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Are you satisfied with your job?


In the past, it is often thought that job satisfaction is insignificant as compared to feeding the family. Most people choose to stay on their job to provide for their family despite being unhappy with it. However, in the modern society, it is becoming increasingly popular for people to change jobs when they feel dissatisfied with it. Is it right to do so? Given that job satisfaction is important to the effectiveness and life of an institution, it is actually beneficial for the employer for the dissatisfied employee to leave. In addition, as job satisfaction is also one of the key indicators of life satisfaction since most adults spend more than one-third of their day in their workplace, it is beneficial for dissatisfied individuals to search for a job which gives them satisfaction too. This leads to the point of how do we determine job satisfaction? Many theories have been created to explain what makes people satisfied with their job. One of the most prominent theory in this field is Herzberg two factor theory, also known as Motivation-Hygiene Theory. In Herzberg theory, he proposed that job Satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are triggered by different and independent groups of factors. Herzberg found out that when people are happy with their job, it is usually attributed to the factors relating to the work itself. Some examples of such factors would be the nature of the job, achievement in the work, possibilities of personal growth and recognition & promotion opportunities. These factors are termed as Motivators by Herzberg and they motivate people to higher performance. On the contrary, when people are dissatisfied with their job, the dissatisfaction is usually attributed to the environment of the job which are not intrinsically part of the job. Some examples would be the physical working conditions, salary, company policies, job security, quality of supervision and company politics. These factors are coined as Hygiene factors by Herzberg. Based on Herzberg Theory, if hygiene factors are very low, works are dissatisfied. However, even if the hygiene factors are good, workers are not necessarily satisfied. They are just not dissatisfied but are also not motivated to higher performance. Only when the motivators are being fulfilled, workers will be motivated to strive for better performance. So, are you motivated or are you dissatisfied? Let’s find out now!   Answer YES or NO to the following questions Motivators

  1. I have the tools and resources I need to do my job.
  2. I have the training I need to do my job.
  3. I feel confident in my job.
  4. The amount of work expected of me is reasonable.
  5. Are you satisfied with your career progression at the Company?
  6. Credit is being given to me for my work done well
  7. I am learning new skills from the job.


  1. It is easy to get along with my colleague
  2. When I have questions or concerns, my supervisor is able to address them.
  3. Are you satisfied with your pay?
  4. Overall, my supervisor does a good job.
  5. Are you satisfied with benefits offered by The Company?
  6. Are you satisfied with the process used to determine annual raises?
  7. The company clearly conveys its mission to its employees.

If you have majority YES for both Motivators and Hygiene, Congratulations! You are satisfied and motivated in your job! If you have majority YES for Motivators but majority NO for Hygiene, it is time to consider looking for a new job. You are currently dissatisfied but yet motivated by other factors to excel. If you have majority NO for Motivators but majority YES for Hygiene, you have found yourself a great job. However, you will need to look for other factors to motivate yourself to perform better on your job!

Jane Leong

Jane Leong

Understanding more about psychology can be a key to your success. I look forward to sharing more with you!
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