“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” -Aristotle
Times are constantly changing in the workplace, and managers must be aware and in touch with what their employees feel if they are motivated and engaged. Surveys reveal that job satisfaction is now at its highest level in 20 years. It’s then clear this is a hot topic.
In the following article, we will reveal what makes people feel satisfied with their work and atmosphere and ten easy-to-apply strategies to improve job satisfaction.
But we will first talk about this concept of job/employee satisfaction, the difference between this and employee engagement, and the importance of holding a decent level of these concepts in every organization.
Contents:
Employee satisfaction is the extent to which an individual is happy with their job and the level of contentment they are with their overall work.
The term job satisfaction, also known as employee satisfaction, is commonly used in organizations to describe the feeling of pleasure and achievement one employee experiences and define the level of said sensations. Satisfaction goes beyond their daily tasks/projects. It’s about the impact the job and colleagues and managers have on them.
Job satisfaction is present when the employee feels good and happy about their activity when they feel stability, career growth, and work-life balance are not issues.
There are some reasons why increased job satisfaction will benefit your organization. Here are the main ones:
Here is what you, as manager/business owner, should consider when thinking about and measuring job satisfaction:
In the following lines, we will present ten essential ways to improve job satisfaction within small to mid-sized businesses. Some of them will have instant results; however some of them, you will experience a better vibe through time.
To figure out what needs to be improved in the business and understand the bottlenecks that stop your employees from performing better, an employee satisfaction survey is the first step that you need to run to understand what areas action is required. In our article covering the topic, we deep dive into the best practices of running such a survey, among the best questions to ask, and three templates you can use to get the most insights and understand what needs priority regarding overall job satisfaction.
People need to feel their work and performance are appreciated at all times. How to do this? Make sure you offer recognition in different ways: you can, for example, set up a specific channel in Slack ( the tool used for internal collaboration) and give recognition in the monthly internal newsletter or staff meetings. Financial rewards are not the only compensation you can offer: additional holiday days are an option or vouchers for any number of activities.
If you’re looking for employee appreciation ideas consider the following ideas:
The global pandemic has brought a lot of changes. Hybrid work or fully remote work is the new normality.
It is crucial to find out what your staff desires regarding this topic. Offer the possibility to choose flexible hours or remote work if that is what they want. Work-life balance is a very important factor for employees nowadays.
Key flexible working schedule best practices :
You can learn more about the topic and get a flexible working arrangements example email template.
Invest in your employees: coaching, mentoring, training on diverse topics, etc. The possibility of professional growth will increase job satisfaction and engagement. Talk to your employees about how they see their career path, and then decide together the steps to take.
"The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay." - Henry Ford
Let’s find some of the most efficient ways you can engage your workforce with employee development programs:
Read: 20 additional areas of improvement for employees.
Managers who cannot delegate and constantly assert their authority will create a negative atmosphere within the organization. Make sure your managers know how to offer support and find a harmony between help and micro-managing.
Make sure you allow your employees to ask for a leave of absence at any time, from any device using an annual leave management software. With LeaveBoard, your employees can manage all their days off.
Tip: Avoid the behaviours associated with bosses as mentioned in the image below.
Tip: If you are looking to improve your leadership abilities we have an in-depth guide to help you.
Every individual has strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation of the work is the perfect occasion to find them. And allowing the employees to shape their roles according to these findings is another way to improve job satisfaction.
During one-on-one meetings as a manager, you can also ask about the areas of work that the team-mate might need support, a training or just some advice. Here are some questions that you can use in your next conversation about their role:
Effective communication is key to establishing working relationships and maintaining them. Make sure you lead by example and constantly communicate your concerns and happy thoughts to your team.
You can set up a weekly meeting to discuss professional and personal topics freely. Make sure your meeting's agendas are clear, and employees are following up.
Since improving communications within the business should be a priority, LeaveBoard supports you in focussing on vital communication while streamlining the leave management process. Automated messages for these administrative processes leave out more time for meaningful communication.
Ensure your employees don’t feel overwhelmed, do not exaggerate with overtime, and do not take up excessive tasks. Ensure that there you have enough employees for all the initiatives that you run simultaneously. Moreover, make sure that the right people are doing the right jobs. This is for sure a piece of excellent advice if you want to boost productivity, without harming your workforce. Consider that overworking could lead to stress, sickness, and nevertheless absenteeism. Realistic expectations also help with balancing work-life - an element to be kept in mind at all times.
Important: Consider also setting SMART goals, and assigning them according to the right people according to their experience, workload and priority.
Your employees should always be informed and updated regarding every topic of interest. You should have an internal handbook, plus all info regarding the workplace should be available in an online tool, at just one click away. A culture of transparency will make the employees feel valued and that their opinions matter.
With LeaveBoard, transparency is easy to implement in all crucial matters. For example, a Who’s off calendar is available with our software, and this vacation calendar app keeps you and your team informed about the employees that are out of the office.
Make sure your employees benefit from an efficient work environment, meaning equipment is in good shape and digitalization as possible.
The small things matter, so a clean office space is also important, and for some, another factor for job satisfaction is the possibility to personalize their small desk.
Moreover, if you're interested in cultivating a positive work environment, think also about well-being, positive values, employee development, and smooth onboarding.
Give constructive feedback constantly, not just once a year, during the performance review. Employees must know how they do their work and what can be improved. Employee feedback is more than an art; giving positive and clear, constructive feedback is not always common. As a manager, you need to be able to create and maintain trust and discuss goals, bottlenecks, and possible paths forwards. In your feedback toolkit, one-on-ones and team meetings should be the methods to align, review, strategize and when success arises, celebrate.
Within our updated guide, we provide more than 30 examples of employee feedback, including: positive, constructive and negative examples from which you can learn to communicate more effectively within crtical situations. Here are some of the cases we cover:
Don’t get confused by these two terms. You shouldn't use them interchangeably.
First, let’s talk about employee satisfaction - employees may very well feel satisfied with their job because it pays the bills, provides for their family, and matches their lifestyle. It may be just a routine with financial reward. But it doesn’t mean by default that the same employee will feel engaged and feel that they are part of the organization's success.
On the other hand, employee engagement is a more profound feeling. An engaged employee is definitely satisfied, but he also has passion. He understands the company's mission, vision, and values and wants to take them further. Engaged employees flourish on purpose and essential work. They need a higher target constantly.
Keeping track of employee job satisfaction is important, especially in environments where the work is hybrid or fully remote. Happier employees generate more productivity, more profits, and a more engaged workplace. Ensure the employee satisfaction strategies you implement will benefit both you, as manager/business owner, and the workforce. When employees are satisfied, you can experience that this is genuinely the key to business success.
Eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy by using LeaveBoard, the software that automates your repetitive, administrative tasks. Optimize your time as much as possible and increase job satisfaction and employee productivity with streamlined processes.
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