Employee engagement and workplace satisfaction are like the two wheels of a chariot. In the absence of one, the efficiency of organizational operations may get disrupted due to more reasons. Employees with a higher level of engagement are more satisfied with their workplace environment, job, and the ultimate ambiance of the work culture. When employees are more involved in their roles and responsibilities, they can perform better. For instance, an organization that doesn’t organize regular meetings and T&D sessions can have disengaged or low-engaged employees but provide handsome salaries for the employees. The employees may be satisfied on a monetary basis. Still, the lack of involvement within the workplace creates a ho-hum or monotonous feeling among the employees leading to employee dissatisfaction. Low engagement or say disengagement may lead to organizational problems like high turnover, low retention rate, lower productivity, and many more.
Employee satisfaction is the response of the employees whether they are satisfied with their work and workplace. And employee engagement is a medium to let employees stay engaged and productive at the workplace. In the same way, satisfied employees are also likely to be more engaged, productive, and enthusiastic towards their work. It’s like a Domino effect between these two factors. Employee engagement leads to multiple positive aftermaths with low turnover along with business growth. Let’s dive into the major employee engagement factors here:
i) Expectations: Employees’ thoughts over the workplace and beliefs about the work surroundings
ii) Resources: Enough resources such as physical infrastructures, basic equipment, expertise, or required supplies for conducting work making it easier for the employees to have a smooth working environment
iii) Recognition and Well-being: Acknowledgement by the workplace of the contribution and dedication of the employees and organizing various programs for the physical and mental well-being of the employees
iv) Fellowship and autonomy: Friendly workplace environment along with self-directing freedom and moral independence
There are many employee engagement factors such as training and development, leadership, diverse workforce surroundings, communication, feedback, etc. Employee engagement is a bottom-line requirement that fuels organizations toward growth and productivity. When employees get engaged in the workplace, their creativity gets enhanced, camaraderie develops and new prospects of growth and productivity emerge in the organization. Employees feel valued and motivated towards the organizational goals and vision when the culture of engagement is developed within the workplace. Some of the reports have often admitted that organizations with high employee engagement outperform the competitors by around 140% or more in Earnings per share. Hence, employee engagement has not just become the corporate trend but the quintessential component for organizational success, growth, and productivity.
According to the report published by Steelcase partnering with global research firm Ipsos, the key findings regarding employee engagement are:
i) Employee Engagement positively correlated with Workplace satisfaction
ii) Engaged employees have more control over their experiences at work
iii) Fixed Technology exceeds Mobile
iv) Traditional workstyles persist
v) Cultural context influences engagement levels
Employee engagement has been established as the most indispensable metric for all businesses today due to growing and intense competition in the market. Engaged employees are always innovative, enthusiastic, and motivated towards their work. Let’s dig into how employee engagement positively correlates with workplace satisfaction providing productive and fruitful results.
Employee engagement depicts the involvement and connection of the employees towards their roles, responsibilities, and workplace whereas workplace satisfaction indicates the contentment level that employees feel while delivering their work performance in the fulfillment of their expectations over work. Employees’ feedback and emotions along with an analytical assessment of the workplace also determine workplace satisfaction. The various factors affecting workplace satisfaction include:
i) Roles and responsibilities
ii) Recognition and Importance
iii) Organizational relationships
iv) Compensation, benefits, and bonuses
v) Professional growth
vi) Job security
vii) Working hours and work-life balance
Employees should feel content in their professional lives that dance attendance upon their security, confidence, and creativity. To retain employees at work, organizations must have to ensure that employees are satisfied with their workplace. To improve both employee engagement and workplace satisfaction, the following measures should be adopted:
i) Skill assessment of employees should be done timely along with culture fit and cost alignment.
ii) Facilities of fair compensation, rewards and recognition, training, and development opportunities should be inspired.
iii) Encompassing the sense of belonging amongst the employees should be addressed.
iv) Employees’ voices should be heard and considered in planning programs.
v) Communication and feedback should be the forefront factors with open open-door policy.
vi) Adoption of various HR software to stay in tune with the employee’s needs and expectations.
vii) Careful evaluation should be done to assess job satisfaction and the metrics can be used to gauge employee engagement such as:
These metrics and measures assist organizations in strategizing efforts in diverse areas to ensure both employee engagement and workplace satisfaction. When employees are disengaged and dissatisfied, there are high turnover rates, absenteeism, lower productivity, poor communication, and more resulting in organizational downfall. When employees are highly engaged, they are more likely to have positive sentiments towards the organization, socialize with work colleagues, share their ideas and creativity, mobilize enough resources available within them, and more.
There is no doubt that those employees who are satisfied at their workstations are mostly engaged in the organization. Organizations need to prioritize the holistic approach of enhancing workplace satisfaction by regularly promoting plans and programs of employee engagement. Both facets are important to promote a loyal and strong employer brand, enhance productivity, and reduce employee attrition that results in the well-being of both employees and the organization.