When I’m reading research studies about job satisfaction, the aspect of fun and humor is rarely included. It seems that having fun is not given much importance by the scientific community.

Employers also are having a hard time to see how humor and fun could be good for business. Too often bosses believe that employees chatting and laughing at the water cooler are just wasting time and money. Read about the value of humor and fun:

Author: Christiane Turnheim. Christiane is Life & Career Coach at Coach4U.net. She teaches psychology at a Boston-area Community College and published the workbook “Learn to love your Job”. She can be reached at christiane@coach4u.net ; www.coach4u.net

British researchers studied the job and life satisfaction of more than 10, 000 people across thirty European countries. They found that job satisfaction and life satisfaction are correlated, meaning if you are happy in your private life you are also more likely to be happy at your workplace; and those, who are unhappy at home, are also more likely to be unhappy at work. The researchers found no evidence that someone, who is unhappy at home will feel compensated by work in any way.

One explanation for this finding could be that happiness has also a genetic aspect according to psychological studies. Inherited personality traits such as negative affect (tendency to have emotions like anger, fear or hostility), self-esteem, extraversion, emotional stability, self-efficacy (perceived ability to master the environment), and locus of control (perceived amount of control about one’s life) impact overall happiness. Someone, who feels in control over his/her life, has self-esteem, is emotionally stable, and feels competent are genetically predisposed to be happy with their  jobs and life in general.

Author: Christiane Turnheim. Christiane is Life & Career Coach at Coach4U.net. She teaches psychology at a Boston-area Community College and published the workbook “Learn to love your Job”. She can be reached at christiane@coach4u.net ; www.coach4u.net

Research shows that money can buy happiness when we spend the money on experiences such as a vacation or  a fun night out with friends.

How about giving such “experiences” as holiday gift? Here are a few examples:

• Dinner at a fancy restaurant
• Movie night
• Weekend trip
• Spa visit
• Girls night out
• Theatre, museum or concert tickets
• Hot air balloon ride
• Scuba diving trip
• Ski lift tickets
• Workshop (Job related or Self-Improvement)
• Coaching sessions
• Membership in a Club
• Self-Help books ( such as my book about Job Satisfaction)

Posted by Christiane. You can reach her at  christiane@coach4u.net

In 1978 researchers presented a sample of adults a list of 24 big-ticket items such as a car, travel, a house, and so on. They were asked how many of these items they already possessed and which things on the list were part of having “the good life” as they would define it. 16 years later, in 1994, the same people were interviewed again with the same questions and presented with the same list.

Result: In 1978, the study participants felt that “the good life” would require having more things than they possessed at that time. Those in their twenties had in average 1.7 things from the list but thought they needed 4.4 items for “the good life”. 16 years later, the participants had more objects acquired (3.1 items in average) and thus were closer to their original wishes, but now they thought they needed even more stuff (in average 5.6 items) to have a “good life”.

In summary, having more possessions didn’t really change the difference between “Have already” and “Want to Have”, leading to the conclusion: The More We Have, The More We Want.

If you want to know what to give for Christmas that actually could increase happiness, stay tuned. Next time, I will write about “Gifts that spread Joy and Happiness”.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christiane Turnheim is a Life& Career Coach and a psychology teacher at a Community College in the Boston area. You can reach her at cturnheim@coach4u.net.

Top ranked is software engineer, followed in order by mathematician, actuary, statistician, computer systems analyst, meteorologist, biologist, historian, audiologist, and dental hygienist.

The worst jobs are: roustabout as the worst, followed by iron worker, lumberjack, roofer, taxi driver, EMT, welder, painter, meter reader, and construction worker.

Of course, the ranking criteria used by CareerCast are rather superficial as job satisfaction does not depend solely on salary, job stress or work environment. For most people, other factors are important too: Opportunities to learn, relationships with co-workers and management, career advancement options, feeling appreciated……

Also not considered in the ranking: individual aptitudes and personalities. For some people, software engineer may indeed be the best job ever; for others however, it may be the worst.

Find out what would be the best job for you based on your interests and needs – read my eBook

Written by Christiane. She is psychologist and Life & Career coach. Contact her at christiane@coach4u.net

ScienceDaily (2010-08-14) — When a JetBlue flight attendant creatively deplaned earlier this month, many questions arose as to why someone would be willing to give up a steady paycheck during these tough economic times. While this “working man’s hero” will most likely be questioning his motives as he hands over his lawyer’s fees, a new report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, suggests that his action may be a sign of trouble for JetBlue and other large companies. … read full article 

In the US, full time employees and those with a higher income are more likely to get paid vacation days than part-time and low wage workers. And despite having on average only nine days of paid vacation, roughly a third of employees with vacation benefits don’t take all of the vacation days they receive. Many believe that management perceives it negatively if they take vacation. A typical fear in these days of high unemployment is that workers are afraid that they may get replaced if they don’t give 110 % and therefore they rather forego on the well deserved time-off. About 25% of those, who do take vacation, stay connected with their company by checking work email or taking phone calls from the office while on vacation. About one third of employees admitted in an Expedia.com survey that they feel guilty about taking time off.

They shouldn’t – because it’s not only in their own interest if they use their vacation days to relax and refresh. There’s also a benefit to the employer: Workers who don’t get a break will become exhausted and burned-out over time. They are no longer able to perform to their full potential. They are also at risk for depression and other health issues, which may end up to cost the company more than the vacation days. On the other hand, workers who come back after a break with new energy and new perspectives and ideas will be more productive.

Therefore, talk to your employer about your vacation needs and how the company can even benefit from it. Plan ahead and talk to your co-workers about your vacation. Ask a co-worker to cover for you if necessary and offer the same favor in return. Final advice: don’t take work with you and avoid checking emails. It’s quite unlikely that your office will fall apart just because you take a few days off.

And with these lines, I say “Good bye” for two weeks. I will be on vacation in Austria!

Christiane is a Life and Career Coach. She also teaches psychology at a community college in Massachusetts. You can reach her via her website http://www.coach4u.net or email her.

The ten sections of the Job Satisfaction Wheel represent important factors, which for many people determine job satisfaction.

 Print the wheel. Seeing the center of the wheel as 0 and the outer edges as 10, assign each section a value between 0 and 10, depending on YOUR satisfaction with the particular factor at YOUR current workplace. If you connect these values with a straight or curved line to create a new outer edge, do you still have a nice, round wheel?

 If you see areas that need improvement, take action. Don’t accept a dissatisfying job situation! Call me at 781 777 2791 or email me to schedule a Free Coaching introduction session to find out how Career Coaching can help you.

 Read also my e-workbook “Learn to Love your Job” with information and activities designed to help you to find satisfaction in your job. Learn more about the book.