A quick search for “how many people are dissatisfied with their jobs” indicates numbers hovering between 60% to 85%. This AI prompt calls this a persistent crisis in workplace satisfaction.

Flipping that narrative, an AI prompt for “how many organizations are dissatisfied with their people?” reveals no single statistic or data.

So, who really makes work miserable for everyone? Is it organizational misalignment? Yes. Is it the friction of systems and problems? Yes. Is it also wrong attitudes? Yes. Do short-sighted perspectives create strife? Yes.

If workplace dissatisfaction is a shared issue between organizations and their people, it seems a solution should be shared as well. Solving a problem happens when the entire cause of that problem is addressed. Dissatisfaction doesn’t only originate in reaction to organizational leadership or systems…although that is a main cause of stress. Dissatisfaction begins with internal conditions of the mind and the heart, attracting negativity.

What if organizational dysfunction could be minimized with the right attitude, a clear perspective, resilience and grit, and optimism? People who carry or develop healthy characteristics are more likely to be satisfied with their work because external situations no longer misalign their internal well-being.

Attitude

These people understand how to mitigate the differences between what goes on inside their minds and what happens to them. 

Your attitude—your mental setting and perspective—is a garment that protects you from the elements of any situation.

Perspective

These people see different sides of situations.  They see hidden passageways, obvious signs, and through illusions.  They also know how to embrace their colleagues’ perspectives.

Perspective minimizes friction points by seeing through a coworker’s lens. People who know how to practice perspective harbor few insecurities about their position; they understand how to help others succeed, and their vision makes way for collective goals to be met.

Resiliency and Grit

These people are strong, focused, and resilient during non-ideal times. Organizations can support a theme of resilience, but it is usually what individuals need to learn and embrace on their own.

The wise saying, “You can’t control what people do, but you can control your reaction to what they do,” is the foundation of learning how to build a resilient mindset that keeps focus on mission, purpose, and internal peace. Not everything that happens to you is your fault. But what happens to you and how it affects everything inside you is related to your level of resiliency.

Optimism

These people simply won’t take NO for an answer. These people are not naive to the factors that make their situation difficult. They look at situations that seem beyond hope and say, “So what are we going to do about this?”

Optimism (confidence, buoyancy) is the first cousin of Grit. Where grit shows toughness in the face of adversity, optimism reveals the way out towards opportunity. Optimism is the relentless pursuit of possibilities in the midst of seemingly impossible situations.

Organizations need to hire these types of people. People who don’t possess these attributes need to learn how. Can you imagine what kind of workplace environments would exist if the people within the organization had the right attitude, clear perspective, tough grit, and relentless optimism?

Since this is a both/and proposition that affects workplace satisfaction, organizational leadership has the responsibility to build its people through the foundation of respect.

Respect

Ideal organizations model respectful behavior that motivates their people and builds the want-to quotient that makes everything work better. These organizations practice trust, build good systems that benefit the people, and create achievement scales that provide vision for what people can become.

Workplace satisfaction is a both/and proposition, but currently it is an either/or problem. Either the company is great, or it is terrible. Either the working conditions are wonderful or abysmal. Either the boss is outstanding or an ogre.

The both/and of this situation is that a person can have a right attitude, and the organization can be aligned. A person can have a clear perspective, and the organization clearly communicates. A person can be resilient, and the organization minimizes friction.

Organizations can hire these types of people, and people can be these types.

So yes, people do make or break organizations. 

Ultimately, workplace satisfaction correlates with how people relate to one another. What if organizational leadership hired people with the right attributes, while individuals take personal responsibility to become their best? What if individuals within an organization influenced the culture with optimism and fostered resilience?

What are you going to do about this? Can you make an organization better, or will your lack of involvement cause decline? Will you treat people with value and respect, or take them for granted?

Get Better Soon shares frameworks/cures addressing systems, culture, leadership, and people.

Systems – healthy systems boost productivity without burnout. Alignment, making decisions, time stewardship, and making change the right way make work better, not harder.

Culture – empowering people is the best way to move forward. Collaboration, managing career stages, and embracing growth are built into healthy organizations.

Leadership – the best leaders don’t get in the way. They know how to apply core values, listen to the right people in their inner circle, and replicate their work.

People – this is how organizations thrive. Empowered people possess the right attitude, perspective, grit, and optimism to help organizations excel.

You can change as much as you want. Rethink what is possible, identify and address friction points, refine your promotion process, and resolve the issues that are hindering your progress.

Do it soon.

Get Better Soon – Available March 6th