A whopping 87% of employees count on their employer’s support to keep professional and personal commitments in balance. Employee engagement and wellness are no longer a concern of HR departments alone but are slowly becoming an integral part of business strategies. 90,000 hours or a third of their life – this is the time an average employee spends at work.
At the end of the day, it is up to employers to offer more than just wages in return. Recent job satisfaction statistics challenge business leaders to expand their horizons and dare towards more innovative approaches to ensure happiness governs the workplace. Have you considered offering flexible work schedules or more vacation days? We have some compelling evidence backed up by the latest statistics as an insight for your employees to thrive.
Globally, almost half of the employees love their job. Three out of 10 are fairly satisfied, 9% are displeased, and 6% absolutely hate their job. Household income, education, and job features are the main factors that determine job satisfaction. Studies show that a person’s general sense of satisfaction is affected by how they feel about their job.
61% of employees say they trust relationships with their managers greatly influence their job satisfaction. Statistics on employee satisfaction reveal that organizations that prioritize mutual understanding in the workspace are bound to prosper. And although relationships with managers are not always a stroll in the park, one has to admit that it is important for employees to value their relationships with senior managers. At the end of the day, they are their leaders.
When it comes to employee satisfaction factors, the majority of respondents believe it is not all about the money. Only 20% link job satisfaction to salaries, according to employee satisfaction statistics.
The majority would rather fulfill their growth opportunity and goals than earn more money. Just imagine, 25% of workers prefer job stability over higher pay.
Respect is the roadmap to an employee’s heart. It’s free of charge and holds multiple benefits for you as a leader and your organization in general.
Some 110% of employees would stay long-term in an organization where they feel respected. A little R.E.S.P.E.C.T., as Aretha would have it, can do wonders in improving job satisfaction rates. The plus side is, it costs nothing.
Losing an employee is costly. Finding suitable replacement costs even more because it’s time-consuming and weighs on company budgets. Furthermore, consider the money invested in talent recruitment, interviewing, training or hiring.
The conclusion leaves us with a pricey 33% of an employee’s yearly wage! To avoid this hassle and keep employees satisfied, an employer must have an attrition strategy in place to eliminate or mitigate the losses of a former employee’s vacancy.
Employee satisfaction data shows that the most common benefits provided by employers include paid time off or vacation. In addition, 64.9% of employees rely on a somewhat solid retirement plan and 55.7% enjoy free coffee at work.
In regards to insurance, 55.6% of businesses partially cover medical insurance fees and almost half give partial dental insurance. At the same time, 58% of employees want full company-paid medical insurance but do not have it, and 53% feel the same about dental insurance, according to a job satisfaction study.
An incredible 72.1% of respondents claim that the more work benefits they have, the happier they are with their job. Companies with high employee satisfaction rates offer perks such as work-from-home, transportation allowance, and even pet-friendly office.
Only 9.3% of employees have four-day workweeks although 53.2% would enjoy this convenience, according to recent employee happiness statistics. Similarly, transportation allowance and student loan reimbursement are appreciated by 32.3% and 28.9% of employees respectively, although very few employees actually get this type of benefit.
Managers absolutely love their jobs! Why shouldn’t they? A managerial contract certainly comes with many responsibilities but also brings premium healthcare, retirement benefits, parental leave, and whatnot.
On the other hand, 48% of employees who are physical labor workers are not particularly thrilled about their jobs. The good news is that full-time jobber, salaried, and permanent employees are skyrocketing employment satisfaction statistics.
Why? Because every single one of them wants to brag about having a game room or even better, a gym. Executives to senior managers and especially entry-level employees, all pride themselves on having in-office perks.
Even if you cannot afford a gym, you can win them over with incentives like earning some extra cash. Both entry-level workers (63.2%) and senior employees (52.1%) would welcome such an opportunity.
Job satisfaction data indicate that most managers find their jobs challenging. Some 23% of current managers admit they were not up for the task when they accepted their new position. Another 25% say their greatest challenge as managers is having to deal with problems between team members; 22% complain they find it difficult to motivate their team members, and 15% are unable to provide their teams with the necessary resources to support them.
In this employee motivation statistics saga, employees strike back. 23% of workers confirm managers are playing favorites. The criticism continues with 21% of employees mistrusting managers due to broken promises.
Another frustrated 21% claim their superiors dismiss their concerns as irrelevant, and 17% are undermotivated. Luckily, although bosses have many faults, more than half of employees believe they are doing a good job as supervisors.
Half of the fairly satisfied employees rate the performances of leaders as good or great. 23% render their corporate leaders’ jobs as poor or very poor. Employee satisfaction factors that greatly influence this part are related to lack of transparency and honest communication, insane workloads, unmotivated environment, etc.
Shockingly, employee satisfaction statistics reveal that a total of 40% believe their seniors are turning a blind eye to their requests and make no attempt whatsoever to boost their morale.
Ego often runs deep in employers. This is why 89% of them are utterly convinced that people quit their jobs for financial reasons. Work satisfaction research tells a different story though. Only a quarter of displeased employees cite money as the main reason for quitting. Note to managers: statistics on quitting jobs reveal that 75% of employees quit because of their superior, not for the money.
Well, folks, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but income matters. 59% of employees with yearly family income equal to or higher than $75,000 are excited about their job.
The share of happy work goers earning less than that or up to $30,000 is 45%, according to employee happiness statistics. 39% of employees that live on less than $30,000 per year are simply not happy with their current work situation. On the bright side, 61% of workers with lower family income lead much happier family lives.
Companies that have demonstrated unethical conduct in the past are very likely to miss out on good employees, even if they offer better salaries. An astonishing 79% of workers will reject a better-paid job for a company that has not resolved or acted on sexual harassment accusations in the past. Another 76% would not tolerate selling clients’ information without their consent, employee retention statistics show.
Although we live and prosper in an age of technology, job dissatisfaction statistics point to new technology as the main culprit for unhappy employees.
Shockingly, a high 75% of workers contribute their work displeasure to new technology, while only 20% believe that new technology actually increases their productivity levels. Another 25% of dissatisfied employees fear the coming of some age of cyborgs who will eventually take over humans in the workplace.
Employee engagement reflects the way a company interacts with its staff. Higher engagement drives enthusiasm and commitment to contribute to the company and is the foundation of efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
Yet, employee motivation statistics reveal that 85% of employees worldwide are disengaged leaving a small percentage of only 15% feeling productive and engaged. The cost of this is pretty high, making 81% of workers want to leave their job in hopes of finding a more motivating work environment elsewhere.
The higher the employee engagement, the higher the company’s revenues. An astonishing 90% of supervisors believe a good engagement plan would help their organization.
Employee satisfaction and productivity statistics, however, uncover a dirty secret – less than 25% of leaders have an engagement strategy in place and this costs companies between $450 to $550 billion.
An employer’s failure to acknowledge their co-workers’ hard work may prompt 34% of their staff to quit within a year. The thing is, undervalued employees are not pleased with their job and it is only logical that they would set out on a hunt to find a more appreciative employer.
A 79% of people who quit their jobs listed “undervalued” as one of the reasons. Statistics on employee satisfaction show that 12% of workers will quit their job because the company does not value them.
Latest work-life balance statistics related to workplace wellness confirm that more than half of the labor pool consider themselves overweight. Almost half of them attribute this to their current job. 51% of employees blame their desk job for weight gain, while stress-eating is an issue reported by 38% of employees. Nearly half or 45% blame exhaustion for not attending the gym regularly.
With 71 points, Americans are a happy nation of hard workers. Contrary to popular belief, factors such as salary and growth opportunity, are not highly ranked by Americans interviewed in a recent job happiness survey.
Instead, the US workforce gave most, 17 out of 20 points, to how meaningful their job is. Appreciation in the workplace and balance between professional and family life is also ranked high with 15 points.
The latest job happiness statistics reveal that Americans have different opinions about what their profession means to them. A little over half believe their profession is part of who they are, while 49% see it as something that they simply do, which does not define them as individuals.
Another interesting remark here is that 51% of Americans view their profession as their life’s work as opposed to the 30% who see it just as a means of survival.
Career satisfaction statistics in the US offer insight into the relationship between a job and a person’s identity. Some Americans, like 62% of healthcare and 66% of STEM professionals, cannot imagine themselves doing a different job. Retail and wholesale employees are on the other side with 37% of staff believing that their identity is somewhat related to their profession.
The traits and behavior of people who are part of an organization is what unites them and ultimately fuels their goals. To put it simply, it is a company’s religion. This is why eight out of 10 Americans put so much emphasis on corporate culture. Based on job satisfaction data, 57% of Americans would gladly “change their religion” if they believe their current organization does not practice what they preach.
Career growth is an integral part of the positive corporate culture. Companies that invest in the professional development of their employees have no issues retaining their best talent, even if they cannot offer them higher salaries. In regards to millennials and job satisfaction, they have their mind made up – a staggering 87% rand career opportunities and professional development as crucial to their satisfaction.
With a little over half of US employees uninspired and undermotivated, this cost businesses billions in lost revenues. Job satisfaction statistics suggest that only 30% of Americans do not feel like “the walking dead” at work and are actually inspired to walk the extra mile for their employers.
Being appreciated in the workplace, especially by your manager or supervisor, makes a person crawl out of bed in the morning and get ready for work. In the US, things are going rather well in this field. 89% of Americans ranked their relationship with their superior as good, while 94% believe it is important for this relationship to be positive.
Recent US job satisfaction statistics show that very few Americans are pleased with their current job and would not, for any reason, consider quitting. This means the majority would be more than happy to accept a better job proposal. 50% will immediately accept a job offer with better benefits and 42% will jump to a proposal ensuring flexibility in the workspace.
Over half of workers in the US find their jobs too stressful and demanding. Failure on the employer’s part to appreciate their efforts, and job overload produce frustrated and displeased workers. Could this mean that stress in the workplace is increasing?
According to employee satisfaction and productivity statistics, 67% of respondents listed anxiety as the main cause of their unhappiness, 66% complained of fatigue, and 58% said they suffered from depression, all of which are symptoms of job burnout.
Women in the workplace often struggle to strike a good balance between personal and professional responsibilities. Almost half of the American women are willing to quit their current work for a job with flexible working hours, employee satisfaction statistics reveal.
This percentage is not particularly low when it comes to men either. 39% of adult US males show similar affinities. Flexibility, as it turns out, is a tempting perk leaders should take into consideration.
Americans are happy with the work schedule they have chosen. 36% of part-time employees say they prefer to work full-time while the majority or 64% feel blessed with their choice. The interesting thing here is that part-time male employees or 41% as opposed to 31% of part-time females feel underemployed and wish to switch to full-time jobs.
Four out of ten employees worldwide feel engaged, motivated, and appreciated at work. They are the happy bunch that does not mind spending 40 hours per week at work, plus commute and the occasional overtime.
They are the employers of the year, who feel their job gives them a sense of purpose and would not change it for anything in the world. In the US, the land of the free and home of the brave, out of 131 million full-time workers, around 44.5 million are absolutely in love with their job.
This answer is tricky and requires some elaboration. According to a recent survey in multiple industries, 17,000 Americans are just not happy at work. A shocking 71% of US staffers said they want to change bosses.
Universally, it seems, employers are the number one reason why employees feel unpassionate and uninspired about their job. Consequently, the vast majority of Americans would immediately jump ship to join a different employer that will instill the inspiration and passion they crave for.
Logically, if 40% of employees love their job, then 60% hate it. However, people do not always make a clear distinction between hating the job and hating the work environment.
The line between these two is very thin. If an employee who is allergic to cats or dogs, or even worse – both, works at a pet store, it is fairly obvious to assume they will hate their job. Similarly, a vet working at a pet food store will feel undervalued or overqualified and, again, will not be happy about their work position. Hence, not all people hate their jobs, some are simply yet to find their perfect match.
It might sound cliché but it’s not all about the money. Workers are not only interested in wages and benefits. Higher salaries will not buy them the appreciation and stability they value so deeply and feel they deserve.
In the mind of an average employee, these things are priceless. That’s why every employer’s priority should be to create a healthy and sound workplace, an occupational space that employees will be proud to identify with. For what is a job if not a second home.
In conclusion to our review of the latest job satisfaction statistics, it is safe to say that both employers and employees have misconstrued conceptions of what makes employees feel satisfied.
Employees want to do the thing they love and earn good wages so they can return home feeling satisfied. Employers, on the other hand, or the vast majority of them, believe their work stops when they hire qualified staff. In the end, what these two entities do not realize is that the door of job satisfaction swings both ways.
Sources
Pew Research Center, Tiny Pulse, The Economic Times, CareerBuilder, Officevibe, The Manifest, Smarp, PR Newswire, CNBC, Speakap, Zippia, GlobeNewswire, TechRepublic, The Motley Fool, The Washington Post, Villanova University