It’s evaluation period at work, that time of year when tension gets so thick sometimes it could be cut by a knife.
It’s also the time when a lot of people, depending on whether or not they get a raise or promotion, how much the raise ends up to be, or what that new position is, start thinking about their jobs, and if they should maybe consider moving to some other company.
Personally, I think there is a very simple equation to all this, which mainly consists of the balance between job, environment and financial satisfaction.
The main questions a person should ask himself are:
Job: Do I enjoy my job? Am I still learning new things in it? Am I gaining useful experience from it?
Environment: Do I like working in this company? Is it a healthy environment? Do I get along well with my colleagues?
Money: Am I comfortable with how much I’m getting paid for my job? Do I feel that I’m being compensated for my efforts? Is my salary advancing at a healthy pace?
Lucky are the ones who get to answer yes to all those questions; for the rest, it’s a game of balance between how many “yes”, “no”, “almost”, “barely” answers they give to those answers across the three areas.
For example: If you’re happy with your job and with the environment, then you can easily bring yourself to accept a salary that is a bit lower than what you wished for; and that applies in all directions.
Of course I’m not for a person staying in a job he hates just because they’re getting paid well, in fact I’m totally against that. But if the person’s job satisfaction is a bit less than perfect, but he’s very happy with his salary and the environment he’s working in, I think he could bring himself to hang on in there a little longer.
Personally, I’ve been applying this principle throughout my career, and up to now I’m very proud of how things have played out for me.
Work life isn’t all about the job, nor all about the money, nor is it about the environment; it’s a combination of all those to make up a whole experience, a big part of our life; and just like we do with life, we have to balance between all the different elements to get the most out of it for our future.