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Why Do I Feel Discontent in My Job?

April 9th, 2008

Since we developed our new website in the fall of 2007, I promised to write more on the subject of people feeling discontent in their job.  This past week the scale was finally tipped when on two separate occasions the topic of Patrick Lencioni’s new book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, came up.  Once at a client I was working with in the DC area, and then on John Tesh’s radio show.  Once on Thursday, and then again on Friday.  Hmmmm.  I am someone who believes in the Spirit’s leading and guiding, so I sat right down to capture, and share my thoughts on this subject.

If you haven’t read the book, the three signs of a miserable job according to Lencioni are:

1. Anonymity—People can’t be fulfilled in their work if they are not known.

2. Irrelevance—Everyone needs to know that their job matters, to someone.  Anyone.

3. Immeasurement—Employees need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves.  They cannot be fulfilled in their work without tangible means of assessing success or failure.[Go to www.thetablegroup.com/books/signs  for more on Lencioni’s work].

John Tesh shared that he asks the audience at his concerts for a show of hands of those who feel miserable in their job.  What he gets is clearly 50% of the audience responding with one or both of their arms high in the air.  What!  At first that seemed high to me, especially with the use of the word—miserable.  When I hear that word I can’t help but think of Kathy Bates beating the crap out of James Caan in Stephen King’s Misery.  But as I thought about it I began to smile.  Lencioni, you are a genius.  Hats off to you. Lencioni.  Misery sells today.

“Today we live in such a favored age, yet do not feel favored,” says Gregg Easterbrook the author of The Progress Paradox.  The Progess Paradox is about those of us living in the United States and Western Europe where almost everything is getting better for almost everybody, but “large numbers of materially favored people today nevertheless feel miserable.”  Why?  First, prosperity is not linked to happiness. Second, we are actually in denial about all the abundance that we have–abundance denial.  Third, western society has an element of “complaint yearning.”  Easterbrook says, “in some ways we may want a situation to be perceived as bad, because this takes certain kinds of pressure off us.”

Today we live in a world where no one wants to be held accountable.  Our society at large does not want to improve it; we just want to complain about it.  We have the media to thank for all of this, because creating drama, conflict, crisis and fear sells.  So while we are truly in an age of abundance and statistically our lives are improving substantially, we constantly hear messages about how much worse off we are.  So let’s complain and mope because we are in a miserable job.

Here’s what I believe.  I believe it is a quadrant.  25% clearly are in roles that are not a good fit for them and they need to either leave those roles or find prescriptions to improve the job fit, or their health will suffer.  I mean this sincerely.  Leave the role or find a solution to improve the job fit—NOW.  Do not wait to pass Go and collect $200.  Make a commitment today.

25% of people are in roles that clearly are the right fit.  You are the chosen people, the favored ones and should be grateful each and every day of your life.  (You also are the people who most assuredly have done something about it, and that is why you are in this quadrant).

25% of people are in roles that make them feel miserable because their manager is poor at being their manager.  Managers, listen up.  Lencioni’s book is for you.  Read it, memorize it, and do something about it.

And the last 25%, well you get it—you are at fault and the pressure is on.  It’s clearly up to you.  You are the reason for your misery.  Do something about it.

I personally believe it is possible for 75% of people working to earn a living to be in roles that give them joy, fulfillment, energy and satisfaction.  Through:

1. Awareness

2. Acknowledgement

3. New knowledge

4. Teaming

5. Coaching

And, we can get that number even higher.  Come back for Part 2.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 9:53 am and is filed under Articles, Ideas.

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