Money = Happiness? Not!

You'd think that people making $200K+ per year would have tremendous job satisfaction. They've been selected for challenging roles and are well compensated for their expertise. But a recent ExecuNet survey reveals, disturbingly, that 48% of executives with an average salary of $221K are dissatisfied, and 52% think they'll leave their company within the next 12 months.

Recruiters, this is good news for you! When you make that call to an existing CFO or HR executive, there's better than a 6 in 10 chance he or she will be unhappy and welcome your call!

But for executives, it's not such good news. Life is short, work is long, and we deserve to expend our time and talents in jobs that will enrich our lives with meaning and satisfaction.

I can't help but contrast this picture to my experiences this weekend. My 19-year-old son and his band hit town in the midst of their national summer tour. They're on the road for more than month, lucky to make gas & food money, sleeping on floors and having "experiences" like van breakdowns and show scheduling snafus. Yet their energy, excitement, and pure satisfaction were unmistakeable!

"Do what you love" may sound like simplistic advice in the context of lifestyle expectations and commitments. But try seriously to recapture the joy you felt - at ANY age, in ANY job - when you were doing what you loved. And quite possibly the money will follow, attracted to the vitality and passion you pour into your work life. Otherwise, you may end up part of the unhappy majority, dissatisfied with what you're doing for one-third or more of your waking hours.

Posted by Louise Kursmark

Comments

[Recruiting Animal]

Louise, if your son does what he loves for another twenty years with the same results he may begin to question the idea, not of following his bliss, but of following it too much or too long.

How much of a factor should money be in thinking about a new job, that is the question.

[Louise Kursmark]

Totally valid comment. I'm certainly not suggesting that (for most people) barely scraping by is going to provide life satisfaction. At some point there may be a compromise between the absolute ideal and the need/desire to earn a good living.

Still, it's a good idea to at least think about and try to recapture some of that joy, whatever job you're doing. It sure makes the inevitable crap a lot easier to bear. And it might steer you in a more satisfying direction (e.g., executive in the music biz rather than the widget biz).