Enjoying What You Do: A Valuable Asset

Worker Satisfaction → Productivity → Living Standards

There is an old saying that time is the only truly limited resource in your life. Money can come and go, but time will only go. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to spend your time doing what you want to do and who you want to spend it with. This can have very beneficial effects regarding personal finances but certainly has beneficial effects on the overall economy.

Regarding personal finances, there are two basic ways in which this can help. Loving what you do (or at least feeling good about it) will make you less inclined to stop working. Delaying retirement for a few years can be the difference between success and failure in a retirement plan. Gallup studied employee satisfaction and found that highly satisfied employees often exhibit above average levels of customer loyalty, productivity, employee retention, safety records, and profitability. Whether you are self employed or not, this is likely to translate into a higher level of career success and pay over the long haul. (There are bound to be exceptions of course. It would seem some careers that people love do not pay well and others people loathe pay very well.)

For the overall economy, highly satisfied employee groups are often 50% more productive and increase profitability by 33%.[1] Productivity (output per unit of input) is understood to be the most important determinant in the standard of living of a country. This is clearly a win-win.

It does highlight the importance of worker mobility. A more mobile worker can realize his or her own highest and best use faster. Many workers these days have impaired mobility due to job-lock or the inability to sell their house.

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[1] “Creating A Highly Engaged and Productive Workplace Culture,” The Gallup Organization. www.gallup.com