Office work on a regular basis can get boring. What keeps employing enjoying what they are doing? How come some offices make the “best place to work” lists, and some don’t make the cut? Though external factors like salary, work environment and overall well-being of the employee should be taken into consideration, science has some more definite answers.
According to research done by IBM Smart Workforce Institute and Globoforce’s WorkHuman Research Institute, 23,000 employees were interviewed in over 45 countries. The results speak for themselves. As part of the research, the scientists took five aspects of each participant – belonging, purpose, achievement, happiness and vigour. These were the conclusions –
Those employees who have high scores for each of the five factors were found to be those who performed over and above what they were required to do. Also, the percentage of those employees who wanted to leave was down by a significant number.
So, what makes employees happy and satisfied with the job they are currently at? It starts with their bosses. Since they look up to their management to delegate, communicate and create, this is the first place that employees look and derive happiness from. A authoritative boss will drive even the best employees out of the organization.
Just like regular relationships, there needs to be trust between the employee and the organization. If an employee feels that their work is being encouraged and that they are not being suspected or not given responsibilities because the boss wants to control everything, it can lead to lower satisfaction rates.
People want to feel like they have a purpose. When working, they want to know that there is some fulfilment coming from it. Along with us, employees are also looking for recognition for their work. They want to know how they are doing, and whether there is any improvement to be made to their job.
And finally, there needs to be some sort of work-life balance. If too much time is spent in the office, and there is no personal life for the employee, it could lead to deep frustration and lack of motivation.
