Three Signs of a Miserable Job

I just read a fun little book called "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job" by Patrick Lencioni.  The majority of the principles the author is trying to teach are contained in a fictional story which takes up 90% of the book.  The last 10% is a summary of the principles involved.

He believes that the three signs are: 1) Anonymity, 2) Irrelevance, and 3) Subjective Measurement.  A job's 'Misery Quotient' can be determined by how bad each of these three factors are.  It makes sense to me.  People do not like to be considered part of a vast herd, be treated with disrespect in any way, or have their value determined by how someone else perceives them in an unpredictable way.  Of course, I don't consider it a complete list - it doesn't account for personal/social problems, for example.  However, I think the ideas form a sound baseline.

This was a fun read and gave me a lot to think about as a 'boss', both at work and in the house, as to what things to avoid to increase the chances that my employees/kids will be happy.  I think it would be a fun for anyone to read as a means of evaluating their environment and figuring out what elements are worth fighting for or altering.