In the first post in this series, I talked a bit about different and how you can rank your own job for each of those criteria. In this
post I’ll list simple steps anyone can take to improve personal job
satisfaction in each of these areas: quality of projects, work-life
balance, bureaucracy & politics, recognition & respect,
compensation, and teamwork.
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Before
diving into steps for improving job satisfaction, its worth mentioning
the most obvious way to improve job satisfaction – switch jobs.
Switching jobs is definitely something to consider if you aren’t very
happy with your current position, and according to TechRepublic’s article on 10 signs you aren’t cut out to be a programmer,
if you prefer regular raises to job hopping, you aren’t even cut out to
be a programmer. So it seems that job hopping is a part of the culture
and in many cases the only way to move forward in a programming career. A
job change may be the optimal path, but it usually takes time.
Whether or not you are actively looking for a new job, it makes sense
to always be looking for opportunities to become more satisfied with
your current position. Right. Now. Why? Work is a big part of life. If
you show up every day, you might as well do whatever you can to enjoy
it. If you aren’t happy it will show in your work. This means lack of
motivation, poor job performance, and bad references in the future.
Quality of Projects
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Spend time working on projects you enjoy in your free time. Learn a new language. . .
Attend a conference. Start a blog. This has the added benefit of
keeping your skills up to date and making you more employable.
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Create side projects that are worthwhile and fun. Write some utility
scripts to automate the deployment process. Improve the source control
system with email notification of check-ins.
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Ask to be transferred to another project. Given a choice sane
management would rather transfer a star hacker than loose them
altogether.
Work-Life Balance
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Many hackers do enjoy the long hours and ability to focus all their
energy on one task, but if this is your style it is important to take
breaks after several days of long hours. Take a day off. Don’t hoard
your vacation time.
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Relax a bit and .
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Schedule time for family, friends, personal projects, and other commitments. Stick to the schedule.
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Reduce your hours. Don’t be afraid to let management know that there are boundaries. They will respect you more for it. Really.
Bureaucracy & Politics
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Rejoice in the fact that .
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Avoid gossip and rumors. Stick to your work and keep your head down.
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Gracefully back away from situations that will result in more bureaucracy and politics.
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If your manager is able to shield you from this, thank him. Profusely. Let him know that it’s appreciated.
Recognition & Respect
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Become a mentor. You can do this on a more informal basis by leaving
your door open to junior developers, or in a more formal way by joining
a .
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Become a project lead. Don’t wait around for your company to promote you – start an , or help out on an existing project.
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Pick a niche and become an authority on it. Give talks at conferences. Blog about it.
Compensation
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Ask for a raise. A nice way of doing this is asking for a
performance review. Be prepared to highlight your achievements and
specific ways you have contributed to the company’s success. Do some
research on current salaries in your area and inflation rates and be
prepared to quote them.
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Barter for better health benefits, , longer vacations, more telecommute time, free M&Ms with the green ones picked out, or whatever floats your boat.
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Get a certification, go back to school, or take a few classes
online. Employers often increase compensation as education level goes
up.
Teamwork
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Get involved in the hiring process so that you can have a hand in
building a powerful team. Hire those 5 star people and do anything you
can to keep them happy.
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Be glad you don’t work with .
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Extend your network outside of your current job to connect with
like-minded developers. Join a LUG, programming association, or alumni
group. Use .
Everyone goes though periods of dissatisfaction with their job. It’s
normal. I’m no expert in employee motivation, but I have found that the
above steps work for me. Hopefully you will be able to get some use out
of them as well.
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