Moving in to a new apartment can be really hard and stressful thing. There is a lot of confusion and madness… Because of that I admire my boyfriend even a little more. He is a football player and beside of frequently changing our living places, he is also constantly changing his work environment. And this can be difficult for everybody. Do you remember how you felt on your first day in your new job? Probably you felt a mix of feelings… happiness, joy, expectation, excitement, fear, sadness… You had to meet new co-workers, adjusted on new tasks, demands and expectations of your superior.
Can you imagine that you successfully survive all of those clumsy beginnings and then, suddenly they put you back to a starting point … and you have to experience all of this again. Those kind of things are happening in football… those are small disadvantages, which are part of a football player’s life. Here comes a moment, when they know ….
… it’s time to start something new … so they just trust the magic of beginnings.
But all of this influences on boyfriend’s satisfaction with his job. You are probably wondering what I have in my mind… Researchers found out that a newcomer’s attitude towards a new job changes in his first year of employment. His satisfaction decreases in his first start year… And if I look this in a very simple way, then boyfriend’s satisfaction swings all the time, because he has changed a few football clubs till today.
So, when you will start with your new job, you will be very satisfied at the beginning. We can call this first period your 'honeymoon' and it lasts approximately 6 months. You will be very enthusiastic about new challenges, while in the meantime your co-workers and superiors will make sure to present only the best aspects of your job. After a while your satisfaction in a new job will begin to decline. We can call this your 'hangover', which again lasts approximately 6 months. So, a top of satisfaction at the beginning and then a decline. Funny thing, right?
Distinct pattern of honeymoons and hangovers can be expected with individuals, who have been dissatisfied with their previous job. In addition, this pattern will also appear with individuals, who have experienced a lot of positivity at the beginning of their new job. Well, this is a surprise, isn’t it? So, those individuals, who have a great adjustment to a new environment and whose superior fulfilled all of his commitments, were most likely experience a high satisfaction at the beginning and a quite big decline in satisfaction a few months later. We can simply say like this: The better 'honeymoon', the bigger 'hangover' … or, the higher satisfaction, the deeper fall.
But why appears a decline in satisfaction? Probably because things aren’t so new and exciting anymore. And at the same time a newcomer discovers some weaknesses of a new work place, which were neatly covered at the beginning by his co-workers and superior.
All I want to say is that you don’t need to worry about your decline in satisfaction with your new job. This is a normal process. It’s good to be aware of it, so that you know that this isn't an indicator of a poor job choice decision. Otherwise you can unnecessarily quit your job. It is also good to know all of this stuff, because you will be more sensitive in the time of 'hangover', which can influence on some events in your company. All this can be taken as a process of adaptation to your new environment.
I wish you a successful workday!
Love
Saša
Source: Boswell, W. R., Shipp, A. J. and Culbertson, S. S. (2009). Changes in newcomer job satisfaction over time: examining the pattern of honeymoons and hangovers. Journal of applied psychology, 4(94), 844-858.
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