Job satisfaction worldwide is at an all-time low.
You read it right. According to a survey, almost half of the planet’s workforce are unhappy with their jobs. Here’s why and how you can cope with it.
The Usual Suspects
Increasingly populated by the Millennial Generation (or Gen Y), the younger workforce consequently “want it all.” Their high expectations ultimately cause frustration when they find that the job they land aren’t personally satisfying and/or fosters little to no chance of career advancement.
Salary rate cannot go unmentioned when considering reasons for employment dissatisfaction. If the employee feels that he or she is being underpaid, the natural response is to become lax at work and eventually pine for greener pastures.
Nonetheless, these same employees are prepared to trade off their lower salary provided they are promised certain benefits, like a higher retirement payout, a job near home, extra holidays, a better company car, or feeling less controlled at the workplace.
Increase in workload responsibility also drives employees up the wall. Many companies are trying to cut back on spending. Instead of hiring new people, companies sometimes choose to delegate tasks to existing personnel even if it is off their job scope.
And when the managers – who are supposed to provide guidance through these trying times – fumble on the job (dictate as opposed to motivate; provide inadequate feedback on employee performance; neglect to deal with performance issues; be a naturally unpleasant person to be with), workers’ company trust and enthusiasm to perform wanes.
Convincing People to Stay
If you are reading this right now, chances are you’re experiencing some sort of dissatisfaction in your own work life as well.
Achieving job satisfaction is not just about money. We know you’re thinking about prospects, work culture with good leadership, and appreciation for the effort you put into the business.
Companies understand that can’t make you stay if you don’t want to. While the increasingly adopted trend of offering cushy office perks like fancy break rooms and company-sponsored outings attract young workers, they do little to convince them to stay in the long run.
The only thing that seems to work in order to please the discerning millennials is for businesses to encourage the formation of workplace culture which promotes voicing of opinions and working together.
Ask and You Shall Receive
While there is still a long way to go before such a workplace culture becomes a norm, you can always ask for a pay raise in the meantime. Even if it’s not all that constitutes fulfilment in the office, it can still be enough to make you delay the arduous process of looking for a new role.
Here are 10 steps in asking for a pay raise:
- Familiarize yourself with the company’s pay practices. If the standard practice is to offer salary once a year after your annual review, you’re unlikely to get a raise at any other time.
- Listen to your boss. If they announce that the pay raise will be four percent across the board, you’re unlikely to negotiate for more.
- Research the market pay rates for your job. There are online projections and salary calculators readily available for your use. If you’re already paid above your market pay rate, negotiating a raise can be difficult.
- Read your employee handbook. It may include a process how a pay raise is granted. If there is one, your best bet when asking for a pay raise, is to follow the process exactly.
- Network with others in similar jobs in similar industries to determine your salary competitiveness.
- Once you’re done your pay research, look at your work contributions and achievements to know how you will present the request for a pay raise to your boss.
- List down any additional responsibilities you’ve added to your job. Increase in responsibility is often grounds for an increase.
- Learn about negotiation from books, resources, networking, and friends who have successfully negotiated a pay raise.
- Set up a meeting with your boss to discuss your compensation. Do not ambush your boss. If he/she is unprepared to discuss an increase with you, nothing will happen at the meeting. Your boss will also want to do research with the Human Resources and his own industry sources.
It may seem like a daunting task, but companies are actually more comfortable about their workers asking for a salary increase than you’d originally expect.
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