"What causes Satisfaction"

Three Operational Dimensions

To learn more about what brings people satisfaction and
fulfillment in their jobs and lives, The Institute for
Behavioral Effectiveness studied more than 1,500 people.
Included were business people, professionals, artists,
teachers, homemakers and those involved in various blue
collar trades. The study revealed that three significant
dimensions must be considered:

Work
Personal
Societal

Work is what a person does during his or her day. For some
people, it is their job or profession... how they earn their living.
For others... homemakers, for example, it includes caring for
the home and children, cleaning, shopping, doing the laundry,
fixing meals, paying bills, providing transportation for children
and other family members and the myriad of other tasks they
routinely perform.
 
The Personal dimension is what a person does with his or her
"free" time. It is what they do when they are alone. It includes
time spent while driving in the car, at lunch breaks and in the
evenings when they may find themselves alone. It is what a
person thinks or dreams about during the day or during the
quiet hours of the morning while lying in bed waiting for the
alarm to sound. It also includes how a person feels about
himself or herself... their physical appearance, their height to
weight ratio, their hair style, the clothes they wear, the language
and words they use and how they think others view them... their
self-concept.
 
Societal is a person's relationships with others,
including immediate and extended family members,
neighbors, the community, church and club members
and the activities associated with each of these groups.

The Three Operational Dimensions
Are All Interrelated
 
While it is possible that a person may find a certain degree
of success or fulfillment in one dimension and not another,
psychological testing reveals that each of the three
dimensions is inseparably interrelated; and for a person to
function at his or her highest level, each of the dimensions
must be considered together as well as individually.
 
For instance, a person may be very effective at his or her
workplace, but if they don't feel good about themselves
personally or a relationship with a loved one is out of sync,
or perhaps they have had a falling out with someone in their
club or church group, most likely that person won't be able
to function at their highest effective level, even though they
may appear to be doing an exceptional job.
 
However, as with all things, there can be exceptions to the
rule. Some people are experts at suppressing or disguising
their inner feelings and seem to function at high levels of
efficiency even though there may be tremendous turmoil in
their lives unknown and unobservable to others.
 
But again, as in most cases, the exception to the rule is
usually just that... the exception.
 
While some people can suppress their inner feelings and
not let it bother their work or other relationships, most cannot.
Even though it may appear that things are going smoothly on
the outside, the inner turmoil may be creating subtle conflicts
that can influence or impact desired outcomes not always for
good.