Behind every successful organization or business are its employees’ dedication and hard work. People are more likely to work hard if they are content or satisfied with their jobs. To ensure that an organization or company runs successfully, it must pay attention to employee satisfaction.

This article will walk you through the different facets of employee satisfaction ranging from its importance to ways of measuring it and the industries with the highest and the lowest employee satisfaction.

 

Key Points on Employee Satisfaction.

• HRZone’s definition of employee satisfaction is the worker’s happiness towards their job and its impact on their life.

 

• Quantum Workplace defines employee engagement as employees harboring a sense of connection towards their work and respective organizations.

 

• According to a Harvard Business Review analytical study, 92% of business executives agreed that engaged employees work better. In addition, 81% of business leaders strongly agree that workers’ performance is better if they are highly engaged. Moreover, good engagement of an employee leads to 17% more productivity than their peers.

 

• A satisfied employee is content with their job. On the other hand, an engaged employee is not only content with their job but actively wants the company to prosper.

 

• In May 2021, the University of Jana Evangelisty Purkyne in the Czech Republic wrote a research paper on the relationship between employee engagement and job satisfaction. There was a positive correlation between job satisfaction and employee engagement. The higher the employee engagement rate, the higher the job satisfaction rate.

 

• According to Glassdoor’s Mission and Culture Survey of 2019, 77% of adults consider the company’s culture before applying. This survey’s population was from countries like the US, the UK, France, and Germany.

 

• According to a 2021 Human Resource Director America (HRD) article, the dentistry profession has one of the highest employee satisfaction rates. The satisfaction rate of a dentist is 4 out of 5. The median annual income of a dentist is $134,120, with 4,320 job openings.

 

• A thesis study submitted to Winona State University in Minnesota, US, in 2021 was based on how remote work impacted job satisfaction. The thesis survey found that among participants who worked remotely for five days a week, 11% were somewhat satisfied with their jobs.

 

• Additionally, the Winona University thesis contained a survey asking employees how many days per week they had been working remotely over the past year. It found that 35% of those working remotely five days a week were primarily happy with their jobs. Regardless of the number of days employees worked remotely, 58% of the total participants reported being mostly or completely satisfied with their jobs.

 

What Exactly Is Employee Satisfaction?

For a deep dive into the term employee satisfaction, HRZone wrote a blog on its definition and historical development of the term itself. HRZone is an online human resources publication platform aiming to equip HR professionals worldwide to improvise to the changing world and its work.

HRZone definition of employee satisfaction is the worker’s happiness towards their job, and its impact on the workers’ life—the works of George Elton Mayo and Hawthorne’s studies in the 1930s correlate productivity to employer satisfaction.

BambooHR provides a similar definition of the term. According to them, employee satisfaction is a broad term that explains how content/satisfied a company’s workers are with their jobs and things around the jobs.

 

Types of Employee Satisfaction

Variants, such as affective and cognitive job satisfaction, apply to employee satisfaction.

• Affective satisfaction refers to the accumulation of good feelings and emotions connected with the worker’s job and its place in the individual life.
• Cognitive job satisfaction relates to satisfaction based on pure rationality over other factors of a job, like everyday responsibilities and pay.

 

Relevance

Employee satisfaction is one of the most accurate ways to check if an organization or a company is good. The most successful companies conduct regular surveys of their employees to check how satisfied their workers are with the company/organization. Higher employee satisfaction means the workers are generally happy with how things are going around them, which is instrumental to the company’s success.

 

Why Is Employee Satisfaction Essential for Modern-Day Work Environments?

The Villanova University of Pennsylvania, US, published an article on its website regarding the importance of job satisfaction in today’s workplace. The report was last updated on 9th September 2022.

The reasons given below highlight the importance of job satisfaction in any organization:

 

1.    Decreased Turnover

Lower turnover is the most noticeable effect of employee satisfaction, which signifies its importance enormously. The more satisfied your employees, the fewer their chances of leaving. Due to lower demand and a consistent supply of new employees, the quality of recruited talent will be higher. In addition, the company will save considerable amounts of money and time.

According to research by the University of Jana Evangelisty Purkyne, there was an inverse relationship between employee engagement rate and turnover, i.e., the higher the satisfaction, the lower the potential turnover.

As we will discuss below, they also concluded that there is a directly proportional relationship between employee engagement and employee satisfaction. We can therefore say that there is an inverse relationship between employee satisfaction and employee turnover. In other words, satisfied employees are less likely to leave.

 

2.    Productivity

Employee satisfaction is also essential because it positively impacts worker productivity. The higher the productivity level, the more money the company should have.

 

3.   Attracting Better Talent

Officevibe published an article in April 2022 that talks about the importance of employee satisfaction. This article discusses employee satisfaction’s importance by backing it up with statistical data.

Officevibe is an online platform offering employee experience solutions to managers. They also help companies build good relationships with their people and establish excellent conditions for work.

According to the study done by Gallup in 2022, only 20% of employees are engaged at work. There is room for improvement for the remaining 80% of the employees who do not fulfil the engagement criteria.

The article also discusses the benefits of high employee satisfaction, highlighting its importance. According to Glassdoor’s Mission and Culture Survey of 2019, 77% of adults first consider the company’s culture before applying. A company with high employee satisfaction will have a more positive culture, thus resulting in more job applications.

 

Factors Affecting Employee Satisfaction

Statista published an article on August 5 2022, mentioning the key attributes determining job satisfaction worldwide. In 2021, work-life balance was the most crucial factor. 51% of the respondents chose this option. Opportunities to advance in one’s career and employer’s ethics are factors that follow close behind.

Source: McKinsey Health Institute

 

A survey conducted in May 2022 by the McKinsey Health Institute across 15 countries measured specific factors determining employee satisfaction. The employee burnout rate in these countries is crucial in determining job satisfaction. The following are some of the health and workplace factors assessed in their survey. (% values indicate the contribution of each element to the proportion of variance for each outcome).

 

1. Toxic Work Environment: Often, personal enmities amongst colleagues get in the way of work at many places. This includes abusive behavior demonstrated either by fellow workers or the management. Moreover, undervaluing an employee despite their tireless efforts is not only demeaning but comes under a toxic work environment as well. The survey mentions that toxic workplace behavior is often the most damaging aspect of job satisfaction. Following are how toxic workplace behavior shaped the employees’ physical and mental well-being:

1. 1. 73% of employees had the intention to leave.
   2. 70% felt more burned out.
   3. 69% were victims of distress.
   4. 64% were experiencing depression symptoms.
   5. 62% of people also experienced anxiety symptoms.

 

2. Unity and Teamwork: Working together means being allowed to contribute to different projects and fostering a sense of teamwork in general. Workplaces where this is not the norm make employees feel foreign and unincluded, undeniably a source of constant stress. Here is how inclusivity influenced the satisfaction and health metrics measured:

1. 1. 10% of employees had the intention to leave.
   2. 11% felt more burned out.
   3. 9% were victims of distress.
   4. 12% were experiencing depression symptoms.
   5. 10% of people also experienced anxiety symptoms.

 

3. Work-Life Balance: Reasonable workloads and the ability to balance work and life are signs of sustainable work. Moreover, schedules should also be reasonable.

1. 1. 4% of employees had the intention to leave.
   2. 8% felt more burned out.
   3. 11% were victims of distress.
   4. 10% were experiencing depression symptoms.
   5. 13% of people also experienced anxiety symptoms.

 

4. Room for Sustainable Growth: Employee feedback is essential for any running organization. Balance can only be maintained when leaders interact with workers allowing them to give suggestions to improve the work environment. Lastly, allowing freedom of opinion and discussion plays a pivotal role in collective growth.

1. 1. 7% of employees had the intention to leave.
   2. 5% felt more burned out.
   3. 5% were victims of distress.
   4. 6% were experiencing depression symptoms.
   5. 5% of people also experienced anxiety symptoms.

 

The Impact of Mental Health

Furthermore, the Pearson Global Learner Survey 2022 cites mental well-being as a significant factor in job satisfaction. 85% of employees from all around the world believe that their employers should address mental health concerns. Furthermore, 90% of employees hold their employers in high regard when they cater to the mental well-being of their employees. Lastly, 86% of global job seekers claim that such services benefit them and their families in the long run.

 

What is Employee Engagement, and How is it Different from Employee Satisfaction?

Quantum Workplace defines employee engagement as harbouring a sense of connection towards their work and respective organisations. Employee engagement is at the core of the connection between work, group and organisation.

Quantum Workplace is a provider of human resource solutions. It enables professional working environments with intelligent solutions for growth and profits.

Source: Quantum Workplace

 

According to a Harvard Business Review analytical study, employee engagement makes workers perform better and boosts the team and the organisation’s success.

92% of business executives agree that engaged employees work better than disengaged employees. In addition, 81% of business leaders strongly agree that workers’ performance is better if they are highly engaged.

In addition, the Quantum Workplace article mentioned above also talks about why it is essential to have good employee engagement by giving statistical data.

Good employment of an employee leads to 17% more productivity than their peers. Similarly, an agreeable majority opinion of 72% of executives strongly agrees that companies with workers who are highly engaged have happy customers.

 

The Difference

Although it can seem like employee engagement and employee satisfaction are two words for the same thing, there is a subtle difference.

According to TINYpulse, a project by Limeade, a satisfied employee is content enough with the job to keep showing up at work every day. It’s unlikely that they will quit anytime soon. On the other hand, engaged employees are a step beyond this. Engaged employees are not just content with things; they actively want the company to do better overall. These employees may be more motivated to streamline inefficient processes and innovate to develop better solutions.

Limeade is an award-winning HR solutions enterprise which currently serves millions of customers in over 100 countries.

 

The Correlation Between Employee Satisfaction and Engagement.

UJEP Study

In May 2021, the University of Jana Evangelisty Purkyne in the Czech Republic published a research paper on the relationship between employee engagement and job satisfaction. The researchers of this article link these two variables (employee engagement and job satisfaction) to the probability of potential turnover.

The methodology of this study involved a questionnaire abbreviated according to Schaufeli and his associates. Mr Schaufeli is an organisational and work psychology professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The research took place in call centres of large corporate companies. Since the University of Jana Evangelisty Purkyne conducted this study, these call centres were likely in the Czech Republic.  The researchers chose this sample size for their research because employees can be under the influence of significant stress in such call centres.

The study involved 287 employees. However, only 257 answers made it through because some questionnaires were partially left empty.

They concluded the following:

• There was a positive correlation between job satisfaction and employee engagement. The higher the employee engagement rate, the higher the job satisfaction rate.
• There was an inverse relationship between employee engagement and turnover.

Therefore, the study found that engaged employees are more satisfied and less likely to leave the company. Therefore this research study makes one point clear: employee engagement and job satisfaction go hand in hand.

 

Governors State University Thesis

In the Spring of 2018, a representative of the Governors State University published an academic thesis. Governors State University is a well-reputed university in Chicago, Illinois.

The thesis is on the correlation between employee engagement and job satisfaction in the social security administration.

The study looked at the relationship between employee engagement (along with related factors like work experience) and job satisfaction. The data was taken from the surveys done by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which conducts surveys for all federal agencies.

The survey was a Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and is a tool to determine employees’ perceptions. The employee perception that the survey measures are related to working conditions. The FEVS surveys were done from 2002 up to 2017, and so on. It is important to mention here that a positive correlation, according to the researcher, means that when one variable increases, the other increases as well.

The following are some of the findings of the study:

1. There is a significant positive correlation between job satisfaction and employee work experience.
2. A positive correlation exists between an employee’s agency and job satisfaction.
3. A significant positive correlation exists between job satisfaction and the employee work unit. An employee work unit could be the number of hours worked by an employee per week, for example. It aids in establishing a suitable pay rate.

 

How to Measure Employee Satisfaction

We have gone over the definition and importance of employee satisfaction. Now, let us discuss the methods to measure it. In October 2020, Hubstaff blog wrote a blog post on how to improve and measure employee satisfaction. The blog also added a survey.

Hubstaff is a monitoring tool provider for productivity and time tracking. Over 40,000 businesses have increased their productivity and profits by using Hubstaff’s services. The ways to ensure employee satisfaction are the following:]

 

1.   Conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey

A survey is the best option to get a baseline understanding of the likes and dislikes of your employees. One of the best ways to gather responses from the employees is by using Google Forms. You can also use specialised survey program tools like Officevibe for more insights into the subject.

Furthermore, the survey structure can be based on the questions like management expectations, relationships with co-workers, stress levels and career progress. One tip for designing surveys is to ensure the questions are easy to understand, digestible, and non-controversial.

One of the ways to improve the quality of your survey is to do a dry run. A dry run would involve surveying five to ten people before replicating the process across the entire company. Doing this can help clarify what must be kept in or withdrawn from the questionnaire to improve the overall quality.

Adding both close and open-ended questions will give you qualitative and quantitative data. If you are unsure of the questions to add, consider the example questions:

• Are you satisfied with the opportunities your company has given you for growth? (Rate 1 to 10).
• Do you think your company rewards you well for your commitment and dedication to work? (Rate 1 to 10).
• Do you like being a part of this company? (Rate 1 to 10)
• Do you have the support of your teammates when required? (Rate 1 to 10).
• Does your team respect your personal space and time? (Rate 1 to 10)
• Do you know who to reach out to when you face an issue at work? (Yes, No, Maybe).
• How often are you under pressure during work? (Rate 1 to 10).
• Do you feel stressed out during work? If yes, please explain why. (open answer)
• Do you believe the work within the company is equally distributed among employees? (Rate 1 to 10).
• Do you have any suggestions on how the company can accommodate you better? (Open answer).

It is necessary to add just enough questions to get answers to your concerns. By adding too many questions, the person filling out the survey may lose patience. It also leads to a lower response rate. To get optimal results out of it, try conducting monthly surveys on a specific area for inspection. Monthly surveys can cover specific topics like teamwork, stress, communication and growth opportunity questions.

 

2.   Using Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI)

The ESI method to measure employee satisfaction is mathematically driven. First, you must determine the extent to which the company workers are satisfied by asking the following questions.

• Are you satisfied with your workplace conditions?
• Is your workplace able to meet your expectations?
• Is your workplace close to your ideal job working environment?

After you have asked your employees to answer these questions on a scale of 1 to 10, you apply the mathematical formula to calculate the ESI. The formula for employee satisfaction index (ESI) is as follows:

ESI= (question mean value/3)-1)/9*100

The result obtained from the calculation will be a score from 1 to 100. The greater the score, the higher the employee satisfaction is.

You can calculate ESI using the survey method we mentioned above. The ESI method can be used to figure out employee satisfaction with particular aspects of the job, such as the salary, stress and company culture. While using ESI for specific parts of employment, you need to modify the questions accordingly.

 

3.   Using the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

Employee Net Promoter Score is based on the intent to show how the employees feel about your company. The calculations are based on the survey asking only the employee a single question. The question that eNPS asks is, ” On a scale of 1-10, how likely would you recommend our company as a place to work?”.

From the answers collected from the respondents, you can divide them into the following groups:

• Promoters

The individuals whose responses are in a score range of 9 to 10 are known as promoters. These types of individuals give valuable insights regarding what the employer is doing right.

• Passives

Those employees whose response score is 7 to 8 are in the category of passives. These respondents do not feel strongly about your company. Using their responses as inputs, employers can find ways that the company can improve itself to turn these passives into promoters.

• Detractors

The responses with anything between 0 to 6 are known as detractors. These types of people are not satisfied with their job and may have the intention to quit. The good thing about these types of responses is that employers can gain valuable insight from them about what they need to improve on.

Once you have all the responses, you need to calculate your ePNS value. The formula for the ePNS is the percentage of the promoters subtracted by the percentage of detractors. Once you apply this formula, you will gain a number between negative 100 and positive 100. A positive score above 0 is good, whereas anything below 0 in the negatives is not. A negative score (below 0) is a red flag that you must work on to improve employee satisfaction.

 

4.   Install an Employee Suggestion Box

One of the most significant advantages of using an employee suggestion box is that the employee’s identity is hidden when they leave their suggestion. This means that workers can give honest opinions about the company without the fear of being watched or getting into trouble for the responses they share.

Employers can take feedback through a suggestion box whenever the situation calls for it. On the other hand, you must wait for months for a survey to take place to do the same thing. Another advantage of a suggestion box is that instead of waiting for a particular question to be given out in a survey, the employee can express whatever they deem fit immediately via a suggestion box.

Also, the suggestion boxes promote free thinking as questions can often be put forward in a way that makes respondents biased while filling out a survey questionnaire made by someone else. Another benefit of the suggestion box is that it pushes the worker to share their creative ideas.  Due to hesitation or fear, many employees have innovative and problem-solving solutions that they might not do in a survey.

 

5.   Using Specialized Software

Companies can use specialized software to save time and other valuable resources. Here is a list of specialized software that you can use.

• Officevibe
• TINYpulse
• 15Five
• Culture Amp

 

How to Build and Maintain High Employee Satisfaction

In 2021, the Rasmussen University in North Orlando, US, published an article about improving employee satisfaction: advice for HR managers.

The Rasmussen University is accredited by the US Higher Learning Commission. Their article mentioned the following ways to build and maintain high employee satisfaction.

1.   Competitive Salaries

An article regarding employee satisfaction and salaries published in Hearst Newspapers was updated on July 14th, 2020. It stated that employees paid in full according to the effort they have put in increases feelings of loyalty towards an organisation. They not only feel more valued but are also unlikely to look for similar jobs with higher salaries. Such employees tend to be willing to dedicate extra hours to their organisations, knowing that their pay could cover it.

 

2. Ask for Employees’ Suggestions

According to a survey by SHRM, one of the biggest mistakes employers can make is to assume that they know everything about their employees. Such predictions can often be misleading and do more damage than good to a company’s growth. Asking for employees’ suggestions is one way to overcome this. Employees’ suggestions will give you a clearer picture of what they expect from their employers. Lastly, companies can also figure out what further needs to be done if the satisfaction levels are low.

 

3. Transparency

It is necessary to have transparent policies in the company. Constant employee feedback but no changes to improve the employee work experience will lower satisfaction. Management must communicate well with their workers to keep them aware of the improvement. Employee satisfaction will decrease if the company workers are kept in the shadows.

 

4. Be Creative With Benefits

Companies must give employees benefits to boost the workers’ satisfaction. Health and wellness benefits given by companies are low-cost to implement and are also sought after by employees. A 2019 employee benefits survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 67% of companies did not change the family-friendly or wellness benefits in 2018.

Additionally, Anjela Mangrum, the president of Mangrum Career Solutions, a manufacturing recruiting agency, believes that employee benefits are critical. Mangrum said, “When you invest in your employees’ healthcare plans, retirement packages and family-friendly benefits, they feel like you care”.

 

5. Celebrate Success

According to Quantum Workplace, when employees are given the recognition they deserve, they continue working with newfound motivation on succeeding tasks. Similarly, they are often willing to work overtime or a little beyond their job descriptions for the sake of the organisations they work in. Organisations that formally recognise their workers for their efforts through specialised programs are likely to have 31% less turnover compared to those that don’t. These organisations also have almost 12 times stronger business outcomes.

 

6. Investment in Employees’ Careers

Being unable to grow their careers can leave employees anxious and stressed. This is terrible for the employees’ contentment. Therefore companies must give opportunities to their employees to advance their careers further.

 

Which Industries/ Jobs Have the Highest Employee Satisfaction Rates?

In 2021 Human Resource Director America (HRD) wrote an article on jobs with the highest employee satisfaction rate. HRD’s network is spread across the globe, with offices in cities like Sydney, Denver, Bangalore, Singapore, Toronto, and London.

The metrics that the authors of this article used to rank jobs with the highest employee satisfaction were based on a survey conducted in 2020 across the US. The ranking regarding satisfaction was given on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest satisfaction rate.

The article talks about the type of jobs with the highest satisfaction and mentions median annual income and the number of job openings. It also includes the US states with the most demand for these jobs and the companies that are hiring.

1.   Java Developer

The task required for a Java developer revolves around managing Java-based apps. The responsibilities may include developing the program, design, and identification, followed by rectification of bugs. This job requires a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences or software engineering.

The job satisfaction rate for Java developers was 4.2 out of 5, with a median annual income of $90,830. The states with the most demand for such workers were California and Virginia. The companies that hire such workers include Accenture, Uline, Map Communications, etc.

 

2.   Data Scientist

Data scientists usually deal with enormous amounts of statistical data, finance and operational research. A data scientist’s role covers research, management, extraction, database creation and presentation. If you have the required skill set for a data scientist, then the options for industry selection and specialisation are endless.

The rating for a data science job was 4.1 out of 5, with a median annual income of $113,740. The states with the most demand for data scientists were Washington and Delaware. The best companies that hire these workers are Amazon, Google, Apple and IBM.

 

3.   Product Managers

Product managers’ jobs are related to creating new ideas, conceptualisation and launching products or services for the growth of business or industry. The tasks that product managers may do include running pilot programs for in-depth research on customer satisfaction. Product managers’ roles involve logistics and strategic planning, quality control, product development and distribution.

The educational background for this job requires an undergrad with a business degree or MBA. However, for a technical product manager job, you must also have a corresponding engineering or software-related degree.

The job satisfaction ratings for product managers were 3.9 out of 5, with a median annual income of $121,100. The top companies that hire such workers include Amazon, Magic Lab, HSBC and PayPal. The states with demand for product managers were Washington, New York and California.

 

4.    Enterprise Architect

The fundamental responsibility of enterprise architects is to ensure that the company’s information and technological structure must be on the same page as the business goals. This type of workers are essential for data-driven organisations or companies.

The tasks that enterprise architects do is manage, implement and optimise information management applications. In addition, they also make guidelines and standards required for using the information technology assets of their company.

The job satisfaction rating for an enterprise architect was 4 out of 5, along with a $131,360 median annual salary. The states with the most demand for enterprise architects are the District of Columbia, New York, California and New Jersey. The companies that hire this type of worker include Salesforce, Dell and Blue Yonder.

 

5.   Dentist

Dentistry has one of the highest satisfaction rates in the medical industry. The Bureau of Labour data shows dentists have a high median salary and low unemployment rates. Furthermore, dentists also have an excellent work-life balance that removes any sort of stress from work.

The educational background required to become a dentist is intense. You need eight years of schooling to become a dentist in the US, with four years of undergraduate and another four years to finish dental school. Moreover, to become a dentist, one must pass several intense exams to get a legal license for the practice. If they want to pursue a specialisation, it requires several more years of studying.

The satisfaction rate of a dentist was 4 out of 5. The median annual income of a dentist was $134,120. The states that had the most demand for dentists are Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. Smile Brands and Dental Care Alliance are the top companies hiring people from dentistry.

 

6.   Business Development Manager

Being a business development manager is one of the best jobs when it comes to employment opportunities and employee satisfaction. The responsibility of a Business developer manager includes discovering new business opportunities, building new relationships with potential clients and researching.

Even though there is no specific requirement for this job but is good to have an academic background in business studies. Employers usually prefer the worker to have an undergrad degree in business management. The position of developer manager is relevant to other business fields of study, such as business administration, marketing, and communication.

The job satisfaction rate for business development managers was 4.1 out of 5, with a median annual salary of $82,180. The best companies that hire such workers are Oracle, Hubspot and Microsoft. The states which have the most demand for business development managers are Washington, New York and Minnesota.

 

Which industries/ jobs have the lowest employee satisfaction rates?

Jobs

In June 2022, an article was published on the LinkedIn Talent blog about jobs with the highest and the lowest turnover.

Even though this particular LinkedIn article was not about employee satisfaction, it is deeply relevant. A company with high turnover will have low employee satisfaction since they either leave the job or force the employers to fire them.

LinkedIn is one of the largest online service providers. The company platform allows different companies and businesses to seek employees by posting jobs and allowing employees to get a job.

According to the article, jobs with the highest turnover rate are as follows:

1. Human Resources – 14.6%
2. Research – 13.1%
3. Product Management – 13%
4. Marketing – 12.9%
5. Consulting jobs – 11.7%

 

Industry

In August 2022, another article was published on the LinkedIn Talent blog about industries with the highest and the lowest turnover. The industries mentioned here are broader than the relatively specific jobs mentioned above.

According to the article, the industries with above-average turnover rates were:

1. Professional services – 13.4%
2. Tech and media – 12.9%
3. Entertainment and accommodation – 11.8%
4. Retail – 11.4%

In January 2021, ConferenceNews UK wrote an article on its official website about hospitality being the least satisfying job sector, according to a survey.

Four thousand professionals across 20 different sectors were surveyed to determine which sectors had the highest job satisfaction. The survey was done by the Commercial property agents and surveyor SavoyStewart. The respondents were asked many questions to which they were supposed to rank their answers on a scale of zero to one hundred. Zero meant that they did not agree at all, while 100 indicated that they strongly agreed.

The structure of the questions was built on negative and positive statements. The questions’ statements regarded different satisfaction aspects such as mental health, career prospects, and toxic work culture. It is important to note that the higher the positive statement score, the more significant its impact would be on work satisfaction. The higher the score on negative statements, the more significant its negative effect on job satisfaction.

The average score from the responses was taken, and the sum of all the average scores for each industry was used to calculate the final score. The greater the final score, the more satisfied people were with a given industry.

Ironically, the hospitality industry had the most unsatisfied employees, with only an overall score of 83. In contrast, the most satisfying industry of childcare had an overall score of  239. Furthermore, the education industry also had unsatisfied workers, with an overall score of 87. It is important to note that the overall score is calculated by adding up the scores of individual factors, including:

1. Positive impact on others
2. Career prospects
3. Employee empowerment
4. Work relationships
5. Mental health
6. Fair personal remuneration
7. Toxic culture

 

Employee Satisfaction in a Remote Work Environment.

The Correlation between Remote Work and Employee Satisfaction

In June 2022, Taylor and Francis Online released a scientific journal paper on job satisfaction while working from home during the pandemic. This research study is also a part of Cogent Psychology under the section of Work, Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

This study’s methodology involves the participants’ experiences while working from home during the pandemic. A total of 211 participants were initially chosen after filling out an online Google form. However, 11 of the participants were subsequently deemed invalid.

The leftover 200 participants completed the minimum sample size, representing a large proportion of the public. The predictor variables of the study were work-family conflict, work autonomy and anxiety due to the pandemic. Job satisfaction was the standard variable on which other variables were taken into consideration.

The conclusions were as follows:

1. Perceived work autonomy had a moderately positive correlation with job satisfaction.
2. There was a negative correlation between job satisfaction and work-family conflict. (Working from home would therefore allow employees more time with their families.)
3. A moderately negative correlation existed between job satisfaction and anxiety related to the pandemic.
4. The factors relating to perceived work autonomy, anxiety due to the pandemic, and work-family conflict predicted job satisfaction.

McKinsey and Co. is a global management counselling firm with 30,000 employees, founded in 1926. The firm is highly reputable in its sector and provides ideas driven by research-based statistics.

In a similar study in 2021 by the Winona State University in Minnesota, US, released one of its student theses in the Leadership Education College of Education department. The thesis topic was remote working and its impact on job satisfaction during the pandemic.

The methodology of the thesis was a quantitative approach using an online survey. The survey population had public university graduate students. The researchers of this study also added the people working from their homes and employed in various professions in the population of the study.

The sample had 17 graduate students selected randomly from the population who agreed to participate in the survey.

Additionally, the survey had 13 close-ended questions based on the four-point Likert scale. The first three questions of the survey were about asking for the consent of the responders, eligibility criteria, and demographic information. The rest of the ten questions were about perceived job satisfaction, how often they work remotely, etc.

The following are the results of the survey:

1. 41% of the respondents did remote work one to two days per week. 11% did remote work three to four days per week. 47% did remote jobs five days a week.
2. 41% were somewhat satisfied with remote work. 52% were satisfied primarily with remote work. 5% were completely satisfied with working remotely. No participants were unsatisfied with remote work at all.
3. 5% said that remote work did not impact job satisfaction. 47% said remote work had somewhat of an impact on job satisfaction. 41% report that remote working had quite a bit of an effect on job satisfaction. At the same time, only 5% said that remote work impacted job satisfaction. The result also mentions that remote work influenced job satisfaction for 94% of the survey respondents.
4. For participants who did remote work five times or every day per week, 11% were somewhat satisfied with their jobs. While 35% of participants were mostly happy with their jobs. 58% of the participants were delighted with their jobs while doing remote work five days a week.

 

The Problem with a Lack of Post-Pandemic Plan

In April 2021, McKinsey and Co. published an article on their website about what employees are saying about the future of remote work. The article is not totally about employee satisfaction, but it discusses factors that have an evident effect on worker satisfaction. Moreover, they talk about productivity, anxiety, communication and employer’s transparency policies.

They also did a Reimagine Work: Employee Survey from December 2020 to January 2021, with 5,043 full-time corporate and government employees. According to the survey, the companies that had clear communication with their employees during lockdown saw a 2-4.9x increase in support, inclusion, and productivity.

The workers who feel included in detailed communications reports showed a 5x increase in productivity. This shows that there is a direct relationship between productivity and employee satisfaction. The more satisfied the worker is, the more productive they are. It is also clear that good communication by the company is necessary for high employee satisfaction during remote work.

The Reimagine Work survey also found that most companies and organisations have not proposed a clear vision for post-pandemic work. This lack of vision of how things will go after the pandemic shows the lack of communication from employers. According to the survey, 40% of organisations have not communicated how work will go after the pandemic. While 28% of the organisation have vaguely communicated, only 32% have established good communication on the vision of work post-pandemic.

The survey also shared the participants’ opinions on the statement: the lack of clear vision or plan for post-pandemic work is causing me concern or anxiety. 45% of the participants said that the lack of clear vision or plan for post-pandemic is indeed causing them concern or anxiety. This lack of communication which makes the employees anxious can be exceptionally cumbersome for the company’s success.

Anxiety among employees not only reduces satisfaction but decreases work performance as well. In addition to that, anxiety badly affects interpersonal relationships with office colleagues. On a global economic scale, almost $1 trillion per year is lost due to low productivity because of stress and poor mental health. Moreover, the lack of communication about how the future work will be done leads to 49% of the participants feeling somewhat burned out.

 

Conclusion

A satisfied employee is content with their job and is not thinking of quitting. On the other hand, an engaged employee is not just content with their job, they want their department and the company as a whole to grow. You can think of employee engagement as a step beyond employee satisfaction. There is a positive correlation between job satisfaction and employee engagement. The higher the employee engagement rate, the higher the job satisfaction rate. Employee satisfaction is essential for low business turnover and higher productivity levels.

Employers can build employee satisfaction by giving competitive salaries and employee benefits, giving employees recognition where it is due, and helping them grow their careers. The industries with the highest employee satisfaction mostly relate to tech jobs. However, jobs like dentistry stand out for having a high employee satisfaction rate. On the other hand, industries or jobs with the lowest employee satisfaction include hospitality, retail and entertainment. Employee satisfaction, according to many people, has improved while working remotely. However, a worker’s satisfaction can drastically decrease if there is a lack of communication between the employee and employer.