Happy in your job? Studies find meaningfulness matters

OREM — Nine-year-old Gavin fidgeted in the school office chair at Wasatch Elementary in Orem on a recent Friday, playing with a bead toy as he contemplated what he wanted to be when he grows up.

"A doctor, because I can save people's lives," Gavin said.

Money was also a motivation. Asked which job he would not want, he answered, "A gas station worker." Why not? "Because you don't get paid that much."

Sitting in the stuffed, wood-paneled chair, Gavin's classmate, Jenna, said she wants to be an artist. Why? "Because you can get really rich and famous," she said.

These young students will likely be entering a workforce that is ready to receive them with open arms, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With 3.2 million reported job openings at the beginning of November and an assumed 5.1 percent unemployment rate in 2018 — compared to the 8.5 percent reported by BLS in December — job prospects look promising. While job placement is almost certain for many of these young people, the satisfaction they get out of that job is a different story.

Like many young students, Jenna and Gavin have idealistic hopes of what their careers will be like. However, they may be in for a rude awakening when they realize their first real job is not what they had initially imagined.

David Cherrington, professor of organizational behavior at Brigham Young University, said job satisfaction has been studied for decades with mixed results in part because those doing the study can skew the results to say what they want. For instance, if the individual conducting the study believes there is a correlation between pay and job satisfaction, it would be easy for them to interpret the data in such a way that confirms this belief. However, Cherrington has noticed that individual attitudes seem to have more to do with one's happiness at work than the nature of the employment.

Take Ronald Nelson, a vendor for the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1958. Nelson found out about this job in his youth through his worker's union and has found hidden benefits to his employment.

"I liked it because it kept my weight down and kept me looking younger because of all the walking I do," Nelson said. "It's a little hard to quit."

When people ask Nelson how he can keep going, he said it's simple — the more peanuts he sells, the lighter the bag around his neck gets. He said his job allows him to workout for free whereas other people have to pay money to work out at a gym.