Seven things employees want most to be happy at work

Experts say job satisfaction begins with respect and appreciation, not salary and perks.

By Marilyn Gardner | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the January 28, 2008 edition

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Ask bosses what makes employees happy at work, and many are likely to think in terms of tangible rewards: a good salary, a pleasant office, generous benefits.

Those play a role in job satisfaction, of course. But increasingly, workplace specialists are discovering that for many workers, the "happiness factor" depends heavily on intangibles, such as respect, trust, and fairness.

"Study after study has shown that it is the small things that make workers feel committed to an organization," says Barbara Glanz, an author specializing in workplace issues. "One study shows the top three things workers want are interesting work, full appreciation for the work they do, and a feeling of being in on things."

The percentage of people who say they like their jobs and find them satisfying is higher in the United States than in Europe, says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif., who writes and lectures on happiness.

He and others note that workplace happiness depends on two components – the individual and the institution.

"You can be, generally speaking, happy in your work but not happy in a specific company," says Sally Haver, senior vice president of The Ayers Group/Career Partners International in New York, "due to a variety of factors such as a bad boss, a bad corporate culture, or a colleague who makes your life miserable." At the same time, she adds, "Some people are unhappy 'situationally' and some are just systemically unhappy, no matter where they are or what they're doing."

Career specialists emphasize that happiness is highly individual. "People have very different definitions of what brings them happiness and satisfaction on the job," says Lynne Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University in Boston.

Even so, certain priorities remain constant in terms of what employees say makes them happy. Here are seven intangibles workers want most, according to experts:

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