What is Employee Satisfaction?

Employee satisfaction or job satisfaction is, quite simply, how content or satisfied employees are with their jobs. Employee satisfaction is typically measured using an employee satisfaction survey. Factors that influence employee satisfaction addressed in these surveys might include compensation, workload, perceptions of management, flexibility, teamwork, resources, etc. These things are all important to companies who want to keep their employees happy and reduce turnover, but employee satisfaction is only a part of the overall solution. In fact, for some organizations, satisfied employees are people the organization might be better off without. Satisfaction doesn't mean high performance or engagement. HR ideas and strategies focused on how to improve employee satisfaction oftentimes have results that demoralize high performers.

Employee satisfaction and employee engagement are similar concepts on the surface, and many people use these terms interchangeably. The importance of knowing the difference between satisfaction and engagement is critical for an organization to make strategic decisions to create a culture of engagement. Employee satisfaction covers the basic concerns and needs of employees. It is a good starting point, but it usually stops short of what really matters.

Why is employee satisfaction a potential problem?

The problem with employee satisfaction is that it does not focus on the things that are important to your most talented staff. A happy or content employee might be quite satisfied with a job that requires very little effort. This employee might be perfectly content doing the bare minimum required to keep his or her job. These employees are likely "very satisfied" with their jobs. They usually lack leadership and purpose. Their performance might be "good enough". They are unlikely to leave the company, but they are not necessarily adding value.

As opposed to satisfied employees, engaged employees add value by pushing limits, driving growth and innovation. Organizations that embrace a value-centric, engagement focus, too, have to push limits, Companies with an engagement strategy provide informal and formal learning experiences in order to create significant opportunities for employees so employees feel valued and recognized for their work. Engaged employees will often snatch up these opportunities, satisfied employees often will not.

Employee satisfaction surveys can lead an organization down the wrong path. As a company, if you focus on increasing the wrong kind of employee satisfaction, you risk entrenching those employees who are adding the least value while driving your most talented employees out.

 

Reference

Custominsight.com. (2019). What is Employee Satisfaction? Employee Engagement vs. Employee Satisfaction, the Importance of Engagement. [online] Available at: https://www.custominsight.com/employee-engagement-survey/what-is-employee-satisfaction.asp.

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