As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an important element of the individual well being. What factors contribute to job satisfaction? How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?

There is no doubt that the majority of people spend a huge part of their adult life working, and that work contentment is an essential feature of well-being. In my essay, I will discuss some factors that influence career fulfilment and also look at how realistic the expectation of satisfaction for all employees. One of the major factors that lead to work satisfaction is higher wages. This is because people will feel satisfied when they know that they are earning a salary that is equivalent to the type of task they are doing, most especially when the task is very demanding. For example, doctors, who work day and night and receiving higher wages may generally feel contented with their duties. However, if the pay of these doctors is much lower, then there could be no satisfaction. As a result, this will in turn affect their performance. The expectation of achievement for all employees is not feasible. This is because most workers often expect very high returns regarding their jobs they think is satisfying. As a consequence, when these expectations are not met, they begin to feel disappointed in most cases. To illustrate my point, a staff who feels he/she deserved to be promoted after three years of work, but end up not getting the promotion, may feel disappointed even though he/she earned the position. In contrast, if he/she gets the promotion, hence he/she may feel satisfied. In conclusion, higher pay and working surroundings are key elements that determine whether an individual will be satisfied with his/her role or not and that even though expectation are often high, they are not often realised while working.