Seven things employees want most to be happy at work
Experts say job satisfaction begins with respect and appreciation, not salary and perks.
from the January 28, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
"Offering Gen-Y employees a raise while keeping all other factors the same will not have the same impact as giving them new challenges," Ms. Floren says. "In many cases a raise alone could backfire and cause the Gen-Y employee to seek job satisfaction elsewhere."
For every generation, fair compensation remains important, of course. Clarkson calls pay a fairness issue that can make workers feel satisfied if it is fair and dissatisfied if it does not seem fair. But she finds that pay alone does not tend to make employees feel happy.
"The presence of money is a condition of work, and its absence is a demotivator," says Alan Weiss, an executive coach in East Greenwich, R.I. "But if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you merely have a wealthier, unhappy employee."
5. A good boss
Bosses also play key roles in determining a worker's happiness factor. More than half of employees responding to an annual job-satisfaction survey by Yahoo! HotJobs admit that they don't leave companies, they leave bosses.
"Having a fair, sympathetic manager who makes employees feel valued is a crucial element to an employee's job satisfaction," says Tom Musbach, managing editor of Yahoo! HotJobs.
By contrast, if bosses aren't honest with workers, don't listen to them, and don't care about them, employees either leave or become disengaged in their work, says Terri Levine, president of Comprehensive Coaching U in North Wales, Pa.
Career specialists note that employee happiness is serious business – an essential consideration for managers who want to keep top talent.
In a recent survey by Robert Half International, 1,000 Gen-Yers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from" as the most important aspect of their work environment.
6. Compatible co-workers
Working with people they enjoy was a close second.
"You need to feel good about the people you work with and the people you work for," Sarikas says. "You don't have to be best friends and probably shouldn't be, but you need to be able to respect them for their knowledge and experience as well as for their ethics. You want people who can challenge you but also listen to your ideas, people you can laugh with, people who share a vision for the work you do together."
Similarly, employees need to find an organization where the corporate culture fits their personality and work style. For some, that includes work-life balance.
"People don't leave their personal lives at the door when they come to work," says Lyn Freundlich, director of human resources at Third Sector New England, a nonprofit management service in Boston. "They need as much flexibility as possible. When the connection between family and work is recognized, we get more out of employees and they're happier."
7. A sense of purpose
Above all, career counselors emphasize the importance of doing something you love and having a sense of purpose.
"Most people find happiness at work when they feel connected to the core purpose of the organization," Clarkson says. "When we are able to find work that uses our capabilities and allows us to address important values in our life's purpose, it is the best way to find happiness at work."
Whatever an individual's personal recipe for happiness on the job, Jeff Garten, author of the forthcoming book "Career Contentment," urges people to take the long view.
"Career contentment is different from job satisfaction," he says. "It is a deeper state of mind about one's direction, fulfillment, calling, engagement. Job satisfaction comes and goes with each job, but career contentment is a lifelong quest and mind-set."
When John Izzo, president of The Izzo Group, workplace consultants in Vancouver, Canada, asked 250 people to reflect on their long careers, he heard a recurring theme about what gave them the deepest satisfaction and contentment.
"Many told me, 'The corner office and status, now that I look back, really had no meaning. But the feeling of making a difference did,' " he says.
Mr. Izzo adds, "It was what they gave back that made the greatest happiness for them."
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