How to make a dwarf satisfied at work?

Question

I have a dwarf that is unhappy because of stress (stress amount of 300k, viewed by Dwarf Therapist).

I am looking for ways to make her happy. Apart from having good apartments and food, I would like to make her feel satisfied at work. I paid attention that she likes silver (in addition to other, more obscure materials), so made her design and build various silver buildings, like archery targets and bridges. However, I don't see this specific thought in the list of recent thoughts (viewed by both Dwarf Fortress and Dwarf Therapist).

She does have positive thoughts about "seeing a fine Archery Target"; I guess it helps that the Archery Target is made of silver. However, why doesn't she experience satisfaction at work? Do I have to make her create other objects, like silver weapons?

Answer 1

I am assuming you are using relatively recent versions of DF and Dwarf Therapist. Turn on the 'roles' tab in dwarf therapist. Using that screen, locate your dwarf and take a look at the numbers she has for different kinds of jobs. The highest numbers are for those jobs she is most suited for; or in other words she has natural ability to do those jobs and will probably be happiest when doing them.

If her favorite jobs are architecture (building design) and metalcrafting, then having her build an archery target out of silver bars should make her happy, since archery targets require architecture to design and then a skill related to the material the target is made from to actually build it. Whatever her favorite job is, if you surround her with the things she likes (in her specific case, silver), both while working and when on break, it should make her happier.

Make a silver cabinet, and maybe some silver menacing spikes put them in her bedroom. Give her a silver pick. Use a bar of silver to make a kitchen for her to cook in. Make a well in the meeting area/dining room made out of a silver chain, silver bucket, silver mechanism and silver block (bar).

Check the clothes she is wearing in dwarf therapist: are they worn out? time to make some new clothes she can wear. Place a soap stockpile near a well to give her happy thoughts about washing there.

But especially, pay attention to her thoughts to determine what bad thoughts she has had in the past and figure out how to avoid those thoughts in the future. Is she unhappy about not sleeping in a real bedroom? Maybe you haven't assigned one to her yet. Is she unhappy about drinking without a well? That means she was unable to find booze to drink, and so went to a river or other water source.

When I play, I find avoiding causing bad thoughts for your dwarves and making them a really good dining room and decent bedrooms seems to be good enough; excessive pampering by pandering to their every wish and desire is not needed as long as you fix any problems that cause bad thoughts.