What do you expect from work? There are sometimes when work is just bad and that leads to dissatisfaction. Other times, it’s because we have unrealistic expectations. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be optimistic. However, expecting work to fulfill all of your needs, in most cases, is setting yourself up to be dissatisfied. There’s a lot more to life. What often happens, particularly with younger people who are new to the full-time workforce, is they enter a job prepared for the company to be the greatest thing they have ever known and expecting the organization to think the same thing about them. Those rose-colored glasses last for a few weeks or even a few months before reality sets in. When these new workers start realizing that this particular job is not enough to fulfill them, they get profoundly depressed and start looking for the next job. I’ve seen it time after time in the stories that I hear from some of my former students. Work can be very fulfilling in some ways. But you may not find the meaning of life in your job. Set realistic expectations and you may be more satisfied with your job.
Filed under: Burnout, Job Satisfaction | Tagged: Job Expectations, Job Satisfaction, Meaningful Work
