Seven Strategies to Improve Employee Job Satisfaction

Americans workers, regardless of age or income, continue to grow increasingly unhappy in the workplace.  This is a long-term trend which should concern employers on the topics of productivity, employee engagement level, and the potential of retaining high performers when the economy ultimately rebounds.

It’s safe to say that most everyone today knows someone who complains about their job (or those who recently lost their jobs). Who hasn’t heard the wines from the coffee-clutch group, the fantasy football players, or the customer service agent who is anything but customer focused?

Why all the lack of satisfaction in the workplace? The answer might surprise you… Fewer Americans are satisfied with just about every aspect of their employment than at any time in the past two decades.

Worse yet, there appears to be no pattern or structure to the decline, as there is no age or income group trends with this drop in job satisfaction.

A survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board found that only 45.3 percent

of Americans today have job satisfaction, down from 61.1 percent in 1987. Only 12 percent say they are “very satisfied” among the 45.3 percent who say they are “content.”

Money Can’t Buy You Love!

The Beatles sang:

“Cause I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love”…

Well, it appears as though the American worker is singing:

“Cause I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy my love!”

While the study reveals that those who earn more income are correspondingly more satisfied with their jobs, the trend data suggests otherwise.  In comparison with data from 1987, those who are most satisfied (i.e., those who earn more income) have become increasingly less satisfied with their jobs.  They’ve experienced a decrease of 20% versus those 1987 figures.

How About the Utes?

In the movie “My Cousin Vinny”, Joe Pesce (Vinny) and Fred Gwynne (the Judge) have a classic exchange as follows:

Vinny: Is it possible, the two utes…

Judge: Eh, the two what? Uh, uh, what was that word?

Vinny: Uh, what word?

Judge: Two what?

Vinny: What?

Judge: Uh, did you say ‘Utes’?

Vinny: Yeah, two utes.

Judge: What is a ute?

Vinny: Oh, excuse me, your honor. Two YOUTHS.

So perhaps job satisfaction lies in the four generation workforce, specifically at the ute, or make that youth level?  Unfortunately, the study shows that this is not the case either, in fact, it reflects that those entering the workforce are amongst the most dissatisfied.  Nearly 36% of the youths weigh in that they are dissatisfied!

What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

So as you analyze the generation at the other end of the spectrum, the oldest generation, would they appear to be the most content/satisfied?  After all, they have the prospect of experiencing “the light at the end of the employment tunnel” approaching?  Unfortunately, they also are amongst the least content when compared to their equivalent peers in 1987.  When this comparison is made, a staggering 30% drop is experienced in the data!

Now What?

So what to do if you’re an employer looking to stave off the lack of job satisfaction?  Here are seven options to implement to eliminate job dissatisfaction:

1. Recruiting – Review your hiring programs to ensure that you are establishing the proper hire/no hire criteria.
2. Assess – Utilize assessments to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses.  Develop action plans based on them
3. Training & Development – Stop Training & Development that does not support the company vision or deliver on its success metrics.
4. Compensation Review – While we saw in the study that compensation has little correlation to job satisfaction, compensation should be reviewed to ensure that people are paid based on what they have direct control over.  Furthermore, compensation plans should be simple for the average worker to calculate/keep tabs on during the time period.
5. Coaching – Consider the opportunity to work with an external executive coach for the leadership team, and a business coach for your associates (Group coaching can work effectively in small/large organizations).
6. Employee Reviews – Perform employee reviews that establish individual development plans, and then bring in executive coaches to ensure that they are executed.
7. Fire – As a last resort, you may have the wrong people in the wrong jobs.  Furthermore, regardless of how many moves you’d attempt to make, you still wouldn’t be able to place them in positions where success is achieved.  When you exhaust all of your opportunities, it’s time to allow them to go and be successful somewhere else.

Summary

If you’d like more information on Pathos Leadership Group and how our Executive Coaching and Organization Development can serve you and your organization, email info@pathosleadershipgroup.com or contact us at 877.455.3133.