Story by: Kootenay Employment Services

Among the first questions we ask people we are meeting for the first time are, “What kind of job do you have?” or “What kind of work do you do?”

It’s an icebreaker in any standard conversation and it’s easy to answer. Either you have employment or you don’t.

You may expand on your answer by offering the information that you are looking for work or recently retired, but for most of us this is a simple yes-or-no type question.

The next question we tend to ask is, “Do you like your job?” or “How’s the job going?” This can be more difficult to answer.

When you ask this question, if the response includes a groan, moan, sigh or any type of pained expression, chances are the person is not experiencing a lot of job satisfaction.

Most of us start out pretty happy to find work. For those of us in the CrestonValley, a job can be hard to come by. I can see all the heads nodding to that statement. But even in areas where jobs are hard to find, job satisfaction follows a predictable path.

The first six months of a job are normally the highest-rated months in terms of job satisfaction. The security of having a steady paycheque, being able to pay our monthly bills and perhaps having a bit left over to simply enjoy makes this the “honeymoon” phase of employment.

There is little concern given to other aspects of the job. If our employer is asking us to work overtime without paying for overtime, or if the work conditions aren’t the best, we tend to overlook these issues because we are so happy to have money coming in.

In psychological terms, the need for security (defined as food, shelter and personal safety) is the strongest need we have as humans. However, once these needs are met, they tend to fade in importance over time which is why, after six months or so, the average person starts to take their paycheque for granted and look for other sources of job satisfaction.

For those who are working in a positive environment in which they are treated well, respected and encouraged to gain skills, job satisfaction is likely to remain high.

For those who are employed in situations where there is no chance of advancement, a negative environment or dangerous work involved, job satisfaction will start to decrease. On average, a person will stick out this kind of job for two years before they start looking for another job.

Of course, these are only theories and statistics. There are lots of people who stay at jobs they hate because they feel they have no choice, and there are lots of people who say they don’t think about job satisfaction at all, that a job is not supposed to be fun or pleasant. It’s just work.

There are ways to increase our job satisfaction once the honeymoon phase is over. Learning new skills, either on the job or by taking outside courses, is one way to stay motivated at work.

Becoming a positive role model in the workplace is another way to feel more connected and invested in our employment.

For more tips on finding job satisfaction and on finding and keeping a job, talk to one of the employment counsellors at Kootenay Employment Services, which is the WorkBC centre in Creston.