Job Satisfaction and

5 In selecting a place to work, I am most

Dissatisfaction Quiz influenced by:
The aim of this quiz is to help you reflect on and  Good working conditions, good pay, and
evaluate the strength of the different needs in good benefits.
your life, and the extent to which they motivate  Being able to move as fast as my
you. competency allows

This self-assessment exercise consists of ten

 Having fellow employees who are
compatible and work well as a team.
items, each followed by three statements. Your
job is to pick the statement that you most agree
6 If conditions got too bad, I might quit in a job
with and enter a 3 in the box in front of the
where:
statement. Then pick the statement that you
least agree with and enter a 1 in the box in front  I was not allowed to explore new areas
of it. Then enter a 2 in the remaining box. Do and do more creative work.
this with all ten items. Then turn to the scoring  The rewards and other forms of
sheet and follow the scoring instructions. Do recognition were lacking.
not read the scoring sheet until you’ve  I had to work with inadequate or outdated
completed the quiz. people or equipment.
1 I feel that it’s most important to have a job that: 7 I work hardest in situations where:
 Rewards and reflects my own ability to get  Mistakes are not punished and there is
ahead. little chance of losing my job.
 Explores new areas and gives me a lot of  People all pitch in and work together in
personal fulfilment. harmony.
 Surrounds me with people who like me  The working conditions are modern,
and are friendly. attractive, and comfortable.
2 It would not be very satisfying to work for 8 I’m most likely to be frustrated by assignments
someone who: that:
 Created an atmosphere of uncertainty  I’ve got to do by myself without help from
among members of the work group. co-workers.
 Worked us so hard that there was physical  Allow me no freedom to decide how to get
discomfort. the job done.
 Gave attention and recognition to others  Cause me to miss lunch, coffee breaks,
but not to me. and other comforts.
3 The best managed organisations are ones 9 The greatest thing an employer can do for me
where: is to:
 Rewards come from the work itself which  Give fairly rapid advancement based on
is stimulating and challenging. my achievements.
 The pay scales enable all employees to  Encourage teamwork and camaraderie in
live comfortably. each work group.
 There are good job security and employee  Provide stable employment and good job
benefits (hospitalisation, insurance) security.
4 My motivation would probably suffer in a job 10 I do not like to see:
where:
 My good work and best efforts going
 My fellow employees held grudges and unrecognised.
didn’t pitch in and work together.
 Pay scales and benefits fall below what
 I’d have to take risks that might undo what other companies offer.
gains I’d made.
 My talents and ideas not utilised to their
 My real skills were not being put to good fullest.
use.

New tricks for old dogs © 2003 David Forman Ltd. No unauthorised reproduction permitted
Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction - Scoring Sheet

Instructions for Scoring: Each box below has a D I had to work with inadequate or outdated
letter in front of it. Find the six boxes preceded people or equipment..
by an A. Refer back to your quiz sheet. Add up
your scores from these six boxes, and then enter 7 I work hardest in situations where:
the total in the A box to the right. Do the same D Mistakes are not punished and there is little
for B, C, D, and E. chance of losing my job.
C People all pitch in and work together in
1 I feel that it’s important to have a job that: harmony.
B Rewards and reflects my own ability to get E The working conditions are modern,
ahead. attractive, and comfortable.
A Explores new areas and gives me a lot of
personal fulfilment. 8 I’m most likely to be frustrated by
C Surrounds me with people who like me and assignments that:
are friendly. C I’ve got to do by myself without help from co-
workers.
2 It would not be very satisfying to work for A Allow me no freedom to decide how to get
someone who: the job done.
D Created an atmosphere of uncertainty E Cause me to miss lunch, coffee breaks, and
among members of the work group. other comforts.
E Worked us so hard that there was physical
discomfort. 9 The greatest thing an employer can do for
B Gave attention and recognition to others but me is:
not to me. B Give fairly rapid advancement based on my
achievements.
3 The best managed organisations are ones C Encourage teamwork and camaraderie in
where: each work group.
A Rewards come from the work itself which is D Provide stable employment and good job
stimulating and challenging. security.
E The pay scales enable all employees to live
comfortably 10 I do not like to see:
D There is good job security and employee B My good work and best efforts going
benefits (hospitalisation, insurance). unrecognised.
E Pay scales and benefits fall below what other
4 My motivation would probably suffer in a job companies offer.
where: A My talents and ideas not utilised to their
C My fellow employees held grudges and didn’t fullest.
pitch in and work together.
D I’d have to take risks that might undo what
gains I’d made.
A My real skills were not being put to good
use.

5 In selecting a place to work, I am most

influenced by:
E Good working conditions, good pay, and
good benefits.
B Being able to move as fast as my
competency allows.
C Having fellow employees who are compatible
and work well as a team.

6 If conditions got too bad, I might quit in a job

where:
A I was not allowed to explore new areas and
do more creative work.
B The rewards and other forms of recognition
were lacking.

New tricks for old dogs © 2003 David Forman Ltd. No unauthorised reproduction permitted
Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction – interpreting the results

Add up your scores for each of the five boxes (A, B, C, D, E), as described in the instructions for
Scoring and add to the diagram below. Make sure that your five totals add up to 60, since this is
the total number of points on the self-assessment.

A Self-fulfillment

B Ego - Esteem

C Social
D Safety - Security
E Physiological - Most basic

Which box got your highest score? If it was A, then your greatest need at work is for self-fulfilment.
If it was E, then your pay or working conditions are inadequate to meet your basic physiological
needs.

This exercise is based on Dr Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, often shown as a
pyramid or stairway. You might think of the pyramid as a container, open at the top. Your time,
energy, and money can be thought of as liquid that you are pouring into the container. First you will
satisfy your physiological needs, since they are the most basic (food, clothing, the rent or mortgage
payment, etc.). Then your liquid will go toward filling your safety-security needs (insurance, a safe
neighbourhood, a safer car to drive, etc.). Then comes your social needs (joining clubs,
entertaining friends, participating in group activities). Next you “graduate” to the ego-esteem needs
(doing things that get you respect and admiration, wanting to “be somebody”). Finally, at the top
level you seek self-fulfilment and an enlargement of your talents and interests to their fullest (travel,
hobbies, books, new learning, designing your own home-clothes-furniture-car, etc.)

Your score on each of the five levels indicates the relative importance of this need to you. All five
needs are important, of course. However, someone who hasn’t eaten for three days is more
concerned with physiological needs than, say, with ego-esteem needs ... may even steal bread or
find a morsel in a rubbish tin (which doesn’t do much for one’s ego-esteem, but it does meet the
need for food and survival).

Conversely, someone who makes $100,000 per year and owns the business isn’t too concerned
with the lower needs on the hierarchy ... they’ve long since been met comfortably, and thoughts
about putting food on the table or paying for the insurance or rent rarely cross such a person’s
mind.

For most people, life can be viewed as a gradual ascent of the pyramid. For some, the ascent is
more rapid (e.g., the couple in their 30’s with both partners working in well-paying, well-respected
jobs). With people living longer and longer today, it’s also a fact of life that some folks will start
back down the pyramid in their declining years, ending up life depending on their children to meet
their most basic needs.

Sometimes a traumatic circumstance can “puncture” the pyramid container, causing one’s liquid
(time, energy, money) to leak away rapidly. Examples: discovering that your loved one has cancer
and three months to live, being laid off from work, war, rapid recession, a stock market crash, and
so on.

Take a close look at your five scores and decide what they tell you about your own needs and how
well they are being met.

New tricks for old dogs © 2003 David Forman Ltd. No unauthorised reproduction permitted