home Mother

Now, let’s talk about our stay-at-home mom, she too has too much on her plate and her day all booked with events like chauffeuring the kids to school and extra-curricular activities, work around the house and outside the house. One of the myths that must be clarified– a stay at home mom is not someone who is “not-working”. Being a mom already means a lot of work and in diverse ways, there cannot be a day when you are “out of work”.

What are the guilt factors do stay at home moms feel the guilt of not being able to contribute to the family finances? Do they feel guilty of watching Oprah and shopping network channels during day time? Or should they?

If you have a slightest feeling of guilt on not contributing to the finances of your house, you must look at the statistics below your work at home perhaps amounts much more than your working counterpart:

Salary.com brings forth the dream job for you – drum roll please – the Stay at home mom! The article says, “Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They’re the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000.”

How does that make you feel? Of course, the sense of achievement and happiness truly relates to how you are managing your career today and how you perceive your future personal and career success. It truly depends on who you want to be and how satisfied are you presently. It is hard to compare who is happier, your happiness eventually boils down to your liking to what you are doing and whether that satisfies and defines who you are.

Not Completely a SAHM

A stay at home mom can also be an earner – part-time job which helps in supplementing the household income or even with a decent income possibility. A stay at home mom can spare a couple of hours every day and earn money online or even hunt fo some flexible jobs which offer her the best of the both worlds. With economies changing and the workplace much easier to operate remotely the fine line between a SAHM and a part-time worker is diminishing.

And perhaps the best path to a successful living is to be able to enjoy both equally important aspects of life – to be able to spend time with your kids and family and also be financially independent. Many stay at home moms have expressed their dissatisfaction over years being at home that they did not find themselves completely happy, they would love to work at least part-time or even just get out of their SAHM schedule now and start a full-time work. Perhaps the ideal situation is finding the right flexible jobs which can help carve out a satisfying life for the mothers.

–> Some best source for flexible jobs you can find here. 

–> You could even opt for some easy surveys from home programs online and can earn around $50-$600 in one day! Flexible indeed. See one of these programs here.

However always ensure first that you are not being duped on the internet. There are many scams around and it is best to check out these online programs and schemes on their validity before committing to an investment or giving away any personal information. 

Choose what works out the best for you in your circumstance and don’t compare with others, that is the perfect mantra of being at peace with yourself!

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How to Think Positively Post Layoff

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More time to sleep, no commute and more time just to muse around. Think positive now that you are out of the job rush. It’s time to breathe slowly and to enjoy the “forced” break in your life right now!

Think positive thoughts – a layoff is not an end, it is a beginning to something new, something more exciting, perhaps a new job or a career that you truly deserve and desire. Often it is in times of adversity that we truly see the road to happiness. Perhaps the direction you were headed was not meant to be the one that gets you to success. In short, be positive about your situation right now. Since we don’t have the time machine to change things in the past, the best way is the way forward.

Of the many advantages of being in a layoff, here are a few that I share with you, think about it!

  • You have been doing what you have been doing for quite some time, perhaps not even getting time to evaluate whether you truly want to be in this career or job. Take time now, maybe your true passion, the most desired job or career that you did not get time to think of awaits discovery.
  • When did you last take a break? When did you spend every moment with your spouse, kids or family? When was your last great vacation? If you see these answers somewhere far off, it is God gifted time to take a break – to revive the family bonds and rejuvenate.
  • Did you get a layoff package? If yes, then great. The extra cash gives you a few weeks or months of time away from the financial tensions. Even if you spend the money on your dream vacation, it is dough well spent. You’ll find a new job eventually; living in present and the free time bestowed on you is a gift!

If you have found something positive post layoff, would you like to share? Please comment.

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Document your Accomplishments

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Being proactive in your present career is one smart move which could bring you exemplary success and satisfaction at work. Documenting your work today shows your diligence towards your career growth.

Are you one of those who await your manager’s call on a report on the current project, or are you someone who thinks about updating the project and personal performance report when asked for? If the answer is yes, then it is time for you to start today on a new path – the path that makes sure that you are not surprised and one of the majority employees who scramble to put together their resume when in a layoff. The path that shows your heedfulness and someone who is ready to take control of the circumstances rather than letting himself/herself be a victim.

Some tips to get you going:

  • You might be working on one project or many at a time, you have all the information on what you are working on right now, but do you think if further down the road – say, 5 years from now when you are ready to change career or are applying for a new job – would you recall all your accomplishments? Make it a habit to religiously update your personal work records document. Document the new skills you learn at work or if there were any courses you took through the company or on your own.
  • Save copies of Emails that you have received as testimonials and appreciation of your work from your clients, co-workers or managers. It is also a good idea to include them in the main document that lists your accomplishments.
  • Did any of your work, or the project you have been with, result in increased revenues for the company? This information can be most valuable since your abilities and expertise is often judged by the results you have achieved so far. Keep a good record and don’t hesitate to get some numbers from your finance or marketing department on how the project resulted in increased sales or revenues for the company.
  • Don’t forget the positive feedbacks and appreciation that you might be receiving during a presentation or at your company’s expo. If this was all verbal, it is yet again a good idea to memorize or note on the person’s business card the context of the conversation and politely Email this person back if he would be willing to send the same over an Email or fax. Most often you will not be disappointed.

When you make it a routine to document your accomplishments you are well on your way to your career success.

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Career Coaching as an Inherent Strategy for Performance Improvement for all in an Organization

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Although career coaching and corporate or executive coaching is catching up a lot faster in the US today and seems to be a trend for this century, it is still not there. The reasons I can guess are because it is not being accepted by most of the large and small organizations as a part of an overall and continuing strategy for talent management enhancing leadership skills within a company.

My advice to the employers is that don’t consider coaching as the last resort, it has to be integrated into the HR system if you want to see positive results, either in improved employee performance or the company growth as a whole.

TALENT MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
These are the two aspects where an overall employee coaching can be used effectively. Why is the performance down, why is the enthusiasm down to present new ideas or to work on the present ones? Are the employees just doing their job on “as told” basis? Is there new input and a stream of ideas coming in from different teams? These are some of the questions that the employers have to revisit more than once in a year and the HR and the management can play a crucial role in identifying the gaps and areas of incompetence. So the first and foremost step is identifying the problem – addressing the issues through close involvement of career coaches and management comes next.

Though your own performance management must be your priority and responsibility, it is essential for the management or the HR in a company to provide you with the tools or access to coaching to help improve and enhance your interest in the present job and career.

Why is it that the company is ready to allocate a large fund for the post-layoff job search and recruiters fees but not ready to make an ongoing investment in their people by helping them excel at their careers while they are part of the organization? If career coaching is an integral part of the functioning of a company perhaps the company would benefit a lot more and improve their revenues with more employee involvement and enthusiasm towards developing and improving the product lifecycle so as to avoid the eventuality of a layoff after all!

BUILDING LEADERSHIP SKILLS
With the management workforce expanding, the upper management be it in the marketing, sales or software development areas, need not be natural leaders or have instant abilities to lead well, coaching can help them turn to one.
There are some special coaching field or experts who focus on leadership development or helping improve their communication skills.

The promotions these days may be because a person is great in one aspect, say software development but completely not up-to-the-mark in the communication field. They could be uncomfortable in communicating with the customers or delivering presentations. This is one of the area where coaching can help the individual be effective and influential in what they do.

To improve performance you have to go through a specific approach with your manager, your coach or a mentor. Have you ever seen a top performer at any sports without a coach? So it is in the corporate world, of course you can do well but if you want that special edge and be a real great performer- coaching is inherent to build a great leader or get to the best of your ability.
Your performance management must be on an ongoing process; in order to scale new heights your strategies and performance have to increase one step further that where you are today. So, when we all see the benefits of investing in your employees, why is the management not keeping up and prioritizing on their people’s interest, advancement and growth?

Shweta was a guest at the Voice America Business broadcast show titled: Coaching: The Missing Ingredient in Successful Performance Management. Listen to this podcast here .
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Is the Second Income worth it?

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I often come across couples who firmly believe in this statement, “In Silicon Valley (or elsewhere as well) it is just not possible to thrive (or survive) on a single income; both the parents have to work to meet family needs.” If you are amongst those who voice similar concerns, have you paused for a moment and done some analysis on why do you want two incomes in a family? Or another way to present this question: Under what circumstances – financial or personal is a second income worth it? How much are we actually getting as a take-home income after the taxes and other overheads that come as a package in a two-income family?

I recently came across this very interesting article on pfadvice.com titled: Two-Income Trap: Why Many Couples Shouldn’t Both Be Working For The Money. To quote from this analysis:

There are two things to remember when it comes to taxes. First off, social security taxes of 6.2% are subtracted from the first $97,500 of your pay. Medicare taxes will eat 1.45% of your paycheck with no limits. What this means is that in most cases, a second wage will be hit by 7.65% in taxes right off the bat. While this is the case for most people with kids or not, much too often people look at their second wage gross pay with little regard for how much they actually get to take home.
A must read article for those who are interested in finding out if both spouses working is really worth it? Exceptions apart.
More on this topic:

The other consideration is the income tax brackets. During 2007-2010 people can get away with a lot more in a second income without jumping up to the next tax bracket due to the Bush tax cuts. But from a professional standpoint, these temporary provisions are due to “sunset” in 2010 and there is no indication that they will be extended.

What this means is currently the first $64k of your taxable income is taxed at a rate of 10-15%, and the next $64k you make as a married individual will be taxed at a rate of 25%. Even at these rates, you can see that a second wage in many cases will be taxed at a higher 25% Federal tax rate. When you look at pre-2000 tax rates, and where rates will most likely be in the future, it is even worse. Going by these as a reference, only the first $43,000 will be taxed at 15%, and the next $65k or so will be taxed at 28%. For the longer term, these are the tax rates we are looking at, and it puts a much larger dent in the second income of a married couple.

Second Income Calculators
There is also an article with a interesting calculator which analyzes what the second income really amounts to.

Another related article which appeared on CNN sometime back, titled Does a second income pay?

What do you think about it? Let’s keep the discussion live and your input / comments on this topic will bring more light to the present situation.

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