Are You Gainfully Employed?

Components of gainful employment[edit]

Gainful employment is characterized by the following nine components:

1. Variety in duties performed - A lack in variability can lead to presenteeism, in which the employee physically goes to work, but becomes unproductive or discontent due to boredom with repetitive work activities. If the tasks at work are varied, satisfaction comes more easily.

2. Safe working environment - Safe working conditions must be ensured by the organization and its managers.

3. Income for family and oneself - Income is necessary to support oneself. However, data does not show that people who earn more money are more gainfully employed than those who earn less.

4. A purpose derived from providing a product or service - An individual may derive purpose in life from the work that he or she completes. Many individuals describe their work as a calling, or in other words, “a vocation to which the employee brings a passion—a commitment to the work for its own sake”.^[4]

5. Happiness and satisfaction - Enthusiasm and attitude at work. There must be a close match between an individual’s activities and his or her knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

6. Positive engagement and involvement - An individual must have a sufficient amount of work to complete, have the necessary knowledge and resources to complete work, and have the opportunity to perform and grow as a result of work. Warr reported that the most gainfully employed individuals work in settings where the skills of the employee match the skills required for the assigned tasks.^[5]

7. A sense of performing well and meeting goals - An individual must believe that he or she is capable of performing well at work and exceeding the goals that he or she set. In order to perform well at work, employees should strive to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable, and Timely) goals.

8. Friendships at work - Positive companionship has been proven to lead to fewer accidents, more engaged customers, increased achievement, increased job satisfaction, and increased productivity.^[1]

9. An environment that respects and appreciates diversity - Racial and ethnic diversity are increasing rapidly in today’s workplace. In order to increase diversity, managers may utilize “diversity management” in which they use a variety of management techniques in order to augment the positive outcomes that are linked with diversity in the workplace.^[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainful_employment