Stay or Resign?

It is summer time in a large part of the world. The sun shows itself often, you spend lots of time outdoors, and a holiday may be planned.
You are relaxing! All this time in the fresh air offers a great opportunity to also reflect on all the things that are happening in your life.

• Do you catch yourself wondering if you are in the right job at the moment?

• Do you find yourself weighing the pros and cons of you current job a lot lately?

• Are you wondering if the grass is greener with a different employer and if you should find a more fulfilling or challenging position with them?

Did you know that you are more likely to resign upon return from a holiday, than at any other time in the year? Before you make any drastic decisions to resign at-this-very-moment, let’s mull this over a bit.

Now, think back to the reasons of applying for this job in the first place? The first few months were interesting and motivating, weren’t they! What learning objectives did you set out for yourself, were they achieved or is this a bit of a blur? What has happened since then, have you changed? Or have your interests developed and do you have different expectations around your job today which are not being met? Are you aware of any energy zappers in the office?

Professional Happiness Top 12

Research done by Peter Warr and Guy Clapperton has shown your happiness in your job is determined by the professional happiness top 12:

1. Personal development and growth perspectives
2. Doing things you’re good at, and obtaining new skills
3. Influence on and design of own work day
4. Mismatched expectations create stress, as does the lack of feedback on the quality of work you deliver.
5. Being challenged to perform just above your abilities
6. Diversity in activities is stimulating
7. Appreciation of the work you deliver
8. The office as a social meeting place
9. The boss takes care of and listens to his/her team
10. Fair treatment, no discrimination and full respect for all
11. A good paycheck every month
12. A pleasant and safe work environment

Quiz time

Reading the Top 12 above most likely struck a chord with you, some factors possibly more than others and some may not apply to you at all. Let’s find out how you score in job satisfaction. Please read through the questions below, and evaluate how happy you are in your current job.

On a scale from 0 – 10, which score do you give each of the 12 elements?
10 Stands for perfect, 5 for average and 0 non existent.

		Initial score	Importance
1.	What are your growth perspectives and personal development opportunities? Do they meet your needs?
2.	Are you using your strengths?
3.	How much do you influence and design your own work day?
4.	Do you fully understand what your employer’s expectations are for you? Are you still on the same page?
5.	Are you comfortable with your responsibilities or is the challenge too great?
6.	Do you enjoy the diversity in your job, or do you feel that you are constantly running out of time to complete everything on your to-do list?
7.	Is your job a good match with who you truly are? To what extent do you feel appreciated and valued by your colleagues?
8.	Are your colleagues good company and does your employer allow some time for socializing throughout the day?
9.	Do you have full support from your boss and does (s)he stimulate you to get the best out of you?
10.	Does your boss treat you equally fair to your other team members / direct colleagues?
11.	Is the salary coming into your bank account every month the main reason for staying in your current job, or do you truly like your job enough?
12.	A pleasant and safe work place. Are things like this in place: an office with natural light, comfortable desk and desk chair, privacy, heating, air-conditioning?

All of the previously mentioned factors contribute to your well-being and happiness at work, however not all of them are of the same level of importance to you. Go through them again and indicate the scores you need each factor to be to be happy in your job.

On a scale from 0 – 10, which score do you give each of the 12 elements?
10 stands for essential and 0 for trivial.

Now compare your initial score with your score of personal importance. If you see any factors initially valued with a score of 5 or below, and have a higher score of personal importance ask yourself the following questions:

• What is in your way of obtaining the perfect score?

• What is missing here for me?

• How would I like or need it to be?