Everyone wants to be compensated well for the work they do, but is money alone the most effective way to improve employee satisfaction? While there’s an obvious link between salary and job contentment, studies suggest that there are other, far more compelling and effective ways to make employees happy.
Happiness at work has a significant impact on life outside of work, and happy employees are generally those who feel valued. Rewarding employees can be done in various ways, whether it be allowing them to be involved in company decision-making, monetary incentives, extra benefits like company cars, gym memberships, or by offering them flexible hours.
A survey by CIPD, which covered 6000 UK workers across multiple sectors, revealed that there is a high demand for more flexible working arrangements like coworking, more inclusive environments, and better work-life balance.
The 7 Dimensions of Job Quality
Let’s take a look at what’s known as “the 7 dimensions of job quality”, and some interesting stats around those dimensions as uncovered by CIPD:
1. Pay and Benefits
- 46% of UK workers think they are paid fairly for what they do.
2. Employment Contracts
- 74% of workers are on permanent contracts.
- 19% of workers are self-employed.
- 5% are on temporary contracts, and 2.4% are on zero-hours contracts.
- 5% work in the gig economy.
3. Job Design and the Nature of Work
- 50% of workers say their skills are not well matched to their job.
- 37% of these workers say they are over-skilled, and 12% say they are under-skilled.
- 32% of workers say their workload is too high.
- 60% of workers say they have at least some autonomy over what tasks they do,
- 76% say they have some freedom over the way they work.
4. Work-Life Balance
- 54% of UK workers currently work flexibly in some way.
- 68% say they would like to work flexibly in a way that is not currently available.
5. Relationships at Work
- Most workers say they have good relationships with their managers and colleagues.
- 22% of workers say their environment is not inclusive enough.
- 3 out of 10 workers report at least one form of bullying or harassment in the last year.
6. Voice and Representation
1 in 4 workers rate their union or non-union representative’s performance as poor.
- Managers are better at keeping workers informed, but worse at allowing them to influence decisions.
7. Health and Wellbeing
- Up to 1 in 4 UK workers report intense and stressful working conditions.
What can employers take away from this, and what does it tell us about how to make employees happy?
Overall, the UK workforce is trending towards more flexibility and better work-life balance. By looking at flexible office spaces like coworking spaces, serviced offices and managed offices instead of long-term traditional office leases, you can put yourself in a position to offer more remote and flexible working opportunities for your team. This is a great way to boost employee satisfaction while reducing the cost of overheads for your company.
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