Job satisfaction has steadily declined in the workplace over the past ten years. In the US , The Conference Board reports, “half of all Americans are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 60 percent in 1995.” Only 14 percent say they are “very satisfied.” The largest decline was in employees ages 35-44. CareerBuilder has recently reported, “six out of ten workers plan to leave their current employer for other pursuits within the next two years!”

With declining job satisfaction comes the risk of increased turnover and all of its well-documented costs:

• Increased hiring expense
• Decreased productivity
• Increased absenteeism
• Wasted training dollars
• Decreased safety

Improve satisfaction and retention; improve profitability.

The Harvard Business Review reports that a five percent increase in retention often results in a 10 percent decrease in costs and productivity increases ranging from25 percent to 65 percent! As an individual business, it may help to learn what produces job satisfaction. The correct answers are not always the obvious ones!

Take this quiz to see what you know about producing job satisfaction:

Mark these statements as True or False

1. Level of compensation is the most important factor in job satisfaction.
2. Self-esteem produced by the workplace ranks very highly in determining satisfaction.
3. Match between employee occupational interest and job requirements does not count for much in measurements of satisfaction.
4. Flexible work times rank low on the overall scheme of job satisfaction.

Check your answers by downloading the PDF.

How well did you do? What can you do to improve employee satisfaction in your business?

Ideas

• Make repetitive tasks less boring.
• Provide workers with responsibility as well as the authority to accomplish it
• Look past formalities and establish genuine growth paths for all employees, not just executives.

With a little work and creative thought, even employees with low morale can become motivated, enthusiastic and satisfied in their jobs!