Are you satisfied with your job?

Job satisfaction among UK workers has risen despite the recession, a study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says.

The survey found that the proportion of people satisfied with their job had increased to 46% from 26% in 2006.

But the organisation said its survey may reflect people simply being happy to have a job during the downturn.

More than a third of the 3,000 people quizzed were worried about redundancy - most saying finding new work would be tough.

This debate is now closed. Thank you for all of your comments.

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Your comments:

I'm three days away from finishing my nurse training and have a job waiting for me when I get all registration stuff out of the way. Can safely say that the last three years have been mostly enjoyable, occasionally frustrating, and sometimes heartbreaking. Very much looking forward to getting my teeth into a proper nursing job now. It's not an easy career path, but the rewards are incomparable.
Natalina Pushkin

I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed nearly every job I have had. They have all been interesting, with pleasant people to work with. The only two jobs I disliked were where I took on a different role from what I expected as they were different from what had been advertised. Now semi-retired I have a wonderful job locally where I enjoy every day.
Julebaer, Surrey, UK

Yes I enjoy doing what I do. Whether the pay is good or bad and I have had both, the job is always good. I'm an engineer and if I am not working for someone I would be designing something for myself, it's also my hobby.
Chrisk50, Fareham

These days I honestly wish I had a job just so I could hate it and share the story here with you guys.
Chris, Colchester

I have always enjoyed every job I have done and still do because I view it as a part,(albeit an important one as it pays the bills) but not the whole of my life. Those who live and breathe their jobs/careers and who define themselves totally by that job risk either being very very happy or totally and abjectly dissatisfied.
Denis, Leeds, Yorkshire

Nobody likes their job unless they are working abroad as some of my friends do. All my friends in this country as well as family are in their jobs as there is nothing else out there for them. I lost my job 2 months and as much as I hate being unemployed I could not go back to that poorly run, snobbish company where I was not allowed to develop my career or given the chance to have more responsibility - in a way they did me a favour but i cant wait to see them go under through the recession as well
Becki, Northampton

yes and no. (like most people) i enjoy the job but the pay is rubbish. The only thing stopping me finding a new one is in the current job climate i can lose my new job for no reason within the first 12 months, if i am made redundant from my present job i get some money for 8 years service.
embarrassed2babrit,

nope sorry, i hate my job...actually i think my job is ok, but the bosses i despise, i have already been "threatened" several times with my work mates about how "a million people want your job" would you honestly want to go to work at a place like that, the worst thing is we made 6 billion pounds last year , and although we wont beat that this year we will still get around 4 -5 billion this year, which is amazing considering today's worries. I'm already looking for another job, if i keep working hard i know i will get a better job and that the company i leave will be poorer without me. they started it ! , i will finish it !
d.birch, sheffield , england

I hate my job. One pay rise in 7 years. 30 years of service and not even an extra days holiday. My pension contributions have been taken out of my wages and not put in my pension. I've just turned 50 an frankly I'm fed up with life in general!
Dave Bridge, Southport

Why is it that it is always those in employment who moan, and those who are employers or in self-employment who seek opportunities? I'm self-employed and probably earn a great deal less than those in employment, but I'm happy. Stop whining, take responsibility for your own lives and move on!
Ian, Wakefield

jez taylor, nuneaton: if the recommend button was working then I would certainly vote for your comment. I know how you feel. but work is a trade off. It allows me the financial security to do what I want in my spare time. you have to take the rough with the smooth
paul tapner, poole

I hate my job, i hate the low life people that i work with! Most of them have the brain power of a fly, and this angers me even more that they get paid even more than me! If there wasn't a recession i would be out of here like a shot but in the meantime i will carry on being a slave to the minimum wage!!
Jez Taylor, Nuneaton

Since leaving London and relocating to central Scotland last year I am much happier in my job. I was lucky to be able to do the same job and transfer offices with my employer. I had to take a large pay cut to be inline with local policies. But, I could afford to buy a decent sized house with a garage and big garden, run a car and have a dog. My wife doesn't need to work and stays at home to look after our daughter because our living costs are so much lower. We have less money so the foreign holidays and treats are out the budget but our quality of life is so much better it is well worth all the sacrifices. City life is depressing and adds to the stress and general feeling of dissatisfaction that seeps into your life.
ian, Edinburgh

I like my job but I hate how I am forced to work on a lower pay grade than my colleague despite doing the same job. She gets paid £6000 a year more than me simply because she joined the organisation 12 months before the role was 'reviewed' and managed to secure a freeze on her pay grade for 5 years. This simply is not fair, particularly since for 2 out of the last 3 years she's been on maternity and I've had to shoulder her workload as well!
Graham, Sheffield

I hate my job with a passion! Due to the downturn with mortgages being agreed unfortunately my previous job was no longer needed but thankfully my bosses found me another job within the company. Nice of them to spare me from being made redundant and thrown into the dole queue but the job I'm now in does not reflect the qualifications and experience I have and it's very difficult finding jobs which do at the moment! I dread coming to work and it's even had an effect on my health which is the most worrying thing.
Bored at work., Birmingham, England

This really must be quite a subjective question. If someone is well paid, and not under a lot of stress, surely they must be satisfied with their lot. Speaking for myself, I am more than happy with my lot, thank god for the internet, and the company of my hard working co-workers. We will steer Great Britain out of its recession!
Jodie Morgan, Sketchley Meadows, Leicestershire

I love my work, when the weather is good between March and November, I am ground crew for a Hot Air Balloon pilot, in the winter and when the weather is not good, I work for a garden design company, who treat the people who work for them with respect.
Daryl Evans, Melksham, Wiltshire

I like my job up to a point but am more productive outside of work with my involvements and skills. Unfortunately, having been self taught I understand what is best for me as I have battled through some hard times in the past but this isn't necessarily the best way when it comes to employment since my strengths don't move in parallel with the managers/executives. If I could put into my work the efforts I put into my outside activities, then I am sure I would be very happy. It is all about putting my skills to maximum use and the enjoyment of helping other less fortunate people who are much more appreciative than those who have plenty.
John, Preston, Lancashire

I think in the current economic climate many people are staying put and making the best of their job rather than looking for something else. Even if there were jobs to be found nobody wants to be the last in the door on the basis that they would be the first out in the event of redundancies.
Carolyn, Edinburgh

I do not think job satisfaction as risen the BBC article state. I think it has risen because of the recession. Any one would be happy to still have a job to pay the rising bills when taken into account that unemployment has risen by over a million in the last 12 months. Personally I am not happy in my current job which is why I am leaving in 2 days and starting another one in a weeks time
Darren, Surrey, UK

I enjoy my job.. Within the last couple of months the work has decreased but needless to say thanks to BBC.COM i have a fun and productive day reading your website for 8 hours a day and while i do this i get paid for it! So yes i do enjoy my Job
Brian Morgan, Lutterworth

I do like my job and am not unhappy. I wish i could paid more. The big question i ask myself is do i risk going to another job for few hundred more month and end up very unhappy with people i don't like or i stay in this job and try work my way up. I wish i had more confidence and didn't get that fear like i used to get at changing schools ! . Is crazy
michelle, London

Yes I enjoy my job, I'm good at it. It's not the highest paid in the world but it allows me to do all the things I enjoy. I hardly ever take it home with me if you know what I mean. Life is good.
Steve, Blackburn

I have only a short time to go before retirement otherwise I would be considering changing my job. The job I do now is not the job I joined to do. We are now pushed by government from one policy to the next in a series of knee jerk reactions and my employers have recently entered, very dubiously, into a commercial partnership to save money. They have lost the reason that they came into being for in the name of progress. Who are my employers - the Police!
John M, Bristol, England

Having a job these days is far better than worry whether you have job satisfaction. I have worked in jobs in the past that I knew I hated from the first week but having to bring a child up on my own made me stick it for seven years. Its all about providing for your family. The job I'm in at the moment has very little room to move where cash flow is involved. So wage increases have been non existent for several years but I say rather have a job then price yourself out of work and that has always been how I felt alright I not rich never will be but I do have a job for the time being and that's what counts.
mags, Leicester

I absolutely hate my job :(
Laura, Salford

Yes, I'm happy with my job. I get to decide when to do it & how, so there's no clockwatching & I set myself high standards. I may work what others call "unsocial hours" beginning when most people leave work, but to me they are pure delight. I'd far rather be working than stuck in front of a TV screen, too exhausted to move or even think. OK, I may not be paid the megabucks others receive, but you can't put a price on quality of life.
DozeBee, Exeter UK

I am currently being employed to do nothing and have had no work but paid well for 2 months. It was fun at first but now its deprssing and i hope redundancy comes soon after being here nearly 20 years.
bored

In the current recession, it is easier to be content with one's job, happy as it were to have been "spared". The trouble is, that this very contentment is now seized upon by unscrupulous employers as a means to make undesirable "terms and conditions" changes even though business might well be booming. Personally, I would like to see government introduce punitive taxation for those businesses who clearly "take the mickey" in these circumstances. Beating down employees in a successful business is just not on, and something needs to be done before the public resentment at the "them and us" level gets out of hand.
Andy Thorpe, Chatham, Kent.

The question is ambiguous and doesn't seem to discern whether one is happy to actually have a job, or whether one is happy with what their job entails. One suspects a type of reverse psychology at work here. The CIPD is a registered charity. I wonder who their biggest contributors are? I do a thankless job for a low wage with no apparent room for progression. Every month is a struggle. I make money for "The Man" and this is just another sanctimonious pat on the back, by him, on "The Little Man". "All is ok" a fading voice cries! Actually, I've just remembered that texting exists, along with other mindless distractions. I repent!!As long as I can text during my work time, I am more than satisfied. :o)
Sarah Pitcher, Nuneaton

I currently work for a north east call centre which if I'm being honest i cannot stand. I'm happy to be employed but i am sick of the way it is ran, most of the time i expect to come in at the start of my shift to find Kermit the frog sitting at the managers desk. At 19, single still living with my parents i am lucky to be able to switch to another job.. as of the 10th of June i join the RAF which i feel will see my skills and apply them to greater effect....
Jason, Billingham

A lot of companies are making employees redundant. You are less likely to be said employee if you're good at your job and more likely to be good at your job if you're happy with it. So the number of workers has dropped, but the percentage of happy workers has risen.
Oscar Strawberry, London

I'm recently satisfied with my job. I have recently applied for others outside my skill mix and was invited to interview on all 4 which surprised me. I would prefer it to be less stressful but feel grateful to have employment and as long as it pays my bills I can put up with it. If I could not longer cope then I would get out and downgrade
quitlycontemplating, Milton Keynes

No, I'm not satisfied with my job, most of the time. I just don't understand how anyone could be, because at the end of the day however satisfying it is it is still taking a massive chunk of my time. Fair enough, I have to earn the money to live, so I can't really complain about that, but satisfaction would be equal to indoctrination.
Simon, Stockport

Due to the threat of unemployment in the early nineties, I took up finance but have disliked it ever since. I would like to do something very different but jobs are few and far between and I cannot afford to re-train due to mortgage commitments. I feel very trapped.
Gis a Job, Cambridge

I like my work but what I don't like is when all the money gets added up at the end of the year all the profits are doled out to a half dozen extremely wealthy people who "own" the company. They own it because they bought it. They didn't build it up and don't even work there. So how come I get a pittance and can hardly survive in this country when they get several million between them and spend 6 months a year out in the Caribbean? That's capitalism I suppose.
Charles, Swindon

Yes, I'm happy with my job. There are times I want to pull my hair out. But at the end of the day, I love what I do and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Zarmena, London

I think you misunderstood the answers. They said that they were satisfied to have a job, not with their jobs.
A Kelly, UK

No, How can I do my job when HYS is down? :o)
Will, Oxford

I like my job. What I don't like is not getting a pay rise for inflation on the basis of company policy that people who "only do their job" don't get anything. Yes, really it's true !!! Just do your job and no pay rise, guaranteed ! The fact that everything I do could be considered "just doing my job" makes it difficult to understand exactly what it is I have to do to get a pay rise. Swing upside down from the ceiling maybe ?
Clive, Somerset

My wife and I run a small, but global business from home and although it is a hundred times more stressful than working for someone, we love it.
Tom Fulep, Derby. United Kingdom

you spend to long at work not to enjoy your job, if you don't enjoy it its time for a change, perhaps a lower salary for more satisfaction.
Ann, Llanelli

I work in a sewage plant full of miserable people, it stinks all day long, and there's never any money to put anything right. And the pay's rubbish. And it's miles from where I live so it costs me a fortune to get here. I hate it and would kill to get a good job close to home. Trouble is, unless you're a social worker, carer, or nurse there are no jobs in East Kent.
Iain, Herne Bay

No, Dazz - I really do enjoy being a teacher. Just off to take a tutorial...Megan, Cheshire UK
My apologise Megan, thought you were being sarcastic. Get tired of all the misinformed teacher bashing from armchair wannabes who don't have a clue about teaching and wouldn't last 2 minutes in a classroom.
Dazz, Worthing

I love my job (school librarian). There's something different going on every day and I positively look forward to getting up to go to work. This week, I'm organising a quiz for the students based on the theme of 'Murder in the Library'. Never a dull moment!
Anne, Berkshire

I love my job and wouldn't do anything else. Even when all the arm chair experts and media know it alls start, my job is still great fun and never the same. I am a Police officer!
Mike, Coventry

As soon as the internet became popular I walked out of my job and have never, and will never have to, work for anyone else ever again. The feeling of not having a "job" and working for myself has changed my life forever and I love every minute.
John Pearce, Bolton

What a stupid question! How was this question put and to what part of the country. Quite simply in today's climate having any kind of a job with regular income would make most feel happy. Ask the question if there were two million well paid vacancies, would you apply for one! I bet you over 2/3 would say YES!
Rob Low, Glasgow

I'm a student. I think I should be happy until I have a job. Because, Having a job requires more responsibilities than being a student.
Semih, Samsun

No, Dazz - I really do enjoy being a teacher. Just off to take a tutorial...
Megan, Cheshire UK

Living in fear of losing your job is not pleasant but even if you have one these days you are being asked to work for less due to the amount of people looking to fill your place. An employer's paradise but a misery for people who need to work to pay bills. I would just like to get paid a decent salary for doing what I consider to be a really good job.
Janet White, West Midlands

I have quals & experience so always had fairly well paid jobs. My only loyalty to a Co. is to fulfil my contractual obligations. I change jobs circa every 3 years if I can get better pay as I work to live not the other way round. I am 47, always worked full time and think it is totally Victorian working 5 days a week. I feel like a gerbil on a wheel. I am also jacked that pension age has increased to 65, another 5 years and sure it will increase again before i get the chance to retire, or live that long. I dream of, like most, a lottery win to exit the rat race.
Realist, Lancashire

Stepping back and looking at what I do.... I am actually happy with work. It is challenging, pays well and different most days. I am not sat in an office all day, I am out doing my thing or I am working from home. Sure I have some frustration with procedures or part of the company but that's because I want it all to work better. I work antisocial hours sometimes but that for me makes it all exciting still. I am one of the lucky ones I guess. I am a field engineer for an ISP.
Christopher Davies, Wiltshire

I have been unemployed for a few months now having been made redundant from a Management role in a sales company. I think people are still unhappy in their jobs but in the current climate, will stay put for fear of being next in line for downsizing.
Robbie Henry, Watford

In this 'cut-throat-competition' era of today, not being jobless even in a low salary and facility, for many people is a great boon because those who are jobless only they know how difficult life and living is in real sense. Notwithstanding, if UK workers are satisfied with their present jobs, as per CIPD study, its good to know and to believe too that UK people have learnt to live happily and satisfactorily with what they have and that's known as a great quality in humans to live contentedly for a healthy and lengthy life. Hope the report presented by CIPD is a sincere and independent without any external influence.
A.R.Shams, Pakistan

I love my job, it's fantastic! That's probably because I got fed up working for a boss and set up my own company. I'd recommend it to anyone - especially the unemployed - give it a try, you'll love working for yourself.
Terry, Epsom, England

Because of an unexpected illness in 06, that kept me out of the workplace for eighteen months combined with ageism I took a job with an agency as a porter at our local hospital. This turned out to be the most interesting and satisfying job I ever had, sometimes its not all about position, salary.
Don Cross, Stoke-on-Trent UK

I was very happy with my job and the people I worked with. Worked very hard and many hours. Just been made redundant after 19 years. Will I ever put work first ever again not a chance.
peter , Horwich

I think you will find a lot of people protest out loud they are "satisfied" with their job, in case their boss and/or colleagues are able to hear. This is born out of the very justified fear that if they are thought to be at all unhappy with their job, THEY will be next in line for redundancy.
Philip Le Roux, Aldershot Hampshire

In this recession, I would expect that some Businesses will seek to exploit it's workers even more, after all, anyone can be replaced so easily with so many unemployed. The same will apply re: wages. The net result will be even more stressed workers living on worry. Of course, if people are unhappy with their job, they will naturally seek another job - if there are any. There are too many people in jobs they do not like. Bills force them to simply accept anything, sadly.
Terry_James, Derby, UK

Had I a job I'd be very satisfied. Since I was unfairly sacked from my previous job despite my success as the creator of a highly effective sales jingle, I have told myself that I'd be happy to work in any field. I don't mean that literally...I'd draw the line at harvesting sprouts.
L A Odicean, Sidcup London

Yes - I chose a job I enjoyed rather than one that paid well, because I saw I would be working a long time like everyone else. All those on here who resent working, get over yourselves, no one owes you anything and if you chose wrongly, you have only yourself to blame.
MarkE, Witney, Oxon

My job gives me a variety of challenging work to do, but the pay is quite low. So, while I am generally happy I will probably be forced to leave because I need to earn more. I think there are probably very few jobs which offer both satisfaction and a good salary.
Paul, Portsmouth

"I enjoy my job. Sit around all day and talk to young people AND get paid for it? I like being a teacher! Megan, Cheshire UK"
Was that a poor attempt at Sarcasm Megan if so then you are obviously not a teacher at ALL
Dazz, Worthing

Satisfied is not the word I'd used. Relief at still having a job now that Nu Labour's wrecking of the economy is coming to fruition.
Duncan

A big fat no. Unfortunately I am currently underemployed, making reasonable money doing something I would not have done during an economic upturn. However, as Spain is approaching a 20% unemployment rate, beggars can not be choosers
Jose Fernandez, Barcelona

Although only a part time job, working in a greenhouse is infinitely preferable to working in a shop-fresh air, exercise, (healthy tan)-and I get paid!
C Watson, Boston, UK

I love my job, it pays enough to meet the bills, I love the team that I work with, it is fun and I get school holidays off. I'm a school science technician.
Rachel Birchall, Shropshire, UK

No, masochism's not really my thing. A job is just a horrible ordeal you go through for money. If you expect any more from it, you'll be sorely disappointed. And all bosses everywhere are jerks, even if most of them think they're the second coming.
Mike, Leeds

"But the organisation said its survey may reflect people simply being happy to have a job during the downturn" . Or perhaps, employers fired the most unhappy workers first - leaving the happy ones to be sacked later.....
Muhammad Zaman, Oxford

I enjoy my job. Sit around all day and talk to young people AND get paid for it? I like being a teacher!
Megan, Cheshire UK

I was very unhappy with my job so I'm starting a new one on Monday. I think the English (includes me) are too happy to just put up with things. If you are skilled you have the option of moving jobs even during this climate! I work to live but I don't live to work! A job is a means to having money to do other things. Very few jobs you can enjoy and earn good money from.
Philip D'ambrogio, Warrington

Yes and No. Yes because I am happy to have a job in this current climate meaning I can pay all my bills. No, because I do not enjoy my job and as soon as the economy picks up, I will be looking for something else. So am content but not satisfied.
Zak Kahn, Glasgow, UK