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Characteristics Of A Good Job

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What makes a job a “good” job is something that is highly personal as each individual has a different idea of not only what their “dream” job would be, but also what qualities that job would need to possess in order to be considered ideal. These ideas are formed through a number of extremely diverse influences throughout the course of our lives and may change with the passing of time as an individual’s opinions mature and are altered by changing needs, shifts in cultural and societal ideals, and personal experiences. In his book, Good Jobs, Bad Jobs - The Rise of Polarized and Precarious Employment Systems in the United States, 1970s to 2000s, Arne Kalleberg, Ph.D. (2011) posits that there are five general characteristics that make up a good job (although not all five must be present and the absence of a characteristic doesn’t necessarily make the job bad): 1) high wages and opportunities for advancement and/or raises in pay over time, 2) satisfactory perks and benefits like health insurance, 401k, etc., 3) at least occasional independence and control over what an individual’s job entails, 4) freedom to have input and some flexibility when it comes to one’s schedule and employment terms, and 5) to have a voice when it comes to the termination of an individual’s position (9). Since these qualities are all very general, I can say that I agree because the less tangible desires (e.g. job satisfaction, work-life balance, personal reward, social status, etc.) that make a good job

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