As Americans head into Labor Day weekend, a nationwide survey reveals they’re feeling better about their jobs than they have in years.
Conducted by The Conference Board, the survey shows that about 54% of U.S. workers are satisfied with their employment. This marks the second-biggest increase in the survey’s 32-year history.
An improved labor market has played the main role in boosting job satisfaction, which has risen in each of the past eight years.
“In today’s strong jobs market, people are quitting their current positions at the fastest pace in over two decades,” said Gad Levanon, Conference Board’s Chief Economist for North America.
“It’s one of the many signs that illustrate improved opportunities for workers,” Levanon added. “They now have more leverage when it comes to increasing their paychecks and finding jobs that better align with their interests and skills.”
Survey highlights include:
- Job security soars. Survey participants ranked 23 components influencing satisfaction. Job security saw the biggest improvement, climbing by five percent from the prior year.
- Wage satisfaction surges among Millennials. Satisfaction regarding wages rose a staggering 9.8% among those aged 35 and under. However, workers in their peak earning years – those between 33 and 54 – remain most satisfied.
- Highest satisfaction with job aspects chosen by the employee. Workers are most pleased with their commute to work, followed by the people at work, interest in work, physical environment, job security, and supervisor.
- Lowest satisfaction with a job’s economic aspects. Workers are least satisfied with their bonus plan, followed by promotion policy, performance review process, educational/job training programs, recognition/acknowledgement, and communication channels.
Which Job Components Most Influence Satisfaction?
Once survey participants ranked how content they are with various aspects of their jobs, The Conference Board analyzed the extent to which each aspect influences their satisfaction. In other words, which aspects are the strongest drivers with the most weight and pull? Takeaways include:
- Potential for future growth matters most. Other major job influencers include communication channels, recognition/acknowledgement, interest in work, and the performance review process.
- Money can’t buy satisfaction. Wages rank only 10th out of 23 drivers of satisfaction. This finding agrees with the larger body of academic and corporate literature that states employees are not motivated purely by salary.
- Commutes don’t matter much. Despite reports about workers experiencing more stressful, sometimes longer commutes, travel to and from work generally plays a minimal role in influencing overall job satisfaction. (And in fact, commute to work leads the way among areas in which workers are most satisfied, as it was a known choice when they were hired.)
“Our research reveals that workers place the biggest premium on a job’s potential for future growth, but at the moment 60 percent of U.S. workers feel dissatisfied with this component,” noted Robin Erickson, Principal Researcher at The Conference Board. “To help change course – and ultimately, retain their employees so they gain an edge in this tight labor market – organizations should make a greater commitment to total talent mobility, a holistic approach to both internal and global mobility.”
Women and Men Value Different Aspects of Their Jobs
- The top drivers of job satisfaction for both women and men. The top drivers for both genders are potential for future growth, communication channels, and recognition/acknowledgment. But there are some noticeable differences when comparing genders.
- Greater priorities for women. People at work, workload, communication channels, and work/life balance have a greater effect on overall satisfaction for women than for men. The focus on workload and work/life balance suggests that women are more satisfied with jobs that allow them the flexibility they need to be primary caretakers.
- Greater priorities for men. Usually more inclined to switch jobs than women, men are more satisfied with financial drivers, such as wages, promotion policy, and bonus plan.
Insights for What’s Ahead: Actions for Consideration
To improve the strongest drivers and influencers of overall job satisfaction, those responsible for maintaining employee satisfaction at their organizations should consider the following actions:
- Implement or enhance a total talent mobility program to demonstrate growth potential to employees.
- Consider the transparency of communication channels and determine whether to make improvements.
- Create or enhance an employee recognition program.
- Ask employees whether they are inspired by their performance reviews and, if they aren’t, ask what would inspire them.
- Monitor and decrease employees’ workload when necessary to foster more work/life balance.
