As with beauty, the definition of a bad job lies with the beholder. Some people consider a job bad because it is physically demanding or exhausting, involving long hours or little pay. It really depends on who you are what you value and enjoy.
Everyone knows what a miserable job is; it’s the one you dread going to and cant wait to leave. The one that saps your energy even when you’re not busy. It’s the one that makes you go home at the end of the day with less enthusiasm and more cynicism than you had when you left in the morning.
The Cost of Misery.
More people out there are miserable in their jobs than fulfilled by them. And the cost of this, in both economic and human terms is staggering. Economically, productivity suffers greatly when employees are unfulfilled. The effects on a company’s bottom line or a nation's economy are undeniable. But it’s the social cost of misery at work that seems particularly overwhelming, because it has such a broad ripple effect.
In his book "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and Their Employees) Patrick Lencioni describes the three signs as;
1. Anonymity: people cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known. All human beings need to be understood and appreciated for their unique qualities by someone in a position of authority. People who see themselves as invisible, generic or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing.
2. Irrelevance: everyone need to know that their job matters, to someone. Anyone. Without seeing a connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee simple will not find lasting fulfilment. Even the most cynical employees need to know that their work matters to someone, even if it’s just the boss.
3. Imeasurement: employees need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves. They cannot be fulfilled in their work if their success depends on the opinions or whims of another person, no matter how benevolent that person may be. Without a tangible means for assessing success or failure, motivation eventually deteriorates as people see themselves as unable to control their own fate.
Simple? Absolutely.
Obvious? Perhaps.
But if so then why do so many managers fail to provide their people with these basics of a meaningful job? Maybe its because it is too obvious.Well-educated people often have a hard time getting their heads around simple solutions. Or perhaps the 18th century author Samuel Johnson is right, and they just need to be reminded a lot.
Taking action.
If you’re a manager take a simple and honest self-assessment.
Ask yourself the following in alignment with the three signs as stated above,
- Anonymity: Do I really know my people? Their interests? How they spend their spare time? Where they are in their lives?
- Irrelevance: Do they know who their work impacts? And how?
- Imeasurement: Do they know how to assess their own progress or success?
If you are an employee it’s about taking the time and having the courage to have the right conversations. Talk to your boss (or prospective boss) about the three signs of a miserable job and your desire to avoid them. Most people really do want to be good managers, and if they know that they make positive changes at relatively low cost, they'll often be willing to do so. The first step is simply having the courage to have this conversation, once the communication channels are open the benefits are undeniable.
