Introduction
Working in recent times has been challenging and at times, it feels as if things are not going the way we planned them to go. The global pandemic and the recent lockdown that many countries have faced have taken a toll on how people live their day to day lives. Is it normal to feel like you hit a dead end and feel discouraged in what you do? Yes, it is normal but the secret to overcoming this is to look at the positive side and the possible outcomes of the post-pandemic era. For a lot of people, resilience and strength are being tested. Try to come out on top. Business has slowed down, mostly because of the lockdown but also how we perceive the situation to be. Armstrong and Tersise (2020), say that the lockdown does have negative effects on individual performance which can spill over into the work you are in.
In this article, we will discuss how your attitude can affect your job satisfaction and in turn determine how you perform at work. Take some time to think about how you, as an individual can alter your attitude and perspective towards the work you are doing and the environment, we are living in.
How can you make your attitude fuel your job satisfaction?
According to the HR Advisor (2020), employee job satisfaction results in organisational success. There are various in which you can increase your work satisfaction, even when times are tough. Job satisfaction, according to Riaz (2016), is the “result of employees’ perception of how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important”. This is true and evident that job satisfaction responsibility lies in the hands of both the employer and employee. While this may be the case, there are some things that you can do on your side to increase the satisfaction.
Below are some tips by Robins (2017).
- Handle your outcome – When given tasks to do at work, before starting on that project, try to position yourself in the right mindset. Do not view a task as impossible until you have tried everything that you van to achieve it. If it is impossible. Communicate to the person directly above you and inform them of the difficulties you are changing. Instead of suffering alone in silence and not delivering at the end of the day, reach out and be honest about what you are facing. Try everything you can before you do this so you also know within yourself that you tried and find ways together to move forward.
- Reward yourself – One thing that can increase one’s satisfaction with their job is recognition. According to Robins (2020), 63% of employees feel like they are not recognised enough for their work. Anyone can agree that this is demotivating but instead of waiting for recognition from someone else, recognise your efforts for yourself. Push yourself to work harder and go further and when you start to reward and recognise your own efforts, you become unstoppable. Achieving goals and tasks that you are assigned with at work becomes easier and more satisfying.
- Focus on the long term of the organisation – Align yourself with the organisation’s vision. The first step in achieving this to equip yourself with the knowledge of the organisation. When you know where you are going, it becomes easier to achieve this whenever a task is given. With job satisfaction, comes initiative. When given a task, it feels great to achieve it but imagine initiating a task or project and fulfilling, at the same time pushing the business forward. Find yourself in the organisation and strive for greatness. If you do not like where you are and you have no choice then as I was told: “start to enjoy where you are”. Things are not always easy every time but it is how you look at it, that guarantees your success.
- Increase communication – As Robins (2020) says, “there is no such thing as too much communication and lack of communication is the source of a lot of frustration in the workplace”. When something is difficult to achieve, it is extremely crucial to voice out what is going on. This will avoid any disputes as to why a task was not submitted on time and avoiding these disputes will lower your levels of frustration.
- Mental health – Take care of your mental health. This time is very stressful and it is easy to get caught up in everything that is going wrong. There are ways in which you can take care of your mental health and balance your work and personal life. Ensure that you are aware of where you are mentally and emotionally. Continuously piling stress on yourself will only lead to worsened results. As discussed above, communicate the challenges you are facing and whether or not you need some time off. Your manager will and should understand if you are not feeling well but they can only understand this if you are open about what you are going through. There are applications and podcasts on various platforms that can help you in calming yourself. Meditating is a good way to cope with the stresses of everyday stresses. Although this may not be an ultimate solution and you may need to see a professional, it can help you in some ways. For example, in a stressful situation that needs an answer right away, take a few minutes out to get in tune with yourself to have a clear mind on how you move forward with the challenge you have been faced with.
Thandeka Madziwanyika is a Consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and human resources consulting firm. Phone +263 (242) 481946-48/481950 or cell number +263 78 318 0936 or email: thandeka@ipcconsultants.com
Advertisment