We’re terrible at predicting what will make us happy. When asked which factors they’d look for in a 'dream job', most people mention high income and low stress levels, i.e. a well-paid but relatively easy job. At first glance, this sounds great, but the evidence suggests that avoiding stress and having a high income aren’t that important, and have little effect on our overall happiness and job fulfilment. There are five factors of job satisfaction which I’ll discuss, and they're far better indicators of overall happiness and fulfilment at work than money or stress levels. Another common piece of career advice often doled out to high school students or recent graduates is to “follow your passion”, or “follow your heart”. Taken literally, however, the idea of following your passion is terrible advice. For most of us, our passions aren’t the same at 18 as they are at 35, and focusing only on what you’re passionate about now means you risk committing to projects that you soon find uninteresting. Also, most people simply don’t have passions that fit the world of work. The best predictors of job satisfaction are features of the job itself, so if you can find work with these essential features, passion, and more importantly, job fulfilment will follow.

Money does buy happiness (but far less than you think)

We’ve all heard the cliche that “money can’t buy happiness”, but when people are asked what would most improve the quality of their lives, the most common answer is more money.

With good reason, financial security is at the top of most people’s priorities when deciding on a career. So can money make you happier? The truth lies somewhere in the middle. The best studies available suggest that life satisfaction increases with the logarithm of income. This means that, while money can make you happier, you need increasingly more money to 'buy' the same amount of happiness. The more you earn, the harder it is to become happier by earning even more. In fact, if you’re earning around £30,000 per year (with no dependents), you’d have to double your income to achieve a 3% increase in your life satisfaction.

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"Research shows that the most consistent predictor of job satisfaction is engaging work."

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Not all stress is bad

Many people believe they’ll be happier if they find a job that’s not too stressful. It’s true that stress, accompanied by feeling out of control or having low autonomy, is bad for you both health-wise and regarding job satisfaction. However, the real picture on stress is more complicated, and there’s good evidence that some level of stress is better than no stress at all, particularly when the demands of your work match your abilities and skills - this is the sweet spot where 'stress' becomes a fulfilling challenge. Just avoiding stress isn’t a good tactic when choosing a career, since a job that’s too easy will leave you feeling bored and unmotivated.

The five factors of job satisfaction

So what should you aim for in your dream job? Research shows that the most consistent predictor of job satisfaction is engaging work, which can be broken down into five factors: