Happiness at work? Only 28% of people feel satisfied with their job

“Many of today’s employees are, to some degree, dissatisfied or unhappy with their jobs. experiences at work. Leaders are largely unaware of this,” notes the Capgemini Research Institute. According to a report by the group, only 28% of people are satisfied with their jobs, a much lower proportion than what was reported before the pandemic.

According to the research, before the Covid-19 health emergency, 74% of people were satisfied with their work experience. Unlike the satisfaction of leaders and the perception of managers about how their collaborators feel, the happiness of employees is the one with the lowest level with respect to what was observed before the pandemic.

The degree of dissatisfaction experienced by the workforce today is multifactorial, but there are at least four great elements that affect this scenario:

• Career and skills development
• Relationship with leaders
• Remuneration and recognition
• technology availability

In addition to this, collaborators are not clear on how their effort contributes to business objectives, they consider that they lack autonomy and are not satisfied with the workloads. To put it more into perspective, only 28% of employees think that their schedule allows them to reconcile their work activity with their personal life and only 29% say that their workloads are manageable.

All of these dimensions “correlate with current levels employee satisfaction”, points out the Institute. “As the needs and desires of employees change, and they change over time and their journey in life, the people experience must be under continuous review. Processes and ways of working need to be constantly evaluated and updated to match perceptions, feelings, and concepts of well-being.”

Research also shows a gap between perception of employees and leadership about the workplace experience. While only 28% of employees feel satisfied with their job, 80% of managers think that their people are comfortable.

“We see that in many organizations employees are dissatisfied on multiple dimensions. Yet leaders are largely unaware that this is the case. Considering this gap in the context of today’s business dynamics, it is clear that organizations must urgently prioritize the people experience to remain competitive.

This disconnect between the perception of the leaders and the reality of the collaborators, is pointed out in the report, demands that the bosses allow their employees to express their feelings in a impact free environment.

How to improve satisfaction levels?

Positive experiences at work, indicates the Capgemini Research Institute, have a good impact on business results. In this sense, companies must consider the constant improvement of the experience of their employees in their talent strategies.

To face this challenge, the institution presents the following 10 recommendations:

1. Develop a people-focused strategy with inclusive experiences
2. Make sure employees feel heard and considered
3. Offer a balance between financial and non-monetary compensation
4. Foster a culture of emotional well-being
5. Promote continuous learning
6. guarantee a good onboarding
7. Commit to linking roles to business outcomes
8. Train leaders to be empathetic and active listeners
9. Use technology to provide adequate work tools
10. Leverage technology to foster collaboration

“While there is no silver bullet for optimizing the people experience, each element of our recommendations must be systematically addressed and tailored to the company’s business model, target market, and talent pool. The employer’s promise must be translated into a fluid and relevant experience for all employeesincluding permanent and temporary, and extend to front-line, industrial and knowledge workers”, points out the Institute.