Canadian employees have lived through multiple transformations in the last four years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed work in countless ways, from shifting if we work in-person or virtually to pushing people to reassess their relationships with their jobs.
Add in talent upheavals — including the spike in quitting dubbed the “Great Resignation” in the US, a wave of retirements, job vacancy rates at record levels and expected layoffs— and it’s easy to see why job satisfaction deserves renewed attention.
By understanding how to ensure employee satisfaction, you’ll be better positioned to attract and retain talent, while also increasing productivity and profits.
What is employee satisfaction and why is it important?
At its simplest, employee satisfaction, also known as job satisfaction, career satisfaction or work satisfaction, refers to the fulfilment or enjoyment a person gets from their work. There are many dimensions of job satisfaction, as people receive satisfaction from their job for different reasons. Common factors that make up the overall workplace contentment someone feels include job responsibilities, relationships with management and colleagues, work conditions, pay and company values.
Employee satisfaction is related to another popular concept, employee engagement, but the two aren’t synonymous. Employee satisfaction encompasses personal happiness, whereas employee engagement is about an employee’s deeper commitment to the work and company.
The impact of job satisfaction is huge, and it matters to employees, employers, and society as a whole. Workers spend an average of 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime, so enjoying that time and feeling content while there is critical to life satisfaction. For employers, job satisfaction is consistently linked to benefits including reduced turnover rates, more loyal employees and increased productivity and profits. Increased employee engagement and stronger employer branding are also tied to workplace wellbeing.
Consider these dimensions of job satisfaction to help your people feel happier at work
The overlooked power of workplace relationships
Positive relationships at work — with both colleagues and bosses — have a big impact on employee satisfaction. “Building meaningful relationships with co-workers, especially management, is critical to job and life satisfaction,” states the World Happiness Report. In fact, according to consulting company McKinsey, relationships with management are the top factor in employees’ job satisfaction. McKinsey identifies four practices bosses can adopt to help with relationship building: empathy, compassion and vulnerability; gratitude; positivity; awareness and self-care.
Other studies confirm the power of relationships at work, identifying connections with both supervisors and colleagues as key drivers of job satisfaction. As Dr. Bob Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry and author, told the New York Times, workplace relationships are often overlooked, but they are vital.
Given more fully-remote workforces due to the pandemic, it’s beneficial for companies to give extra consideration to team cohesion. Speaking to the Globe and Mail, Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professor at the Harvard Business School, recommends workers are brought together in person at semi-regular intervals, ideally in a non-work setting.
What matters more: job satisfaction or salary?
Competitive salaries matter, but employee satisfaction is about a lot more than just pay. US research shows nine out of 10 employees are willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work. Indeed’s research on the key drivers of workplace wellbeing found that workers tend to think pay — alongside flexibility — are the main factors that make people happy at work. But it’s actually social dynamics around work that are much more important to overall wellbeing, such as feeling energized, a sense of belonging and trust in their leaders and colleagues.
Global consulting firm Gallup notes that pay conversations can be about something else, with pay being the “easy button” when systemic workplace problems seem too challenging to solve. In a major global survey of 52,000 people, PwC found money isn’t enough by itself to retain workers, with factors like job fulfilment and the ability to be one’s true self at work ranking highly. Still, the question of which is more important — job satisfaction or salary — is pervasive. It’s even become a common test topic, leading to countless essays agreeing or disagreeing over if a big salary is much more important than job satisfaction.
Prioritize learning
Offering extra training and development has long been a win-win, as it keeps staff satisfied while also helping you meet current and future business needs. But these days, given talent shortages and technology transforming the nature of work, a focus on continual learning is especially important. A Future Skills Centre report describes the scale of upskilling and reskilling required post-pandemic in Canada as virtually unprecedented.
Upskilling typically refers to teaching current employees new skills, so they can advance their careers. Reskilling also involves learning new skills, but the purpose is usually to train employees so they can transfer to different jobs in the same company. Another consideration is creating a learning culture, which can address obstacles that inhibit learning, like a fear of failure.
How to measure employee satisfaction
Taking steps to improve job satisfaction also requires collecting credible employee feedback and examining the impact of your efforts. A proven method to track employee satisfaction is by using surveys. Another idea is to introduce stay interviews, which are similar to the exit interviews many companies hold when employees leave, only they’re an opportunity to gather valuable input from current workers. The Indeed Work Wellbeing Score also gives employers insights into what drives their employees’ happiness.
Ensuring employee satisfaction is an involved and ongoing process, especially now, when the world of work is changing rapidly. But there are substantial benefits to such efforts, from attracting and retaining talent to increasing productivity and profits. Plus, those advantages extend beyond individual workplaces, with happy employees ultimately contributing to a happier society.
