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Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 8:48 am
by weeksy
Here's a random question for today.

We've currently got scaffolders lobbing stuff up next door, there's 5-6 of them and i've not seen a moment pass yet where at least one of them isn't laughing, joking, piss taking and smiling. It's constant banter and smiles.

But you can bet your arse they're not getting paid massive amounts... well, the owner may be, but not the general workers.

But it's got to be good rewarding work too, physically demanding, healthy outdoors stuff.

It's not for me... :D but hey, it seems like a nice no hassle, no stress kind of job.

But without the rewards of a bigger pay packet, pension etc... is it essentially an unhappy sort of job to be in ?

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 8:54 am
by Yambo
I don't think job satisfaction has anything to do with the wage.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:01 am
by DefTrap
weeksy wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 8:48 am Here's a random question for today.

We've currently got scaffolders lobbing stuff up next door, there's 5-6 of them and i've not seen a moment pass yet where at least one of them isn't laughing, joking, piss taking and smiling. It's constant banter and smiles.

But you can bet your arse they're not getting paid massive amounts... well, the owner may be, but not the general workers.

But it's got to be good rewarding work too, physically demanding, healthy outdoors stuff.

It's not for me... :D but hey, it seems like a nice no hassle, no stress kind of job.

But without the rewards of a bigger pay packet, pension etc... is it essentially an unhappy sort of job to be in ?
I wouldn't mind doing it for a bit.

I mentioned something similar to a mate who is a tree surgeon, so similar outdoorsy and staying fit. He reckoned not quite so much fun when you have to do it in the dead of winter when it's pissing down.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:02 am
by weeksy
DefTrap wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:01 am He reckoned not quite so much fun when you have to do it in the dead of winter when it's pissing down.
Indeedy.... that would certainly be a downside when you can't feel your fingers and are sodding cold.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:03 am
by Mr. Dazzle
Yambo wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 8:54 am I don't think job satisfaction has anything to do with the wage.
Mostly.

Getting underpaid would probably errode it quite a bit, but getting paid loads doesn't necessarily have the opposite effect.

I imagine working outdoors with your mates on a sunny day in May is different to working on your own on a wet December Tuesday too.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:16 am
by weeksy
Potter wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:12 am I think the majority of people go to work for the money, if they won the lottery tomorrow they'd quit, whereas I wouldn't, at least not for a year or two anyway.
I'd ring my big boss, well, actually i'd buy him a new MTB and take him out riding...

But that's as far as i'd get with that one :)

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:45 am
by Horse
Potter wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:12 am, I think the majority of people go to work for the money, if they won the lottery tomorrow they'd quit, whereas I wouldn't, at least not for a year or two anyway.
My dad retired aged 65, on a Friday.

Monday morning after, he sorted three part-time jobs. Mum didn't want him cluttering the house.

I retire in 2 years. Well, roughly 2 years 1 month 1 week. I'm already planning what I will do!

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:47 am
by Saga Lout
Potter wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:12 amI think the majority of people go to work for the money, if they won the lottery tomorrow they'd quit, whereas I wouldn't, at least not for a year or two anyway.
I did win the lottery. I didn't quit.

Mostly because it was £10 for three numbers. :D

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 9:50 am
by KungFooBob
I won the Lotto on Saturday.

It's £30 for three numbers now.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:02 am
by the_priest
No.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:07 am
by KungFooBob
I took a 10k pay cut to get out of a job I was starting to hate.... not the job really, just a couple of people and the direction the company was going.

I'd been there 10 years and got used to how thing were.

It wasn't until I moved on that I realised just how much time I used to spend working and worrying about stuff at work. I didn't know I was stressed, until there wasn't any stress anymore.

I kind of missed it at first (daft I know), but I'm a lot less worried about about stuff and actually enjoy what I do a lot more... I'm almost back up to earning what I did before, which is nice.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:43 am
by Tricky
Definitely not all down to money, but the reward (both financial and in terms of a personal sense of achievement) has historically played a massive part in the satisfaction for me hence my work choices to date have always been influenced by how much money I can make.
That's mainly for the reason that generally speaking money buys freedom, albeit it can be a bit of a vicious circle as of course sometimes the calls on your time that making money can bring also can seriously curtail the amount of free time you have, in the short term at least.

I'm now fortunate enough that I've got everything I want really and enough money/investments to be able to do anything I want and not have to work ever again if I don't want to, but I (currently at least ) feel that I still need to work to stop myself turning into a pensioner, so I am, although looking more and more towards cutting the work time back, it's just getting that balance of commitment vs reward right .

Maybe I'll try scaffolding :thumbup:

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:45 am
by weeksy
Tricky wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:43 am Maybe I'll try scaffolding :thumbup:
It seems you only have to work 1 hour shifts, then spend 25 mins in the van drinking tea/stella.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:48 am
by Tricky
weeksy wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:45 am
Tricky wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:43 am Maybe I'll try scaffolding :thumbup:
It seems you only have to work 1 hour shifts, then spend 25 mins in the van drinking tea/stella.
You forgot the weed and chemicals- seriously, I've known a fair few scaffolders in my time and there hasn't been one who isn't a stoner :D

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:50 am
by weeksy
Tricky wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:48 am
weeksy wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:45 am
Tricky wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 10:43 am Maybe I'll try scaffolding :thumbup:
It seems you only have to work 1 hour shifts, then spend 25 mins in the van drinking tea/stella.
You forgot the weed and chemicals- seriously, I've known a fair few scaffolders in my time and there hasn't been one who isn't a stoner :D
Well, without looking to sterotype too much, they don't look like the sort of blokes who drink brandy and smoke cuban cigars :)

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 11:37 am
by WheeliePig
Average scaffolder is on £40k+, often much of it in cash....

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 11:48 am
by Mr. Dazzle
Potter wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:12 am I think the majority of people go to work for the money, if they won the lottery tomorrow they'd quit, whereas I wouldn't, at least not for a year or two anyway.
I can't imagine I'd quit work if I won the lottery, but it would certainly be nice to put that to the test :D I'd have to start buying tickets first though!

I've already said that I won a silly Euromillions jackpot of like £100m I'd buy all my close co-workers a fancy new car. A fleet of electric Porsches for the 10 people I work with most often wouldn't even be 1% of the winnings.

Not including management, obvs. :D

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 12:18 pm
by DefTrap
If I won serious money I'd still work, because I'm really not built for masses of loafing, but I'm sure as shit not working for anyone else.

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 12:23 pm
by Yorick
Sod working :banana-dance:

Re: Job satisfaction and happiness... is it all down to money ?

Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 1:06 pm
by Trinity765
"If you find a job you enjoy you'll never have to work again".

I met a married couple years ago, he was a tree surgeon and she was a landscape gardener. They were happy but what stuck me most was how fit they both looked.

I like my job but hate sitting down all day so if money wasn't an issue I would do something more outdoorsy.