The average American spends a lot of time at work -- more than 1800 hours a year -- but do you love your job or are you frequently daydreaming about being somewhere (or anywhere) else?

 

A lot of things play a role in your job satisfaction besides the actual work itself. Your emotions, skills, financial needs and performance are just some of the factors that make or break a job. Remember: Not everyone loves every aspect of their job. It's a matter of finding strong positive points that you can focus on.

 

If you feel like you don't have any positive aspects of your work that you can hone in on or your work is making you feel physically ill on a regular basis, re-start the search and find a job that will kick your negativity and give you challenges and sense of value you need to like what you do for a living.

Take this quiz to find out how satisfied you are with your career. Read each statement and give yourself one point for each one you agree with: 

 

1. You make positive comments about your job when people ask what you do or how work is going.

 

2. You have a developed a positive relationship with your co-workers, or at least learned how to deal with each other's different personalities.

 

3. You feel included in decision-making and truly believe that your opinion matters at work.

 

4. The people you work with treat you as an equal, even though you may have less experience.

 

5. Even when you're not at your job, you sometimes do positive brainstorming about your work.

 

6. You have managed to find a balance between work and personal life and it doesn't involve losing too much time with either one.

 

7. You've accumulated overtime because you were so into the work you were doing that you lost track of time.

 

8. People look to you for advice at work.

 

9. You're ready and even excited for the upcoming projects you'll be working on.

 

10. Your supervisor is supportive and offers you good advice and opportunities for furthering your education in your field.

 

11. You feel positive about what the company is doing, and feel that you really make a difference or contribution.

 

12. Even though you could use some more money, your rate of pay seems fair.

 

13. You are learning things that really help you with your career.

 

14. You use your time constructively, and while you may get bored once in awhile, you're mostly on-task and ready for action.

 

15. You feel like you are in the right field for your interests, skills and personality.

 

16. You are up for promotion and feeling positive about it going through.

 

17. There may be some repetitive or boring parts about your job, but for the most part you are stimulated.

 

18. You don't feel too exhausted at the end of the day.

 

19. Stressful situations may arise, but you don't feel too overwhelmed or stressed-out on a regular basis.

 

20. Even though you may be using most or all of your potential, you really want to do things better.

 

21. You feel healthy at work and don't regularly worry or feel sick about going in the next day.

 

22. You have no problems making your job interesting (in a good way).

 

23. You don't feel stuck at your job, there's room to move forward.

 

24. You started your career because you were genuinely interested in it, not solely because you needed the money or someone coerced you into it.

 

25. Fear of debt or not being able to find another job aren't the sole reasons you're sticking around.

 

Scores:
0-5: You have little to no satisfaction with your work. You may have started your career choices based on salary or with the pressure or suggestion of someone else, or you may just be revaluating what you've gotten into. You may feel undervalued, or a job that was once challenging is now at a standstill. See you if you can find new tasks to take on to challenge yourself or if it's the lack of solid relationships with the people you work, you may want to stick it out and try to get to know people a little better. If all else fails, consider whether it's the job itself or the company that is making you unhappy and find a place or career that changes that.

 

6-10: You have some satisfaction with your job, whether it's the relationship you've developed with the people you work with or the work itself that you're doing. You could still be getting your feet wet, but if you're not, you may want to figure out where this career is taking you and find new challenges to ready yourself for a promotion or a change of employer.

 

11-15: Overall, you're satisfied with your job, but you may feel a little overwhelmed or stressed. You wish that you had more time to balance your work and personal life. While it may be near impossible to cut back on your workload, see what you can do to balance it with your personal life before you burn yourself out.

 

16-20: You are really satisfied with your job and while you look around once in a while and research different companies, it's only because you want to consider your options, know your value, and keep your mind on where your career is heading.

 

20-25: Congratulations! You have found a job where you feel valued, challenged and balanced. Money isn't the sole driver of getting you out of bed in the morning, passion is, and you actually look forward to new assignments as a way to grow and learn at your career.

(Picture Source: Internet)

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