How to Handle Employee Satisfaction at Work?

Handling employee satisfaction at work is one of the most crucial steps towards increasing the productivity of an enterprise. Investing time, energy, and capital in employee satisfaction is like strengthening the foundation of a gigantic monument. The stronger the foundation, the longer it stands.

Companies often mistake employee satisfaction with simply giving away gifts, organizing parties, and planning a once-in-a-year vacation for their employees. The difference between engagement and satisfaction needs to be addressed. While these are considerable practices to maintain a happy workspace, they need to work on a deeper level to provide employee satisfaction.

Employee engagement is essential because it directly affects the company’s goals. It is about the employees being committed to their job roles. With an engaging work environment, employees are motivated to contribute to the company with their time, talent, and dedication.

Employee Satisfaction is more about the overall experience of the employee as a part of the company. It includes their work, mental wellbeing, their monetary satisfaction, peers, management, and their growth. Dissatisfied employees are a great threat as they can damage the core of their team and the enterprise as a whole.

In this article, we will discuss the different ways in which we can measure employee satisfaction and the factors that affect it.

Ways To Measure Employee Satisfaction  

If you wish to provide a good work environment for your employees, you need to know about their problems and requirements.

Given below are some methods that can help you measure employee satisfaction-

Active Conversations 

Communicating with every employee in a personal setup might be difficult for the manager. However, it is equally essential that they have a conversation once in a while. This helps the employee feel valued and at the same time assists the admin to get a one-on-one insight into the employee’s work experience. Therefore, admins must formulate a schedule where they have a one-on-one active conversation with their employees every month or once every few months. The schedule can be formulated depending upon the strength of the office and the ratio of managers and employees.

Execute Surveys 

Surveys like Employee Pulse Survey, help the company evaluate the work environment in a convenient and prompt manner. You can also conduct surveys where the employee’s identity is kept anonymous and encourage them to be blunt about their suggestions and grievances.

Empathy

Even though technology has taken over most of the complicated work processes, the human factor prevails when it comes to nurturing a healthy work environment. Try and assess the office environment. If you sense any tension between the employees or feel that they are unhappy, talk to them. Promote empathy as a core value of your workspace and create a healthy and welcoming environment for everyone.

Market Research 

Financial satisfaction is the driving force for employee motivation. Conduct periodic research and assess the market. Offer competitive packages to your employees and avoid top talents slipping away. You can also offer incentives and bonuses to deserving employees and let them know that they are valued in the company.

You can also read What is Employee Engagement and Why is it Important?

Factors Influencing Employee Satisfaction

There are many components that influence employee satisfaction. Some of these factors have been elaborated below-

Employee satisfaction can take many shapes and sizes — but certain factors are typical. Here are [number] tell-tale factors to look out for.

1. Unhealthy Work Culture

Inadequate Communication

The communication gap is a common factor that often causes incompetence in a team. Managers need to ensure that transparent communication is practiced in the office.

Office Chit Chat

It is human nature to develop friendships and gossip. However, in an office setup where if the employee hours are utilized carefully it can lead to backlogs and loss, it is important to set boundaries and establish decorum.

Harmful Work-Life Balance

It is possible for the manager to overburden employees to complete the project deadline. These tasks can often consume holidays, free hours, and weekends. While on hand it might seem to be a productive practice, on the other hand, it simply exhausts the employee and they might not be able to maintain a healthy work-life balance. It is therefore important for managers to ensure that the work allotment is well planned and does not drain out their employees.

Bullying

Bullying in office spaces might be a result of differences in gender, ethnicity, race, religion, or physical factors. It creates a toxic work environment and demotivates potential employees from giving their best. Managers must form ground rules against bullying and conduct regular activities to create an inclusive and positive work environment.

2. Organizational Factors 

Salaries and Incentives

Employees often find out that they are paid less in their current company as compared to their peers working on the post with the same job responsibilities in another company. This demotivates them and affects their commitment to their work. Managers can tackle this situation by providing incentives and formulating competitive packages.

Promotion

Promotions ensure employees that they are growing professionally and urges them to give better results. Often employees are unsatisfied with the decisions taken by the admin concerning their promotions. Admins must form a transparent analysis of the employee’s work and ensure that they are aware of the reason why a certain decision regarding their promotion was made.

3. Personal Factors  

Seniority

Many employees stick to their company for a long period. If during this period they do not witness growth in terms of their position or income, they become dissatisfied with their jobs. Companies can tackle this scenario by assessing their employees and ensuring that they grow concerning their financial stance, position, and power. In case an employee stays stagnant for too long, they can assist them with solutions that can stimulate their development.

You can also read What Is Employee Turnover and Why Does It Matter?

Steps to ensure Employee Satisfaction

There are four essential points that can be kept in mind to assure employee satisfaction. These points are –  

1. To assess the prevailing satisfaction level of all employees.
2. To understand the challenges faced by the employees
3.  To create an action plan to tackle those challenges.
4. To upscale the level of employee satisfaction keeps it consistent.

Conclusion 

It is important to give enough time and attention to the employees for a flourishing workspace. It is these employees who drive the success and future of a venture; therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the company and the admin to assure a comfortable work environment and uniform employee satisfaction.