The majority of employees are generally satisfied with their jobs, according to a new study, with 61 percent of salaried and hourly workers nationwide rating their contentment level between eight to 10 on a scale of one to 10. This study, in addition to two other recent studies, also indicates that the culture of the workplace is more important to employees than their salary level.
The first poll, conducted by IPSOS Public Research for hourly job listing Web site SnagAJob.com, also asked workers what they liked the most about their jobs. Twenty-seven percent ranked client interaction as the thing they most enjoyed about their jobs, while 26 percent said their co-workers and 20 indicated pay.
Another study, out of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, revealed similar findings. Researchers extensively questioned employees at one publicly traded company in Massachusetts, and found that trust in supervisors and co-workers and the purpose of the company “motivates people to stay in the job,” said Courtney Anderson, an analyst with the study and a business consultant. Small details, such as the physical environment, also impact people’s morale, she said, and there is a link between these factors and retention.
“It’s a business necessity to manage and correct behavior of people who are not creating trust and purpose, because the negative consequences are real” and can affect the bottom line, Anderson said.
Employers are starting to realize this, according to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, which polled 352 small-business owners. When asked why employees like working for the business, company culture ranked the highest, with 37.1 percent of employers choosing this as the top reason, and 24.5 rated compensation as the most important factor.
Employees are putting self-fulfillment first, said career expert Barry Lawrence, from McLean-based Jobfox, an online job-matching company. Employees have “raised the bar from just having a paycheck to other things,” such as a work/life balance, having a purpose, making a difference and learning new things, he said.
