Employee Job Satisfaction

What Is Job Satisfaction?

Job satisfaction is a term we hear often, but do you know its exact definition, and how its absence could be bringing down  the company’s productivity?

What Is Job Satisfaction?

Job satisfaction, an unquantifiable metric, is defined as a positive emotional response you experience when doing your job or when you are present at work. Leading organizations are now trying to measure this feeling, with job satisfaction surveys becoming a staple at most workplaces.

It’s important to remember that job satisfaction varies from employee to employee. In the same workplace under the same conditions, the factors that help one employee feel good about their job may not apply to another employee. For this reason, it is essential to have a multidimensional approach to employee satisfaction, covering the following areas:

·    The challenging nature of work, pushing employees to new heights

·    A level of convenience (short commutes, access to the right digital tools, and flexible hours)

·    Regular appreciation by the immediate management and the organization as a whole

·   Competitive pay, which employees maintain a good quality of life

·  The promise of career progression in sync with employees’ personal growth targets

Why Employee job satisfaction is so important?

1.Satisfied employees translate into satisfied customers

If employees are unhappy at work, the chances are that this will reflect in their interactions with the customer. Contact centers, specifically, cannot afford to have dissatisfied employees – this is sure to show in every word they say and every campaign they work on.

Even in non-customer-facing jobs, low satisfaction can cause errors in the workflow – for example, a higher defect rate in manufacturing and bad code in software development. This is why employee satisfaction is vital for customer-centric companies.

2. Voluntary turnover will come down

Sometimes, turnover can be good for business, as it brings fresh talent into the organization. But voluntary turnover looks different – The Management risks losing top talent they have carefully trained over the years.

Also, this talent takes with it tribal knowledge once it leaves the company, which could toughen up the competition for the products and service offerings. On the other hand, a satisfied workforce is less likely to quit.

3. It will increase the chances of referrals 

Employee referrals are the most effective method of recruitment, bar none. A report by Jobvite found that referrals make up 7% of all applications but an overwhelming 40% of all hires. An employee satisfied with the work conditions and the pay scale is far more likely to recommend their friends than a dissatisfied employee.

Non-compensation related factors make up a big part of this benefit, as employees will assess multiple factors before recommending someone else.

4. Satisfaction is directly linked to the productivity

In a positive work environment, employees are more likely to bring their best to work every day. For example, research by the Social Market Foundation and the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) found that happy employees are 20% more productive than unhappy employees on average!

There's also a secondary reason for this – high-satisfaction workplaces prioritize employee wellness. Therefore, they are more likely to look after themselves, and address stress/burnout/health issues, before it impacts work.

5. In the long term, The Management can dramatically reduce HR costs

Typically, The Management needs to plan for both fixed and variable costs as part of the HR budget. Low satisfaction could significantly dent the variable aspect of this equation – dissatisfied employees require targeted surveys, specialized learning and development, additional career assistance, and ultimately may lead to rehiring and retraining costs in the case of turnover. All of this needs the company to invest more than it had expected.

Employee job satisfaction needs to be treated with both short and long-term visions. In the short term, it is directly linked to attrition and employee-organization match. It is important that people perceive the company in a positive light in their early days of employment, else it would not take long for them to look for a change. In the long term, it is more damaging when an employee is not satisfied but continues to work with an organization due to other reasons. The employee starts to look for reasons to dislike the company more. For example, if a bad appraisal is the core reason behind her disappointment, the employee might then perceive that there is favouritism or that the company does not treat her as a valuable asset. Such impressions corrode the value an employee places on the company and this gets projected extrinsically, often among an audience with whom the equity of the organization gets affected

A dissatisfied employee expresses her negative perceptions more in external forums than internal ones, for fear of repercussion. And when an existing employee speaks ill of the company, it reduces the prospects of the listener to join the company and the reputation of the organization is impacted. Hence it is also important that HR identify such employees and work towards alleviating their problems and converting negative impressions to positive ones.

Job satisfaction is a very important part of an employee’s life-cycle and motivation to remain loyal to and employed with an organization. A number of activities or tasks of an HR team directly or indirectly influence employee satisfaction levels. Therefore HR must also remember that how a company functions through its policies, senior management and culture will impact how happy employees are and will help it reap financial, cultural and brand equity benefits

By making job satisfaction a priority at the company, The Management can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that there are no unprecedented issues arising due to low satisfaction.

References

Toolbox (2019) Talent Management. What Is Job Satisfaction? Definition, Factors, Importance, Statistics, and Examples [Online]. Available at   
https://hr.toolbox.com/articles/what-is-job-satisfaction-definition-factors-importance-statistics-and-examples
[Accessed on 14^th June 2020]

Entrepreneur (2020) Job Satisfaction. Why Job satisfaction is an Important Phenomenon of the Vicious Circle? [Online]. Available at 
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/310608
[Accessed on 14^th June 2020]