Achieving Business Success: Increasing Employee Job Satisfaction in the Workplace

Good employees are an asset to any company so employers will naturally want to keep those employees. And, according to research, the primary factor in employee retention is employee job satisfaction. Job satisfaction pertains to how content and happy a person is with their job. It is not the same as job motivation but the two are closely related: a satisfied employee is motivated to do their job and a motivated employee is happy to get the job done. It follows that the more satisfied and motivated employees are, the more they want to contribute to the growth and expansion of their company.

Did you know..? Peoplebank surveys our employees twice a year and develop initiatives to improve employee engagement from the results. We were recognised as an AON Hewitt Best Employer for 5 years running due to our high engagement scores. Our belief is that passionate, engaged people, create passionate, engaged contractors and clients that ultimately creates a passionate, engaged shareholder.


Determining the Employee Job Satisfaction Level in Your Company

You may have an idea of how your employees feel about their jobs but it's best to take a systematic approach to measure job satisfaction in your company. The results of your study will inform you of the reasons behind certain work behaviors (e.g. absenteeism and poor performance) and pinpoint the specific areas you need to work on to improve employee job satisfaction in your company.

You have several methods you can use to measure employee job satisfaction. If you have a full time HR department, your HR manager should be able to create and implement a survey that will give you the exact feedback you need. Alternatively, you can hire a consultant or you can do it yourself if your company is small and cost is a restricting factor.

If you decide to do the survey yourself, you can refer to the many questionnaires available online. One such tool for determining employee job satisfaction is the Job Descriptive Index or JDI developed by Smith, Kendall, and Hulin in 1969. Despite its age, the questions remain relevant and many companies are still using it. It provides the means to measure job satisfaction in terms of compensation, promotions and opportunities for promotion, coworkers, supervision, and the job itself.

Creating a Satisfying Work Environment

Once you get to know the pulse of your employees with regard to their jobs, you can take appropriate steps to make their jobs more satisfying. For example, if your employees are dissatisfied with their pay, look into the compensation package you offer and compare it with industry standards or other similarly sized companies. If you think you cannot afford to increase their salaries, look for ways by which you can do it such as increasing sales and cutting down unnecessary costs. Involve your employees and let them know you are concerned about their problem. Challenge them to help you meet your sales and profit goals so you can, in turn, share with them your income in terms of salary increases and bonuses.

Here are a few more ways you can increase employee job satisfaction in your business:

1. Train your employees, provide feedback, and recognize good performance. Employees feel highly satisfied with their jobs if they know they are effective and appreciated.

2. Inform the employees of the value of their contribution to the organization. Communicate how the company is doing in the market and how your products and services stand against competition. Job satisfaction is directly linked to an employee’s sense of mission and passion for their work.

3. Encourage and reward creativity at work. People experience a sense of satisfaction when they get to think and implement new ways of doing their jobs, face challenges, and are allowed to solve problems at their end.

4. Promote positive interactions at the workplace. Ill feelings toward anyone in the office can lead to general unhappiness and can amplify any issue no matter how trivial it may be.

5. Allow rest breaks and encourage light diversion at work. Highly satisfied employees are having fun with their work but they do know when to take a break in order to recharge and avoid exhaustion. This goes without saying, though, that you will need to have policies regarding slacking and inappropriate activities at the office.