Job Satisfaction vs High Salary

This essay discusses the ongoing debate between job satisfaction and high salary, analyzing the importance of each in achieving happiness and fulfillment in the workplace. It presents arguments for both sides, ultimately leaning towards the idea that job satisfaction plays a crucial role in long-term happiness, despite the necessity of a good salary for survival. The essay also touches on the implications of online shopping versus in-store shopping, the impact of shrinking family sizes due to economic factors, and the importance of workplace communication for employee satisfaction.

UNIT 1
ANSWER TO QUESTION NO 1
Introduction
It is a highly debatable question as to whether job satisfaction is more important or high
salary, but in today’s world there is no one person who is not running behind earning money.
Here the main issue being discussed is about what gives happiness- job satisfaction or high
salary. Although getting both at the same time is not a common phenomena, but the
question’s answer is dependent upon what is a person’s priority i.e. whether a person is happy
with the basic things or want to live a more finer and luxurious life. The said essay outlines
both the views followed by my personal opinion about the same.1
High Salary
The factors are varied whenever we discuss what is more important, job satisfaction or high
salary. Well many are of the opinion that a huge salary is much more important than
satisfaction from job. Luxury is what everyone’s demand is today, rather than just meeting up
with the basic necessities. If a person cannot live a basic middle class life due to lack of
money then one would feel miserable and lost due to lack of adequate money. Even if money
may not buy a lot of happiness but it would at least not give a person misery. As per a
professor of Psychology with Princeton who was an author of the said study, Daniel
Kahneman has mentioned the same and also further stated that the lack of money does not
matter once a person earns $75000 annually. 2
Job Satisfaction
One cannot ignore the factor of job satisfaction as the former is temporary in nature and the
latter is more permanent. Earning a high salary but leading a stressful life is what leads to
depression. Job satisfaction is related to internal happiness. If a person is satisfied with his
job, it is said that his life span also increases and he goes for his job each day with a new
1 Young, Lauri, Morgan Milner, Dave Edmunds, Germaine Pentsil, and Michael Broman. "The tenous relationship between salary and
satisfaction." Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business 7 September 2014: 1-9. Accessed August 09, 2017.
http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/141782.pdf.
2 Mcbeth, Katie. “Big Money Versus Job Satisfaction.” Fiscal Tiger. January 25,2017. Accessed August 09, 2017.
https://www.fiscaltiger.com/big-money-versus-job-satisfaction/

enthusiasm. Productivity and outcomes that are expected by the company is well achieved by
a person who is self motivated which comes from a satisfied job profile more than money.
Satisfied jobs makes one self proud and content.3 For example the most renowned
agriculturist from Kerala- Mr. Nrayan Moorthy was on a very high salary job but left the
same and is into self satisfied job farming and is in turn generating various job opportunities
for people around and is satisfied with life too.
Opinion
After analysing both the view points it is understood that an ideal situation would have been a
high salary satisfied job profile. But this does not happen more often. Thereby my inclination
would be more towards working at a place and in a profile which would give me job
satisfaction. Although money is the most important ingredient for survival but the same fails
to buy long lasting happiness. Satisfaction is what ensures that a person enjoys life to the
fullest which includes both work as well as personal. Approximately twelve hours a person
spends at his workplace which is surrounded by only colleagues and very few friends,
thereby being happy while we are there is crucial.4 A high salary takeaway person if dreads
each morning before leaving for his job, then such a salary is a waste and he would notice
that the situation would get worse with each passing day.
Conclusion
Thus on a concluding note, it is understood that both a good salary and job satisfaction are
important but the main question here is what should be given more priority. A person
satisfied with his job will always be more pepped up to work towards achievement of his
aims and thereby would ultimately in the long run be able to satisfy his monetary needs fully
and happily. But just satisfying the monetary part of life will at the end of the day make one
depressed if not miserable.
3 Bloomfield, Georgina. “Which is the key to happiness : High Salary or job Satisfaction?” E&T Jobs. July 13, 2016. Accessed August 09,
2017. https://engineering-jobs.theiet.org/article/which-is-the-key-to-happiness-high-salary-or-job-satisfaction-/
4 Korkki,Phyllis. “ Job Satisfaction vs. a Big Paycheck.” The New York Times, 10 September, 2010. Accessed August 09, 2017.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/jobs/12search.html

References
Bloomfield, Georgina. “Which is the key to happiness : High Salary or job Satisfaction?”
E&T Jobs. July 13, 2016. Accessed August 09, 2017. https://engineering-
jobs.theiet.org/article/which-is-the-key-to-happiness-high-salary-or-job-satisfaction-/
Korkki,Phyllis. “ Job Satisfaction vs. a Big Paycheck.” The New York Times, 10 September,
2010. Accessed August 09, 2017.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/jobs/12search.html
Mcbeth, Katie. “Big Money Versus Job Satisfaction.” Fiscal Tiger. January 25,2017.
Accessed August 09, 2017. https://www.fiscaltiger.com/big-money-versus-job-
satisfaction/
Young, Lauri, Morgan Milner, Dave Edmunds, Germaine Pentsil, and Michael Broman. "The
tenous relationship between salary and satisfaction." Journal of Behavioral Studies in
Business 7 September 2014: 1-9. Accessed August 09, 2017.
http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/141782.pdf.

ANSWER TO QUESTION NO 2
Shopping Online or in-store- a dilemma
Shopping is what we all like, whether it is online or in-store, it boosts us up and brings a
smile on our face. The digital age has introduced the world to the era of online shopping and
many are seen more inclined towards the same if the vendor and the payment modes are safe.
Online shopping enables selection of products easy as every minute detail about a product is
known while sitting at home instead of driving to various stores.5 However one issue with the
same is lack of viewing the product physically. Lastly even if online shopping saves upon a
lot of travel time, yet if not bought from reputed sites may create hacking issues. Customer
service and warranty is what one always looks upon and howsoever reputed the shopping
sites be, they also fail to provide good customer service in comparison to the retail stores who
gives the shoppers instant solution to their problems.6
References
5 Xia Liu, Alvin C Burns, Yingjian Hou, “ Comparing online and in-store shopping behaviour towards luxury goods.” International
Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. 41. No. 11/12(2013); 885-900
6 Torres, Mathew. “Comparison: Buying Online vs In A Store.” Lifewire. April 26, 2017. Accessed August 09, 2017.
https://www.lifewire.com/buy-online-or-in-store-3276438

Torres, Mathew. “Comparison: Buying Online vs In A Store.” Lifewire. April 26, 2017.
Accessed August 09, 2017. https://www.lifewire.com/buy-online-or-in-store-3276438
Xia Liu, Alvin C Burns, Yingjian Hou, “ Comparing online and in-store shopping
behaviour towards luxury goods.” International Journal of Retail and Distribution
Management. 41. No. 11/12(2013); 885-900
UNIT 2
ANSWER TO QUESTION NO 1

With the beginning of industrialisation, the globe has witnessed various paradigm moves.
One of which is seen in the average family size which is going smaller each day. People often
debate on the fact that the sole reason behind the same is the ever increasing living expenses
coupled with the inflation and career oriented perspective of people both men and women.
The essay will enable evaluation of the reasons behind the said family size and how it is
affecting the overall society.
To start of with, the rising cost of living has been construed as one of the primary reasons for
the family size to shrink. Due to the same the families are now being able to spend more time
with their child, simply because the time of the parents are no more to be segregated amongst
many kids A survey conducted by Save the Children states that children of today’s time have
given much better results and outcomes in schools and colleges in comparison to the earlier
time, simply because they have got all the attention of their parents which earlier would have
been divided in bringing up many.
Secondly, gone are the days when only men used to be career oriented. Nowadays, women
are more careerist which has shifted the fact of starting and expanding the family down in
their priority list. Women have come way ahead than the men and they are seen creating a
mark in all the fields such as offices and also at the border fighting for the country.7 Amongst
all this demanding a huge family is not possible.
Howsoever, the same has had a very stark impact on the society. One very positive
implication that the same has had is the falling population which would in turn ensure that the
poverty level also declines. Also the tiff and the war which unknowingly exists between the
citizens of a country fro acquisition of scarce resources will also fall as the number of
competitors will reduce significantly. Not only this the parents also are able to give a better
standard of living to them which would otherwise be divided amongst other children too. Last
but not the least, the reduction in competition has also ensured a decline in the crime rates
substantially.
Apart from the positives it offers, the same has a negative implication too on the society. The
society and the community will have lesser youth available for jobs thereby hitting on the
workforce. The generation would comprise of middle aged or older people who fail to cope
7 Nargund,G. “ Declining birth rate in Developed Countries: A radical policy re-think is required.” Facts, views Vis Obgyn. 1. No.3; 191-
193

with the changing demands of the job scenario. This would in turn have a negative impact on
the economy of the country.8
On summarising the same, it can be construed that the size of the family has reduced due to
birth control as well as awareness. However the implication of the same can be both positive
and negative on the society if the same is continued in a very extreme fashion. Nevertheless,
the said trend is expected to continue in future as well as more and more countries develop
and become wealthier.
References
Nargund,G. “ Declining birth rate in Developed Countries: A radical policy re-think is
required.” Facts, views Vis Obgyn. 1. No.3; 191-193
Shrira,Iian. “History’s mysteries: Why do birth rates decrease when societies modernize?”
Psychology Today. March 15, 2009. Accessed August 09, 2017.
8 Shrira,Iian. “History’s mysteries: Why do birth rates decrease when societies modernize?” Psychology Today. March 15, 2009. Accessed
August 09, 2017. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-narcissus-in-all-us/200903/history-s-mysteries-why-do-birth-rates-decrease-
when-societies

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-narcissus-in-all-us/200903/history-s-
mysteries-why-do-birth-rates-decrease-when-societies
ANSWER TO QUESTION NO 2
Our company has grown leaps and bounds and the same is evident from the increase in the
number of staff by four times since the last three years. However, being a HR manager, it is
very sad to see that the staff fails to interact with each other but for work related. Reasons
may be many such as lack of time, intense work pressure or loss of enthusiasm to
communicate with new employees. It is my responsibility to ensure that the growth of the
company continues to rise but for the same the staff has to be well motivated which can be
possible only if their work spirits are high.
On conducting survey with all the sixty staff members, I concluded that the two main
reasons behind the lack of communication amongst themselves was the intense work pressure
and long working hours due to which they are unable to give time to their family and

therefore prefer to complete their work fast so that they can go back home. Secondly, many
do not communicate further because their seniors do not appreciate the same.
Due to the same there has been many negative implications. Some are searching for alternate
jobs as they are satisfied with the salary they get but not with the job because of lack of
communication and loss of family time as well. This would lead to an increase in the cost of
the company if the employee turnover increases and also loss of the talent which the
company possess presently.9 Secondly, the team spirit gets hampered if the people within the
team do not have a good amicable relationship amongst themselves which can develop only
via informal communication. Further lack of appropriate communication between the staff
members of a firm leads to a poor teamwork and lack of sharing resources.
Thus in my view the same should be immediately improved and for the same the company
should keep on arranging informal gatherings such as picnics and off sites so that they can
communicate to each other. The job timings should be regulated and the senior authorities
should be instructed to ensure work is completed within office hours. Lastly the lunch time
according to me should be increased from half an hour to one hour as this is the time when
people try to talk to each other.10
Thus on a concluding note, I being a part of the human resource department would like to
suggest that money is important, but at the same time being happy and content at the work
place is also an integral factor which should be factored in else it will result in loss of good
talent as well as increase the employee turnover.
References
Conrad,D. “Workplace Communication Problems: Inquiries by Employees and Applicable
Solutions.” Journal of Business Studies Quarterly. 5. No.4. (2014). Accessed August
09, 2017. http://jbsq.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/June_2014_8.pdf
Tuck,Paul. “ A failure to communicate.” Training Journal. March 01, 2014. Accessed August
09, 2017. https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/feature/failure-communicate
9 Conrad,D. “Workplace Communication Problems: Inquiries by Employees and Applicable Solutions.” Journal of Business Studies
Quarterly. 5. No.4. (2014). Accessed August 09, 2017. http://jbsq.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/June_2014_8.pdf
10 Tuck,Paul. “ A failure to communicate.” Training Journal. March 01, 2014. Accessed August 09, 2017.
https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/feature/failure-communicate