--- title: 10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research description: Job satisfaction isn’t just about your job canonical: https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-11T04:01:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:21:08.841Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research og:description: Job satisfaction isn’t just about your job og:url: https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt815d750bdbeb927c/6987ea59cd1bba76e06f8de9/537987515-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=338&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 338 og:image:height: 190 og:image:alt: suited-man-jumping og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research twitter:description: Job satisfaction isn’t just about your job twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt815d750bdbeb927c/6987ea59cd1bba76e06f8de9/537987515-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=338&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research > Sponsored content. 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In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  On top of the business world On top of the business world Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC * Right now [most people are unhappy with their jobs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-most-people-unhappy-with-their-jobs). A boring job can give you [a heart attack](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-a-boring-job-give-you-a-heart-attack). And [those with no job are happier than those with a lousy one](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-people-who-have-no-job-happier-than-peopl). Most people want to leave their jobs because they [don’t trust their employer](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-reason-most-people-want-to-leave-th). Know what the [happiest and unhappiest jobs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-happiest-jobs-what-are-the-unhap) are and [what motivates you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-really-motivates-us). * “…[the strongest determinants of job satisfaction are relations with colleagues and supervisors, task diversity and job security](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-us-satisfied-with-our-jobs).” * Job satisfaction isn’t just about your job. Try to make yourself happier: [overall happiness causes job satisfaction more than job satisfaction causes overall happiness](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-happy-people-love-their-jobs-or-do-good-jo). (Employers should try to make their employees happier too: [happy employees make for rich companies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-happy-employees-make-a-corporation-rich).) * Job satisfaction is key because [work is often a bigger source of happiness than home](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-we-have-more-fun-at-work-or-at-home), ironically. * Stop thinking so much about money. [Income doesn’t affect job satisfaction at all and job satisfaction affects income more than you might think](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-does-income-affect-job-satisfaction). Happiness is only about what you earn [when you get paid by the hour](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/when-is-happiness-about-how-much-you-earn). Being paid for performance [dramatically increases job satisfaction](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-performance-pay-increase-job-satisfactio). More importantly, happiness [makes us successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-success-make-us-happy-or-does-happiness) – yes, that’s causation, not correlation. * Happy feelings are associated with “the fulfillment of psychological needs: [learning, autonomy, using one’s skills, respect, and the ability to count on others in an emergency](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-leads-to-life-satisfaction-and-feelings).” Try to structure your job so it fulfills as many of those as possible. * To reduce job stress [get a clear idea of what is expected of you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-significantly-reduce-job-stress). Overtime [isn’t worth it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-working-overtime-worth-it). * On the weekend [get away from work](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-weekend-activities-best-help-you-recover) and stay active [so you’re not always thinking about it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/should-you-think-about-work-during-your-off-t). People who saw time as money [had more difficulty enjoying leisure time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-time-equal-money). * Have a good [relationship with your boss](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-does-your-relationship-with-your-bos). A boss you trust is [better than a big raise](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-having-a-trustworthy-boss-better-than-a-bi?). A little ass-kissing is [good for your health](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-ass-kissing-good-for-your-health). Being friendly with co-workers [is vital too](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-you-need-to-be-friends-with-the-people-you). * Even prostitutes can be [very happy with their work](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-level-of-job-satisfaction-among-leg). Enjoying our jobs has a great deal to do with [how much control](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-this-why-we-can-do-fun-stuff-for-hours-but) [we feel we have](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-prevent-mental-fatigue-at-work) and whether we’re doing [things we’re good at](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-be-yourself-really-make-you-happier). **Join over 180,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/what-are-10-keys-to-job-satisfaction/)**_._** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/"},"headline":"10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research","datePublished":"2015-04-11T04:01:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:21:08.841Z","description":"Job satisfaction isn’t just about your job","url":"https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt815d750bdbeb927c/6987ea59cd1bba76e06f8de9/537987515-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt815d750bdbeb927c/6987ea59cd1bba76e06f8de9/537987515-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"suited-man-jumping","caption":"suited-man-jumping","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3815471/10-keys-job-satisfaction/","name":"10 Keys to Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research"}}]}] ```