Job Type Affinity

Back when I was in school, our teachers loved to use frameworks like Michael Porter's Value Chain or the Boston Consulting Group Matrix. Frameworks are used to try to understand things, the why's and the how's, and if you're lucky, perhaps you can deduce the where and when.

So I've been doing a lot of thinking on my current state of being "in-between" jobs. And in the process, I've developed what I call the Job Type Affinity Framework. Jobs are classified as Easy or Difficult and Repetitive or Sporadic. The definition of easy or difficult will probably depend on the person making the distinction. Mozart probably considers what he did as easy, but composing music for me would be difficult. The same thing goes for categorization of what is repetitive and what is sporadic. I've heard some people say that they hate doing the same thing day in and day out, so to them that task is probably repetitive. Others might only do a task once a month but still feel that it is repetitive.

The idea is that each person is fit for certain types of jobs and will only find longevity in fields (I, II, III, IV) where they find the most satisfaction. And satisfaction is attained through a combination of Growth (Personal and Professional, Recognition), Salary (or Rewards), Free Time (or Freedom), and Lack of Stress. Some value their free time more than their growth. Others may not mind being overstressed as long as they are well paid.

Each field or region (I, II, III, IV) has certain trade-offs between the sources of satisfaction. A computer programmer who may be doing difficult repetitive tasks of putting up websites will most likely be paid more than a baggage boy in a supermarket. But that baggage boy will most likely have more free time on his hands since he usually works between 9 to 5, while the programmer may need to "camp" in the office until the project is done. The stress levels are usually greater in tasks that are more difficult. Some people can't stand the stress that comes with the job so they opt to do something else.

I also believe that Growth or Learning is affected by the environment. Repetition ingrains something on our minds but having too much stress can also take away from the learning. Also, if you've been doing the same thing for say 10 years, the added learning diminishes over time. But if you take on entirely different tasks, then the added learning is improved. This is the reason why some people might opt for job rotation or lateral movement than being promoted to a higher level doing more of the same.

So if you find yourself not lasting in the jobs that you've been doing, try to analyze which region the job falls in. Are the amounts of sources of satisfaction enough for your appetite? If not, then you really might not last long in that type of work. It is best to find the area which complements your needs for satisfaction.

Note: Frameworks are to be used as tools to try to understand things so if you feel that something is "wrong" with this framework, then let's discuss and see what can be revised and what can be retained =D