Struck in this story initially by the reference to nursing in contrast to health-care-management. Sometimes people are robbed of any intrinsic “job satisfaction” by their management systems. This medical example is the Dr James Willis “Friends in Low Places” agenda. Engagement with the task skills and their primary objectives is a key factor as Richard Sennett’s “The Craftsman” would suggest in the news story. Of course for some jobs such aspects may be hard to find or value, so perhaps not everyone should expect to find that kind of happiness in their work, but I’m not so sure.
Chris Wilson’s new book “Healing The Unhappy Caveman” would suggest that evolving human minds should not expect to find happiness in daily life anyway. He may be right, but again I’m not so sure after the intro and one chapter so far. I think the key we will find is in understanding where that satisfaction arises, and why it is valuable to pursue it the right way. I shall read on and report back.
Perhaps I’m the eternal optimist as one commenter on the news story suggests.
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