Wednesday 23 April 2008

I Wish I had that Job

A recent article on the BBC news website suggested that four in ten UK workers are thinking of quitting their jobs in the next year.

Why? What is it that makes us so unhappy in the workplace?
Is it the money? The travel in rush hour? That annoying guy who sits opposite you?
Instinctively, we all know we need to work to support ourselves and our families so we muddle through the week, the best way that we can.

It is human nature to always want something better than what we have – always trying to keep up with the Jones’ – but I think sometimes we need to look at what we currently have before we make the rash decision to jump ship.

We hear about “so-and-so” who works here and has this amazing job and often say “oooh, I wish I was them,” but the reality of it is, that a job will always be a job. In other words, we all need to work for our pay checks; there is no way to avoid it.

So maybe we should look at how we can improve our current working environment rather than automatically thinking that some new position you’ve heard about will ultimately be better.

Let’s discuss what it is about our jobs that we dislike so much. The aforementioned BBC article says that the main reasons for unrest in the workplace are:

  • Unreasonable workloads
  • Feeling underpaid
  • Lack of career path

It is quite easy to blame the above entirely on poor management but this is insinuating that we have no control over our own futures. It is very easy to sit back and say, “There’s nothing I can do, it’s just the way things are.” Whatever happened to being proactive and taking the future in our own hands? Both management and employees alike need to look at ways to make everyone happy.

Here are some thoughts on the subject.

  • There are always those daily tasks that take us longer than we would like; if we were adequately trained from the outset and provided with regular training workshops, we would be able to be productive throughout the day and hopefully minimise workloads.
  • Help management to understand that although we may always put our gripes down to money; it is amazing how far a pat on the back goes.
  • It is in our nature to learn so give us the chance to. This will not only help keep staff happy but it will benefit companies as well.

In short, there are small things that companies can do to keep great staff. Make them feel wanted by providing training options; the chance to learn and grow with the company. The best promotional tool a business has is its staff – keep them happy and they’ll do great things for you and everyone will want their job!

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