We are not fluctuating. We are idealists!

In the course of several decades, the issue of unemployment has constantly appeared in the media. In a broader sense, this problem is solved on a political, sociological, and even theological level. In a narrower psychological sense, we constantly focus our attention on the target group of the unemployed. However, there is also a part of people who do not look at unemployment as a problem of loss of living income, but as a way to find a career dream.

In my role as an employee and also as a career counselor, in practice I often encounter the issue of connections between interpersonal characteristics and job satisfaction. Psychologists also determine personality traits - extraversion, neuroticism and conscientiousness - as predictors of job satisfaction, while many of them identified self-efficacy as the strongest predictor. I have also been researching the phenomenon of job satisfaction and efficiency, corporate culture in contact centers and turnover for several years. The results of my research also confirm the significant connection between self-efficacy, job satisfaction, relational and interpersonal characteristics of employees. Simply put, we want leaders who are socially sensitive yet trusting, caring, not overly anxious, and exhibiting an appropriate amount of control. They trust us and we trust them. In such a situation, we are satisfied and can perform effectively. If this relationship of trust in mutual availability is not fulfilled, we leave and look for new possibilities of application.

And why do people actually leave?

Due to a lack of sense of belonging to the company or employer. Many of us cannot identify with the goals and company culture, work environment or collective and prefer to become so-called labor fluctuating workers. We decide to keep looking because we believe that the ideal employer and our optimal place on the labor market must exist somewhere. We want to be efficient, bring profits to the company and at the same time experience a sense of fulfillment from creating a valuable product.

What significantly affects our level of belonging?

Work relations. They usually include two levels - emotional and factual. On the emotional side, it is important for us that our working relationships are complementary. It means that as colleagues and members of the work team we want to trust. We trust and at the same time demand trust (we like to experience so-called mutual emotional closeness in a relationship). The substantive level of the employment relationship is not so important for us, even though it is very essential and is mostly defined by the conditions of work performance and the way control is applied.

Excessive work pressure. When carrying out selection procedures, the recruiter often asks an important selective question for job seekers: "Can you work under pressure?" However, this question also hides two different levels of work pressure.

1. The first level is work pressure caused by external factors , e.g. clients, lack of time, financial resources, human resources. These are factors existing outside the subject and thus outside the job applicant. The answer is: "Of course I can work under pressure."
2. For us, a more important factor is the view of the secondary level of this question. We also perceive the work pressure transmitted to the subject performing the job itself, ie to the employee himself (to us and our emotional experience). In this understanding, personality factors that are associated with the experience of one's own cognitive, emotional and behavioral models enter the "pressure cooker", such as trust, control, satisfaction, belonging, self-actualization.

Thus, a general problem in the performance of a profession is not only the pressure felt from the external environment of the company, but also the internal environment of the personality. One of the consequences of perceived pressure at work can be forced job loss. Due to excessive pressure, there is a decrease in work performance or voluntary leaving of the workplace.

How to prevent employee turnover?

By developing trust.Current work trends support the development of trust (and thus also the emotional side) in work relationships. Employers are beginning to realize that a higher level of trust stimulates the rising quality of work performance, ie "personal" returns increase, and the importance of the external control mechanism decreases, and thus control costs decrease. At the same time, employers perceive the negative consequences of a purely materially limited employment relationship - ignoring fundamental interpersonal needs (e.g. personal respect, social security, interpersonal harmony), manifestations of dissatisfaction and absence of trust. A breach of trust generally disrupts the working relationship, calls work processes and decisions into question, reduces the sense of belonging, reduces work performance and creates a feeling of contempt for the company and all members of the company who respect its values.

Trust people and they won't let you down. Treat them like great personalities and they will show their greatness. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The work environment is one of the institutional forms of social grouping of people, which helps us to satisfy the innate need for coexistence and belonging. This need is conditioned by an innate animal motivational mechanism that reinforces the grouping of people with the same opinions, attitudes and goals. Trust in relationships arises only on the basis of known (consciously or unconsciously remembered or repeated) circumstances through the confirmation of one's own expectations and hopes. So let's foster trust in our working relationships and enjoy meeting our expectations.

PhDr. Ivana Čergeťová, PhD., LL.M., MBA, PCIC

I am a psychologist, NLP coach, attachment-based therapist, career counselor, and academic staff. I have been dedicated to the attachment theory in personal and work settings for over 20 years. I work on this topic not only as a counselor but also as a researcher. Meeting with me can help you if you are seeking an expert in mental health specializing in relationships, communication, and personal development. For more information, follow my social networks @radipsychologicka #attachment #relationships #love #attachment #JoinMeForAdvice #relationshiptherapist #development