A staggering amount of employees today are not happy in their workplace. According to a 2012 Right Management survey of 411 workers, only 19% of respondents said that they were satisfied with their jobs. Would you not be discouraged by this finding?
Unhappy workers are less productive. When your diverse employees, whatever age or background, are unhappy this means your organisation’s bottom line can suffer. To understand why over two-thirds of employees are dissatisfied at work, simply look at what employees value in a job, and how you can increase employee engagement.
The pursuit of workplace happiness
What is happiness in the workplace, anyway? Is it all about earning a pay check and attractive benefits? Absolutely not! The truth is, it’s a little more complicated than that.
- Employees want more. Employees look for something in an employer beyond a pay cheque. Employees especially young people look for greater purpose. A place they feel they can both fit in and advance. They want to be able to contribute their personal viewpoint and see that the company understands the value of that. Employees who don’t feel valued by their organisation quickly become frustrated and disengaged, no matter their background.
- Employees want to be understood. How an employee feels about your organisation determines how loyal they will be to. Workers are far more likely to stay with organisations that care about them and consider their professional challenges and pesronal situations.
- Employees want to be engaged. Across the board,employees want to find a job that they contribute something meaningful to. If supervisors are able to encourage and validate, expect your employees to achieve increased personal development. However, it can be difficult for employees to feel motivated to engage in the workplace when they don’t feel understood. They want to be appreciated for who they are and ideally have their needs met.
But what effect does all this have on an employer? And why does it matter?
Flip the board
To put it simply, organisations suffer when employees are dissatisfied.
When employees are happy and highly engaged organisations reap huge revenue increases—as much as 20.1% over a period of three years, according to CLC Genesee. Compare CLC Genesee’s results to the average organisation whose revenue growth is 8.9% for the same three-year period, and you realise the importance of employee engagement.
Doesn’t it make sense to engage each unique person; accept, embrace and celebrate employees’ diverse backgrounds.
Embracing differences creates unity. Every single person has their own complicated history and way of processing the world. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to think and feel exactly the same! An Aboriginal or Torres Straight Island worker or an immigrant from a different culture will have a unique (and important) perspective to contribute. They will also have their own set of personal challenges, and an employer who understands that will be able to help employees succeed and help fulfil organisational goals.
When a workplace is more inclusive, employees are happier, more loyal, and more productive. This translates to success; organisational are more likely to continue to thrive and grow. It’s pretty simple: flip the board to discover happy employees are better workers; organisations with happier employees are better companies.