Will you help me write an upcoming article here at Becoming Minimalist?
Post an answer to this question in the comment section: What are some things to look for in a full-time job that are more important than the size of the paycheck?
Perhaps we will end with more than 8 and I will need to rename the post…
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Do the company’s values align with yours?
Absolutely!
When I found your post first, there was no text on it – and I found it ironically true. Nothing! ;)
I would go with freedom!
Freedom to measure out how many weeks of vacation you need in a year. Freedom through flexibility in how many hours and when you work. And of course freedom to be inspired and spend working hours on developmental projects.
These parameters are not for all, and certainly not for all work places. ;)
That’s why I am self employed. When I occasionally look or hear about jobs that offer this kind of freedom, I realize why I have my own business.
Best,
Anders.
A sense of autonomy and control over your own work and a sense of doing something meaningful.
I check the vibe of the place. Do the employees seem happy to be there? What non-verbal signals are you picking up? Are people excited about what they’re doing? How much experience will you gain working in other aspects of the department? Things like that help me decide when looking for jobs.
Coincidentally I will give a presentation about a quite similar topic on wednesday.
To answer your question, for me it would be:
1. the people I would work with
Flexibility – but I believe this goes without saying. A culture of flexibility suggests a results driven focus instead of clocking man hours. I think we’ve all been there – working in an environment where everyone is trying to one-up one another by working the most hours.
satisfaction for a job well done…
and or
will I want to go to work, as in love my job
if you get paid to do what you love, wow..that is a dream job!
You’ve gotta believe in the product. You can fake it for a while, but in the end, if you don’t deep down believe in what you’re selling/pushing/promoting/working for, good luck finding long-term happiness and satisfaction.
What I find most important: a good amount of self-responsibility. If your colleagues trust you and let you do your work, then you’ll be happy and have a good time at work. And the colleagues have to have a same level of quality they want in their work. If you’re the only one who cares for quality in your product, then you’ll end up being very very uncomfortable around your office…
And I need to say: a good balance of work and free time. I don’t want to work 80h/week and not have time for my hobbies or just relax with a book or a game.
For me, there are 2 important things: as said before, a good balance between work and free time. A couple years ago, I was working in a well-paid job, but they kept me overworking almost everyday, and in the weekends I was so tired that the only thing I could do was sleep… my social life plummeted, and I became increasingly depressed about my life.
The other thing, is the relation with your coworkers. And part of that is given by the policies of the company. No one wants to be over a third of your day with grumpy people around.
These are the things that make me stay in my current job where I’ve been for the last 9,5 years
– short commute (30 min door to door by bus)
– the freedom to plan my days as I see fit as long as I get the job done
– good health care plan
- the people I work with
– a generous amount each year for massagers, gym-membership etc
– a nice atmosphere
For me is very important who I’m working for.
I work in I.T. and 90% of jobs are “client” based, where you stay at client’s company doing something but not becoming part of the company. I prefer to work for self-product companies, working with engineers than to non-technical bosses. I like to be part of the company, than a resourse or a number in an excel chart.
So as @Holger said, it’s very important to know the people I would work with. Also the kind of company and becoming part of it.
coworkers and company culture. will they be interesting and supportive people to spend time with at work? possibly even outside of work?
So I’m a photojournalist. Artist. And a college student. [Read: beyond broke times 3.] I recently turned down a photography job on campus with a really, really nice paycheck to stay in my current position as photo editor of our paper. Here are 8 reasons why:
1 I refuse to let money dictate my life. My primary drive for switching positions was the paycheck.
2 I am valued. I FEEL valued. Everyday.
3 My contributions are appreciated.
4 I get FEEDBACK. My work is not only appreciated and valued, it is analyzed. No matter how nice and friendly and cutesy I am, I’m still held to certain standards.
5 Room for growth. Not only did I go from the bottom of the photo dept to the top, I am given the room to expand the dept to my vision.
6 Room to be ME. Yes, I have a more creative job, but the individual style of employees can be seen not only in the paper, but in the structure of the working environment.
7 I LOVE AND APPRECIATE MY CO-WORKERS.
8 Impact. Not my impact, but the organization’s. Both positions uphold and build on the tremendous legacy of the university, but as the media, as journalists we are the voice of the students. We provide immediate access to, for, and by the students.
When you’re doing something that matters to you, and not your wallet, you don’t need much else [which is why I'm making the move to minimalism].
-bg-
My current dis-satisfaction stems from the lack of work/personal balance. School during the day, work on evenings and weekends… I miss out on many activities with friends, and time spent with my wife.
I’ve quit past jobs because of lack of work/personal balance.
-will you actually let me do the job you’ve hired me to do, without interference or micromanaging
-will you let me come and go, without clocking in and accounting for every minute of the day (trust me, you’ll get about 2x the work/time from me if you don’t treat me like a child)
-if you’re gonna let me take the blame for company errors, make darned sure you publicly give me credit for its successes
-allow me to take time off for needed medical appointments during the day (or find me a doctor that works nights and is taking patients!)
-say “thank you”, acknowledge how hard/how well we’re working for you
-criticize privately, praise publicly
-pay me a fair salary for the work I do
-how topheavy is the organization – how many overpaid, underworked, unqualified management types wander the hallways doing nothing of value
…sigh, having only recently escaped cubicle hell, I have to admit that it’s not the workplace that drove me away but the behaviour in the workplace that turned me off
People. People. People. People. And, oh yeah–People.
The ability to work from anywhere with no commute, commuting is a complete waste of time and energy.
Results only environment, don’t have to hang around somewhere just because you have to work X number of hours, regardless of if you are not ding anything.
No 9 to 5.
transparency
Carrie, you hit it dead on for me. I am a motivated, intelligent, creative, and integrous human being (yes, we still exist) and if someone wants me to work for them then
(a) I’d better be able to be self-motivated not micro-managed,
(b) allowed to make decisions based on data and even gut feelings without having to win my boss’ vote first,
(c) allowed to create to the extent that it changes my job description as I uncover new needs in the organization that I can better fill, and
(d) given trust in my management of my time and allowed to leave my office chair to get more work done.
I’m blessed to have those four things about 90% of the time in my current job, and while there are things I’d change, these are the most important things to have right.
Knowing for a fact that your contribution to increasing human knowledge can in some way benefit the whole human race, maybe not now but in the future. I hope to work in the Scientific research field of biotechnology, and I would find this value very motivating and important.
The two most important things for me are the schedule, (how many hours and days you work, and which days) and the stress level.
I recently stepped down from a management position to a part time position with a good company. I worked a minimum of 10 hours a day on a rolling schedule that would have me start in late afternoon in the beginning of my week, and by my Friday, have me starting at 4:00 AM. I was never home and missed birthdays and holidays. I was totally exhausted all the time and had nothing left for my wife and children. The divorce rate among my coworkers was huge.
It was also a high stress position. Whenever the ad reads ‘a fast paced environment’ you can translate that as ‘a high stress environment.’
I stepped down to a part time position paying a little more than half my previous salary and am really happy with the move. Money is tight but we are making it. My attitude and demeanor have improved so much, that several other managers asked me how I felt about the switch, and subsequently stepped down also.
I took three jobs within a year in search of a good fit for me right out of grad school. As a new clinician, I wanted a VERY supportive environment and a good team system. I have come to appreciate how much my boss supports our personal lives… she knows that work is only one component of me and respects that.
wow! this is an incredibly impressive list. i’m not sure i’ve got anything to add….but let’s see if i can come up with something.
I’m not sure you can limit reasons to eight, but here are three: philosophy of organization aligns with yours; congeniality and respect among colleagues; responsibilities consistent with your abilities and strengths but with room for growth and development.
Living in a small town
This is a minimalist blog, right?
Fun. Seriously.
How close to home it is.
The perfect job – an elusive concept! Anybody can have the perfect job these days, but not *everybody* can. Ah well…
My job is not well paid and not hugely satisfying.
However, it is within 3 miles of my home (saving time, money and pollution).
It is in education (though not teaching) so I feel I am contributing to the future of society.
It is part time, and I don’t have to work in the school holidays, which means I have time for my hobbies, and to keep my home nice, and to visit my parents who live 300 miles away.
My colleagues are nice, but teachers can be very exasperating!
They are very understanding of stress-related problems, and when I needed time off when my mum was ill.
If necessary, I can do a large part of my job online, at home (or at my parents’)
Wow, it’s better than I thought!
Sue
Doing something that makes you feel alive and that helps your soul to dance. :)
Tom, you said that so well.
For me it boils down to respect, trust and freedom — respect for my intelligence, creativity and inherent worth as a human being; trust that I can manage my time and will do what I said I would do; and the freedom to have a life outside of my job.
But then again, I won’t have a JOB. I’ve been self-employed for 12 years now. I choose my clients, the type of work I do, my working conditions, my hours, my location. I walk to and from work. I eat lunch at home when I want to, and with a friend when I want to.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I would say that a sense of accomplishment would be ideal in a job. It provides the kind of “feedback” you need to keep going.
That will differ for everyone.
Work that is enjoyable in its own right. Maybe not 100% of the time, but 51% or more of the time it’s intrinsically enjoyable to the one doing the task, project, assignment, etc.
Like many others have said, the work must be something enjoyable and fulfilling. Being an engineer works for me since I am naturally a tinkerer.
Also, I think it is important to consider what sort of value you provide to the community. Is your work helpful to your community? This is the biggest downside to my job. Currently, my work only makes our servicemen and borders ‘safer’. I think doing something like running a homeless shelter would be extremely rewarding and satisfying.
Freedom of schedule and actions is another important aspect. Can you show up a little late if you decide you want to go for a run this morning as long as you still get your 40 hours in? Or take off a bit early for that bike ride? Does the management respect your decisions, provided they have a solid foundation? (I left my last job because of that last one.)
Making a difference!
Feeling like you make a difference is rewarding.
I work in a major manuf of consumer goods. (entertaining venturing into minimalizim with this job). But one thing I think is great is being able to see items I work on hit the market. Being able to take pride in the little details that go into products.
I’m a single Mom of two young girls. I work full time and while I don’t make an extravagant amount of money I work for an agency with a mission I embrace. I have flexibility. I do work that is fulfilling. My well being and that of my family come first.
My work has supported me through the loss of a parent and a divorce and all of the upheaval that both of those events brought to my life. I have been supported and encouraged and I have known that some days I just need to take care of me and that’s okay. Because I work with low income families and families in crisis our agency knows that we can only help those families if we are emotionally and physically healthy ourselves. That’s more valuable than the money in the bank.
To me the most important are:
– Enjoyment
– Adding value
I’m not sure if this was already said or not, but for me as a health coach working for a private company, it’s that I get to personally help individuals rather than just helping the company’s bottom line.
Nothing beats a healthy work environment – mental health.
I was 6 months at my current company before I stopped looking over my shoulder. What a wonderful feeling to let go.
A great social committee doesn’t hurt either!
Are their processes convoluted?
I prefer to stay away from companies that make tasks harder for the sake of justifying someone’s job.
Here are a few ideas:
1. Core values have to match
- Community involvement
- Positive culture
- Rewarding leadership and innovation
2. Educational opportunities
- invest in sending employees to conferences and classes
- let them explore the company
- create more valuable employees
3. Flexibility
- Customizable hours
- Flex time
- Understanding
4. Empowerment
- Let employees make things happen
5. Able to take risks
- Company that has positioned itself to be able to experiment, invest and take risks.
6. Collaborative
- Company that expects team interaction
- Disrespect is not tolerated
- Appreciates collaborative projects
- Takes advantage of diversity
7. Mentoring
- Having experienced professionals partner with the up and coming
I have to believe in what I do.
I have to feel I’m making a difference in people’s lives.
Everything else is gravy.
~janet
A supportive manager can make or break a position. I thought this might be less important at some places, until an unsupportive, uncommunicative manager almost got me fired — I’ll never make that mistake again.
Steadiness of income is another one for me — I like a salary that comes in at regular intervals, it’s simpler! I wouldn’t trade for a job paying 20% more if it came in irregularly and I had to constantly be trying to find clients for myself.
A short commute — in my case I insist that I live and work on public transportation. Right now I’m 3 subway stops away from work.
As an engineer, I want to build stuff that’s actually USED BY PEOPLE. I did demo-ware for five years and can never go back to that. I now work on Google Image Search where millions of people use the product every day, and when I’m having a difficult day I can always think of those people and how I’m helping them in their search for cute kitten pictures. ;)
The people I must work with is important.
Being able to place family first is also a huge requirement. (i.e. someone’s sick, death in family, doctor’s appointments, etc.)
The final item I did not see anyone above mention is the opportunity for new experiences to learn and grow from. In my position as an executive assistant at a local airport, I have learned so much about things that one would never think of and about some I really didn’t need to. This has kept me from seeking a higher paid job elsewhere even after 11 years.
For me, flexibility in terms of time would be far more important than the paycheck. We currently own our business, and I work about 20 hours a week and spend the rest of my time taking care of our son. But if I were ever to go back to working for someone else, I would much rather have a part time, flexible schedule job than a full-time, full-pay position. We’ve worked hard to minimize our expenses, and I value time far more than money these days.
You have to intrinsically enjoy going to work (for said particular job). I have had some that I chose based on the paycheck/benefits that were not worth the mental and emotional toll. thankfully, those taught me to look farther than what a job could really give me on paper.
The opportunities to leave the world a little better than you found it.
My mile and a half commute to work. in Atlanta the average commute time is an hour (round trip) I gain TEN hours a week in free time by working so close to home.
I could NOT work in a job where I would be asked to do something immoral or unethical.
Friendly, co-operative co-workers are worth their weight in gold.
Although I agree with everyone so far…
I want to suggest an overarching thing one should look for in a job.
Although everyone should want money, and freedom, and mental health, and core values, and…
how about this. The job I ultimately choose should have PURPOSE
I can manufacture parachutes to save lives, I can make coffee to keep truckers awake, I choose to write columns to chance minds…
but if what I do does not serve a purpose I can understand and appreciate, I will become dead inside.
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