Satisfaction at Work or on Job

Work Satisfaction Nothing is really work," states an old adage, "unless you would rather be doing something else." In today's times of economic uncertainty, rapid employee turnover and more trade union disputes, the issue of worker satisfaction has become even more important. In addition to salary, many workers point to the need for a good quality of worker life. They need to feel that their personal needs are being met in their professional careers. This paper examines factors which relate strongly to worker satisfaction.

These factors include greater communication, opportunities for advancement and a sense that their work is "meaningful." In the last part, the paper also makes suggestions regarding how employers can both ensure motivation on the job and address factors that give rise to job dissatisfaction. The question of employee satisfaction has come to gained greater attention especially in this new century. A survey commissioned by the Pitney Bowles Company in 2000 saw an emerging trend, which called into question the traditional notion that only unhappy employees seek new jobs.

In fact, this survey showed that while less than 10% of employees reported being dissatisfied with their work, more than 25% are planning to look for a new job within the year ("Giving employees meaningful work"). The same survey shows that many employees give similar reasons for their job search. These reasons include finding a better balance between work and family, searching for work that is meaningful, and looking for a more trusting or better relationship with their bosses ("Giving employees meaningful work").

For unions, worker satisfaction issues are closely tied with management cooperation. The high-profile strikes in California grocery chains, for example, show the assertive use of trade unions in maintaining long periods on strikes. All these examples illustrate how employee satisfaction levels have declined in a variety of facets over the years. This issue is important, because worker satisfaction is closely-linked with productivity. Furthermore, when a dissatisfied worker leaves, the employer loses investments made in time and training.

Additionally, given the new "team management" approach adopted by many companies, losing trained employees and repeated "breaking in" of new employees also takes its toll on the productivity of employee teams. For unions, co-operative relationships between employers and workers are key to job satisfaction. Under this formulation, worker satisfaction also requires a significant commitment from employers. This includes workplaces that work to build a "partnership" relationship with their employees. Building partnerships is a slight departure from traditional management roles.

Instead of regulating employee tasks on a micro-level, many companies are now giving employees more influence over their own jobs. Norman Bodek suggests that this can be implemented by allowing workers to suggest innovative ideas that could improve the process. Workers should be allowed to make contributions, especially when management is making decisions on how to improve productivity (Bodek).

After all, who else would have good insight into making work more interesting than the people who do the work every day? As an example, Bodek cites the case of the Ford Company's $2 billion investment in a state-of-the-art plant that was built specifically to increase worker motivation and plant productivity. Instead, human workers were positioned along the assembly line, looking half-asleep and bored by the repetitive tasks. Bodek further observed that many workers were even stretched out reading newspapers, instead of paying attention to the machines (Bodek).

Bodek attributes this poor motivation and low productivity to management's failure to take into consideration the needs of its workers. Even in a professional environment, a worker's needs go beyond simply financial compensation. In his landmark work on worker motivation, Christian Maslow found that all human beings have five sets of basic needs. These needs, arranged in their hierarchy of importance, are physiological needs, the need for safety and security, the need to belong, the need for esteem and the need for self-actualization (cited in Bodek).

This hierarchy shows that to find meaning and satisfaction with our work, the work environment must satisfy a plethora of needs. The need for adequate compensation and a clean, safe work environment are basic. However, worker satisfaction also depends on satisfying the need to belong, or to feel like a valued part of.