Take a moment and think of your current job. How do you feel when you’re done for the day? Do you feel exhausted? Stressed? Relieved? Now take a guess: how many people would say they feel fulfilled? You’re right, not a lot.
In 2010, Deloitte’s Shift Index Survey indicated that 80% of workers were dissatisfied with their jobs. In 2013, the Shift Index showed that the number had increased to 89%. Recently, WSJ reported in 2015 that 49.6% of people feel satisfied with their job, a slight increase from 2014 which was 48.3%. Although the rate of job dissatisfaction is slowly declining, what exactly can leaders do in order to help employees feel more fulfilled at work?
Many companies assume that employees thrive on extrinsic rewards, tangible entities (money, gifts, etc.) but many employees value intrinsic rewards, personal achievements (being happy at the workplace, feeling appreciated and fulfilled) rather than financial gains. Recently, Starbucks and JP Morgan gave a raise to their employees in order to avoid losing them to their competitors, but is that sufficient enough to satisfy employees?
If money was enough to satisfy employees, then the biggest reason for employees resigning would not be because of bad management. Jobs are where employees will stay for an extended period of time. Do you really think raising their salary will make their productivity improve? It might if it’s short term.
