Career Satisfaction Chart

Check your Career Satisfaction Scale :

General Description : WORK OCCURS AS PASSIONATE PLAY Looks forward to going to work; sees work as vehicle for full self-expression, fun and pleasure; difficulties interpreted as positive challenges; considerable personal growth and contribution to self-esteem linked to work; little distinction between work and rest of life; sense of purpose and making a difference; uses talents fully; work fits personality. 
Effect on Personal Life : Self-actuated lifestyle, generous with self—often participates in "service" to others; loves life, goes for the gusto, playful; high level of personal integrity; self-esteem is rarely an issue; very significant increase in longevity and disease resistance. 
Contribution to Workplace : Work is an expression of a clear personal purpose; self-generating does not need supervision; very trustworthy—will persist until objective is reached; almost al-ways contributes and is appropriate; takes correction as an opportunity; the presence of a person living at this level raises colleagues to a higher level. 

Career Satisfaction Scale : 8 to 10

General Description : POSITIVE Enjoys work most of the time; satisfaction dependent on circumstances, basic enjoyment of work tempered by difficulties; feels useful; usually has a sense of purpose or meaning regarding his or her job; career meets perceived needs, contributes to positive self-esteem; good fit be-tween work, talents, and personality; high level of competence; value appreciated by others; would say work is "pretty good. I like my job." 
Effect on Personal Life : Satisfying career enhances other areas of life: often has success in relation-ships, family and projects, positive self-esteem, increased longevity, increased resistance to disease; enjoys life much of the time. 
Contribution to Workplace : Usually makes a positive contribution to the organization and other people; effective worker, fairly flexible; needs a mini-mum of supervision but not fully self-generating; handles responsibility well; decision making usually based on what's needed rather than personal agenda. 

Career Satisfaction Scale : 6 to 8

General Description : NEUTRAL Often accepts work situation without struggle; can appear to be a valued worker in a procedure-driven organization. This is the typical employee of a government agency or large, stable corporation. Some may say they like their work, others may grouse. If so, complaining is often simple socializing in an environment where complaining is a preference mode of communication. 
Effect on Personal Life : Leads a life that has no real positive effect on the community, but usually has no significant negative effect either. Relationships and other aspects of life out-side work may be "normal" but narrow. 
Contribution to Workplace : May produce quality results in repetitive tasks; contributions are mechanical; little potential for real leadership, initiative, or creativity; resists change; at best, furthers own ends; would always hire the person with the best résumé rather than the best candidate; destructive when placed in a position beyond grasp. 

Career Satisfaction Scale : 4 to 6

General Description : NEGATIVE Goes to work because forced by circumstances to do so; actively dis-likes significant parts of job; daily routine marked by struggle, suffering, clock-watching, resentment, resignation; areas of life other than work may be satisfying; work either doesn't use abilities fully or requires talents not possessed; may be clash between personality or values and environment: complains about job; fear of job loss; may actively attempt to improve lot; may accept some personal responsibility for the situation. 
Effect on Personal Life : Even though other areas of life may be healthy, career stress usually has negative effect on relationships, health, and longevity. May spend considerable portion of spare time recovering from work. Some erosion of self-esteem contributes to resignation or feelings of powerlessness in other areas. 
Contribution to Workplace : Destructive to the workplace. Even if lack of satisfaction is hidden, it spreads to other employees; contributions, even when well meant, are outweighed by liabilities; is not really effective because usually wants to be somewhere else; motivated by need rather than choice. Needs supervision to produce consistent high-quality results. 

Career Satisfaction Scale : 2 to 4

General Description : CAREER HELL Work is a constant struggle. takes an act of will to go to work each day; strong sense of resentment, deep suffering; major clash between talents or personality or values and requirements of the job: symptoms similar to people be-tween 2 and 4 on this scale except that here the dissatisfactions are more intense and the person feels completely trapped: each day at work erodes self-esteem: pro-found negative effect on other areas of life. 
Effect on Personal Life : Because work is so enervating, little psychological room to do more than survive; reduced capacity to support others; difficulty in maintaining healthy relationships; marked hostility or resignation toward workplace; life shortened by several years; diminished immune system. 
Contribution to Workplace : Dangerous and very destructive to environment; liability to self, others, and workplace; resistance (may be passive) to supervision, poor concentration, agenda is always at odds with organization's purpose; feels vindicated by the failure of others; completely untrustworthy; actively enrolls others in own agenda. Needs constant watching. 

Career Satisfaction Scale : 0 to 2

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