|
And the National Mental Health Association has determined that
unhappiness in the workplace affects all aspects of one's life,
including:
- Drug abuse
- Obesity
- Depression
- Excessive stress
- Anger
- Hostility
According to the American Medical
Association, these are the very risk factors for America's No. 1
killer, heart disease.
"A
national economic disaster"
The National Management Association
claims that unhappy workers are the most costly group of employees
in any organization. They become easily disengaged -- not only from
their daily work but from their organization's mission as well.
Unhappy workers often quit their jobs psychologically long before
they quit physically. Many are more focused on finding their next
job than performing in their present one.
"Unhappy workers pose a tremendous
challenge to any organization's leadership," says L. G. Hall, Ph.D.,
psychologist, career counselor vocational expert and author of
"Career Choices Inventory -- Fifth Edition." Negativity, hostility,
low morale and blaming one's unhappiness on others can result in
decreased production, diminished quality of the company's products
and services, increased accidents, soaring absenteeism and
tardiness, increased worker turnover, theft, and even sabotage.
"Collectively, the impact this has on the American economy is
incalculable," he says.
Unhappy
careers are entirely preventable
Hall teaches his clients that "this sad
waste of talent" not only causes an immense amount of human
suffering, but it is entirely preventable. "The truth is, there is
so much occupational diversity in America that there are probably a
hundred different jobs that each of us could find meaningful and
fulfilling."
How do so many workers get into the
wrong job?
[to top of second column in
this review]
 |
Hall says most workers have never
learned how to go about choosing a career, in fact, never
considering their own:
- Interests
- Abilities and skills
- Personal values
- Psychological needs
-
Job
characteristics, such as geographical location, work environment,
risks, time demands, co-workers, monetary rewards
Working
through the process
Hall's "Career Choices Inventory" helps
workers negotiate through the self-assessment process so they can
make better career choices. "The Constitution proclaims we are
'endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights,'" says
Hall. "Likewise, we are all endowed with talents, abilities,
interests, personalities and lifelong potentialities that are unique
to each of us. Throughout the course of our work lives, we will need
to use this career choice process again and again. We will change,
our jobs will change, and even the meaning of 'job satisfaction'
will change. Thus, the answer to 'happiness' is -- that the answer
changes." Hall says we must be ready for change and anticipate it.
Shortage
of skilled workers
According to the US Bureau of Labor,
within the next six years there will be a shortage of some 10
million SKILLED workers. The nursing and teaching profession are
already there. Because of that, Hall says "NOW" is the time for
workers to pursue finding the right career fit. "It is the right
thing to do, not only for ourselves, our family and our friends, but
even for our country.
"We only
live once," says Hall, "and we don't want to look back and realize
we've squandered our time on earth and never really lived the life
we dreamed of -- nor become the person we always wanted to be. It
takes great courage to explore one's true calling in life. We need
to break away from the expectations of others and give ourselves
permission to live out our life's role -- as it is revealed to us.
Nowhere is this drama more clearly highlighted than in the career
choice process we each encounter."
[News release] |
