PART 1 - READING
CREATING YOUR OWN JOB SATISFACTION
A lot of people think that job satisfaction is only for other people. They look with envy on people who love their jobs and who don’t think of them as work. The idea of earning a living from something you really like doing only applies to a few very lucky people, they think. But this isn’t so. It’s not only people in the so-called “glamour professions,” for example, who can get genuine job satisfaction. You don’t have to be in the arts or a sports person to get enjoyment from what you do for a living. Even if you’re in a boring job, it’s quite possible to get some satisfaction from it.
The key to this is your attitude. You may think it’s unlikely that you can derive much satisfaction from a dull job that doesn’t require much thought and that involves a lot of routine procedures. But if you approach it with the right attitude, and put some effort in, you may be surprised at how enjoyable you can make it. Of course, if you just sit there telling yourself how boring your job is, you’ll never get anything out of it. But if you set out to find ways of making it enjoyable, there’s a good chance you’ll manage to.
One thing you can do is to set yourself challenges. Think about what you can do for yourself to make your work a little bit more interesting. If you’ve got a repetitive job, set yourself some targets to meet and try to beat your previous records. Or use your initiative in other ways. Think about ways you could develop your career into more interesting areas – see how you could improve your skills by doing a course, for example, or look into new skills you could get that would stand you in good stead for the future.
For some people, it’s not boredom that’s the problem, it’s the fact that their jobs involve a significant amount of unpleasantness. But if you keep telling yourself your job is horrible and there’s nothing you can do about it, you’ll get stuck in a rut and you’ll never get out of it. Focus on developing a positive attitude and try to keep any negative thoughts about your job out of your mind. Keep a sense of perspective – if something’s gone wrong on a particular day, decide whether it really matters or not. If it isn’t actually all that important, don’t dwell on it, let it go. Learn from it, and take an upbeat view of what’s happened – you’ll know how to avoid the problem in the future, or what to do about it if it happens again.
Of course, you may reach the point where you feel totally trapped in a job. If this mindset starts to overwhelm you, check out the options you may have in the place where you work. Map out a plan for improving your situation there. Are there other roles in the organization you could apply for? Could you ask to be given different tasks? Could you get a different kind of assignment or go to another department where your skills are required? Finding out there are other options will give you a sense of control over your own working life. Even if you have no job satisfaction right now, you’ll feel better if you know that there is a realistic prospect of work that gives you a degree of it.
Expectations are another key ingredient in job satisfaction. Take a long hard look at what you really are capable of. Sometimes it’s important to accept that you couldn’t really do the much more interesting or high-powered job you aspire to. Try to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. Focus on the things you really are good at, rather than on things that, if you’re really honest with yourself, you couldn’t actually do. Make the most of your situation and feel good about what you can do, rather than feeling bad about what you can’t do.
Work is a very important part of most people’s lives and it’s important to get at least some satisfaction from it. If you really dislike your time at work, the rest of your life is affected too, and you can easily get a negative outlook on life in general. It’s in your own hands to avoid this. Even if you can’t get the job of your dreams, you can take steps to create your own job satisfaction.
TASK: In the comments, write your personal summary about the reading. Make sure you include the main idea and supporting details.
PART 2 - LISTENING
Listen to 5 people talking about jobs and their disadvantages. After listening leave a post with your answers:
Who talks about? (Write Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc)
A lack of job security
B the possibility of making a serious mistake
C having to work at inconvenient times
D bad treatment from employers
E having to work in unpleasant physical conditions
F other people’s low opinion of the job
G having to be dishonest
H the need to cooperate with colleagues
