3 Things Vital For Improved Job Satisfaction In Your Workplace

In her book, Happiness at Work, author/CEO Jessica Pryce-Jones estimates that the average person will spend one-third of their lifetime, over 90,000 hours working. The nature of our work and the level of pleasure/contentment we derive from it can have massive implications on our lives.

This is why job satisfaction can be such a critical factor from an employment perspective, particularly in India. According to a 2022 survey by happyness.me, 59% of Indian employees are not happy at their work.

As an employer/manager, should you be concerned when nearly two-thirds of your staff are unhappy? Why is job satisfaction important from a management perspective? What drives job satisfaction? These are some of the questions we will try to answer in this post.

What is job satisfaction?

The most authoritative definition of job satisfaction comes from psychologist Edwin A. Locke, the pioneer of goal setting theory in the 1970s. He defined it as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences.”

In simple terms, we can define job satisfaction as a measure of how content someone is with their job. We encounter many experiences and interactions in the workplace as part of our job—they all have a bearing on how we end up feeling about the job.

If those experiences give us a feeling of value, sense of purpose, and overall positivity, we have job satisfaction. In contrast, if the job experiences leave us feeling lost, worthless, and depressed, it is the sign of an unfulfilling and dissatisfying job.

Why is job satisfaction important?

Nearly 2400 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle had this to say about job satisfaction: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” And numerous surveys and studies over the years have drawn links between job satisfaction and productivity, as well as other positive outcomes:

Increased productivity

The causal link between worker happiness levels and productivity was first established by a University of Warwick study from 2014 (PDF). According to its authors, happiness made people 12% more productive.

According to Daniel Sgroi, one of the authors of the study, “The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality.” 

Improved employee retention

A Pew Research Centre survey in 2021 identified the three main factors that persuaded employees to tender their resignation letters. They were:

• Low pay (63%)
• Lack of career advancement opportunities (63%)
• Feeling disrespected at the workplace (57%)

In a Harvard Business Review article simply titled ‘Why Employees Stay’ the authors talk about how factors like recognition, achievement, and career growth can improve job satisfaction and give employees a positive reason to stay in the current position.

Increased profits

Improved productivity and better employee retention rates can contribute to cost savings and increased revenues indirectly. However, there are also instances where employees' happiness can directly contribute to increase in profits.

According to a study on retail employee experience published in the Harvard Business Review, satisfied employees with longer tenure tend to have more skills. Stores with such employees see up to 50% increase in revenues and profits compared to stores with lower job satisfaction.

How can managers increase their employees job satisfaction levels?

Job satisfaction is determined by a complex web of different factors. The decisive factors can vary sharply for different individuals. You cannot realistically try to keep everyone happy all the time. But there are some common triggers that have a negative impact on the satisfaction levels of the vast majority of workers.

Help improve employee work-life balance

According to a recent Indeed survey of job-seekers, the preference for workplace arrangements were split between hybrid (47.9%), work from home/anywhere (41.2%) and office (10.9%). Giving your employees the option to have at least some form of hybrid work could make a difference.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, nearly 70% of Indian employees prefer hybrid/remote work as it helps them to maintain a better work-life balance. Your happiness levels are heavily influenced by your ability to maintain a healthy balance between work and family/personal life.

Invest in improving workplace culture

A McKinsey Health Institute survey in 2022 revealed the heavy toll toxic workplace culture was taking on Indian employees in terms of burnout, depression, and an intent to resign. India led the Asian region in all the variables. 

Addressing any issues of toxic workplace culture will not be easy. You will have to ask some hard questions regarding the current state of your company’s workplace. It will take an organisation-wide initiative led by the C-suite to bring lasting changes to company culture.

Provide adequate growth opportunities

A sense of stagnation can lead to plummeting levels of employee satisfaction. If they feel that they are not getting the recognition and promotions they deserve, they are more likely to seek employment elsewhere.

Managers will have to play a key role here – providing mentorship and guidance to their team members. Assigning challenging (not impossible) tasks to employees can help in improving engagement levels. Training programs and internal leadership pipelines can also help to retain top talent.

Conclusion

Job satisfaction is all about treating your employees with respect and providing them a chance to grow along with your organisation. Even though surveys indicate that people are willing to take a pay-cut if it means a better work-life balance, you should not ignore salaries.In fact, Indian companies are consistently increasing their salary budgets by double digits each year in a desperate bid to improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover. If improving job satisfaction among your staff is a priority (which it should be), you can never truly ignore the salaries!