In analog computing the structure that does this is called a flip-flop. The connections of the electronic circuit have a straightforward analogs with inhibitory and excitatory synapses. It has been extensively discussed here since the first decade of CSGnet. A good explanation is here, including properties of combinations of interconnected flip-flops. (Caveat: understanding of these elaborations has advanced greatly since 1997.)
The basic flip-flop is the means by which continuously variable streams of electrons through conductive metal wires become the discrete zeroes and ones of binary computer code and digital computing. It transforms the analog into the digital. It is the fundamental unit of memory store in a digital computer. It enables computation of a next state of the stored variable based upon not just the current input but also upon all prior states of that variable — in automata theory, the mechanism of sequential logic as distinct from combinational logic, which lacks memory and is dependent only on current input. (These are also distinct from the informal logic that is familiar as a human thinking process, or its more disciplined form as propositional logic.) Analog computers thus can do digital computation while retaining computation with continuously varying values as well.
As to ‘work satisfaction’ in my experience the employer’s satisfaction with the work is more important in a ‘buyer’s market’ and the employee’s satisfaction is more important in a ‘seller’s market’ (in the labor market, where the employee’s ability to perform is the ‘commodity’). Obviously, these are different complex perceptions, with different sets of lower-level perceptual inputs for the employer and for the employee. The crux is that the employee can quit or be fired, depending.