Posted on: Monday, April 5, 2004
AT WORK
Happier workers believe they make a difference with their jobs
By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service
At the end of a long day's work, the thing that matters most is whether someone appreciated what you did. And, it may be that the more hands-on the work and concrete the result your work delivers, the more appreciated and happier you feel.
That is how some workers in the world feel, anyway. These hands-on, vocational workers are "extremely happy" with their jobs — more than double than the white- collar workers, at least in Britain, according to the City & Guilds "Happiness Index." The index is compiled to track the satisfaction of England's workforce.
A hands-on, happy worker may make someone feel better by creating a new hairstyle for her. Or because of his plumbing expertise, a family can use its stopped-up sink again. Those less happy with their livelihoods, says the index, are secretaries, architects, IT specialists, accountants, teachers and people in the media.
It wouldn't surprise me to discover that workers in the United States feel the same as those in Britain, because many white-collar workers I talk with are some of the most dissatisfied people I've met.
Just recently, an IT project manager who develops more efficient work processes for a Fortune 500 company and is looking for something more meaningful, told me, "At the end of the day, I could care less how people answer their customer service e-mails. I mean, what difference does it make?"
She's not certain what her next line of work will be. But she does know that she'll be using her skills to communicate, analyze and solve problems and research. And at the end of the day she will have used those skills in a way that helped people deal with a pressing problem in their life.
"I want to see firsthand the difference my work makes to really help someone," she explained.
Many of the more hands-on workers who help other people, such as hairdressers, plumbers, chefs and florists, say appreciation is a distinct bonus in their line of work, claiming they feel valued. Using their hands and heads also brings job satisfaction.
This is not to say that you can't find satisfaction in a white-collar job. It can be more difficult, though, to pinpoint just exactly whose life you're affecting since you tend to be further removed from the person who reaps the benefits. In fact when I asked white-collar workers to explain how their job makes a difference to someone, they usually can't.
Take the IT manager who develops more efficient work processes. She works closely with customer-service representatives. They take complaints from people like you and me who e-mail to say, "When I opened your product, the whatchamacallit didn't beep."
She helps the customer- service folks figure out more efficient ways to handle those e-mails. She never talks to you and me, even though if we knew she was involved, we might thank her for the new procedure she came up with that swiftly took care of our complaint.
Even if you can't see how your job directly helps someone, every job does affect someone somewhere by contributing to the production or delivery of a service or product.
Your contribution may not be as obvious as the worker who sees instant results. But you're just as important. And if you want to feel just as appreciated, sit down and figure out what difference you do make in the chain of events.
