Tiger Sengmany is author of next 2015-2016 MLHS senior student editorial
Job Satisfaction vs. Money Satisfaction
People enjoy big money from paychecks, but sometimes people enjoy the job more than the money. Then there are the people who like both. I would rather have a career that I enjoy than a workplace that I hate. The money will come later on with a job that I enjoy.
“Research has shown that job satisfaction is determined by the nature and characteristics of jobs,” says a study done by Spector and Jex. Another study, by Smith, Kendall, and Hulin, developed five features of job satisfaction that assesses how people feel about their jobs. These features include the type of work, pay, promotional opportunities, supervision, and co-workers.
Many high-paid professions are highly stressed and miserable. They work more hours than other professions. They are most likely working every day, every hour, and sometimes they don’t get any breaks or days off. From an article on Money.com, “5 High-Paying Jobs That Will Make You Miserable,” five high-stress jobs in 2014 were physician, junior investment banker, sales manager, dentist, and lawyer. All of these jobs pay well, but these professionals seem happy only for the money. These people work hard every day, but are miserable because of the long hours and having to deal with other people’s problems.
Dr. Daniel Kahneman, professor at Princeton University, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said, “Wanting money is not a recipe for disaster, but wanting money and not getting it – that’s a good recipe for disaster.” I think this means that we try to take short-cuts in our careers. We become lazy and do not do a good job.
There are also people who might get paid less, but really enjoy their job, and it becomes more like a hobby, and they are not in it for the money. Our lives should not be focused on money, but on the career we like. Job satisfaction could make us happy every day – from the day we start, to the day we retire. When it comes to jobs that make us happy, more likely we enjoy the work place and the co-workers. People sometimes just like the workplace because they see happy people every day, or they enjoy working in that career and having good times with other people.
In my opinion, I would go for the job in that I can succeed and enjoy. I do not want to be miserable in my job. Yes, sometimes we need money, but we do not need money all the time. I would rather have a career I like, than have a career I would hate every day.
In the end, job satisfaction and money satisfaction are up to us. Are you in it for the money, or do you like your job? We all have our choices to make for our future job.