How happy are you on the job?

I was emailed a link to this graph today and you can see what the percentage of people who do the same kind of work are 'happy'. It is pretty interesting to see what ranks high and low. It makes me wonder what makes you happy work? Is it what you do, is it who you work for or with? Is it that what you are doing is making a positive influence on people's lives?

I also read this post about job satisfaction today. Must be the topic of the day....   but it had a list of 12 questions to ask to help gauge your satisfaction on the job.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment that I need in order to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the past seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel that my job is important?
9. Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the past six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This past year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
    

It was pretty interesting to go through that list and gauge how I am doing in those areas.

So now, how about you?