Are you in your perfect job?

According to several studies, 50%-80% of individuals are unhappy with their jobs, roles, or careers ranging from irritated to loathe! This issue has become a problem in today’s fast-paced competitive workplace. Add new virtual or blended work environments, and this lack of engagement correlates with increased frequency of people either quitting their jobs or underperforming in their roles.

Your degree of satisfaction with your career (position) also directly affects your degree of satisfaction with your personal life and vice versa.

So, how do you know whether you are in your right job or not? What can you do to attract your ideal job or career?

When you are in your role or job is a fit, you are happy, motivated, and passionate about what you are doing that it doesn’t feel much like work. This means that you are doing your absolute best with the least amount of effort. And you can do this when you are using your natural talent and gift as the basis of your career. 

Each of us is born with specific talents. And before you can attract your perfect career, work, or life, you must be clear about your gifts, skills, and interests.

Consider every day, not as a drudge, but a new opportunity to tap into your talent — the things that energize you— and discover your passions.

However, the challenge for many of you is that your gifts and talents don’t fit the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Code. While it may be easy to define the skills necessary to do the job of a welder, bus driver, or receptionist, how do an intrapreneur and an entrepreneur fit into the code? 

I’ll tell you, and many people do not! Making career/life decisions using the status quo is not always beneficial. For many of us, that process misses the mark.

My primary MBA research revealed that the higher individuals moved on the traditional corporate ladder, the lower their job satisfaction and morale levels, and that is a fact. 

Even though I was not surprised by the research results, I was not prepared with direct follow-up questions to confirm the exact reasons for their growing job dissatisfaction. 

Further evidence points to this: as people progress along the responsibility trail, they have less time and less balance in their lives; there is a growing chasm between their work life and the life they envisioned for themselves. Increasingly they are forced to make choices among the things they value most in life – and they simply do not like the options. 

Don’t get me wrong. Working is foundational to living a fulfilling life (please note: work includes everything from being a CEO volunteering to parent). However, I want to suggest that your job, career, or business should be there to serve you, not the other way around. Not from a selfish point of view but a self-honoring where you can bring your best with passion and purpose. 

I agree with colleague Dr. Alan Weiss’s opinion on life – we don’t have a work and home life; we simply have a life with all its elements. Our relationships, our communities, our hobbies — they are all connected. So, if you are in a job or career, or business that is not serving you and using your gifts, talents, and interests, then it is time to take action and consider a change.

Working in a way that doesn’t align with your natural abilities, talents, and gifts will yield fewer results and lower satisfaction levels. This leads to longer, more unsatisfying hours with fewer incentives for individuals and a lack of productivity for organizations.

As Helen Keller once put it, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

 Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!

Ken Keis