Everyday Money

My wife pointed me to this column on the CNNMoney.com web site. There are some interesting topics posted there. In one article, economists quantify the salary value of four key factors that determine job satisfaction. Their findings are:

• Trust in management is by far the biggest component to consider. Say you get a new boss and your trust in management goes up a bit at your job (say, up one point on a 10-point scale). That's like getting a 36 percent pay raise. In other words, that increased level of trust will boost your level of overall satisfaction in life by about the same amount as a 36 percent raise would. Conversely, if you lose some trust in management, the decline in your job satisfaction is like taking a 36 percent pay cut.


• Having a job that offers a lot of variety in projects is the equivalent of a 21 percent hike in pay.


• Having a position that requires a high level of skill is the equivalent of a 19 percent raise.


• And having enough time to finish your work is the equivalent of an 11 percent boost in pay.

All of this just solidifies my growing belief that having a job I really like (and having a happy marriage) are far more important than purely maximizing my salary.