Job Satisfaction Survey

Copyright © 2000 Ethan A. Winning, All Rights Reserved

[Presented below are the findings for the total survey participants, without a breakdown by industry, sex, and age which are available to subscribers only]

 

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Almost all surveys start with hypotheses, premises to the results. This job satisfaction survey was no exception. I had guessed that women would be more discontented with compensation than men; that the older employee would stay for benefits or a retirement plan, while the younger employee would stay only so long as the money was good; that stress was present in most of the jobs as represented by people with little leisure time and too many hours of work. I wasn't exactly on the mark...

The survey form remain on site at http://www.ewin.com/articles/jobsatis.htm. You may want to reread the questions and answer the questions as you think others would have before reading further. (Please do not submit the form.)

Let's look at the individual questions and the results for the total responses of 872 individuals. [A breakdown by industry, sex, and age and a more complete discussion is provided for subscribers at http://www.ewin.com/subart/js.htm] Note that when percentages do not equal 100%, no all respondents answered each question.

1. "I am paid fairly for the responsibilities that I have" was asked specifically to find out how many people feel that they are fairly paid for the jobs that they do. Popular opinion as influenced by the media and our own perceptions would lead us to believe that most people do not feel that they are paid enough. But the question was asked whether the pay was fair, not whether the individuals were paid enough. There is a difference. My guess was that most would be dissatisfied with their pay, and that women would be more dissatisfied then men since according to federal stats, women are paid only 80% of what men are paid for the same job.

Result: Exactly half of the total responding felt that they were fairly paid and half felt that they were not. But while 67% of women felt that they were fairly paid, only 28% of men perceived pay in the same way.

2. "I know what is expected of me" gets to the communication between supervisors or managers and subordinates. It also addresses the questions as to whether job descriptions have been written and whether objectives have been set. My guess here was that this would be a resounding "no," and questions 7 and 10 were included as checks against the answers to question #2.

Result: 67% responded affirmatively.

3. "I have received training to increase my skills." My hypothesis was that, in the helter-skelter ways of hiring today that, once hired, few received further training.

Result: A 50/48% split.

4. "Training is available to me to help me increase my skills." This question was posed to see whether or not there were Education Assistance Programs (EAPs) as well as on-the-job training. Whether or not individuals would take advantage of EAPs was not investigated.

Result: 55 and 41%.

5. "I received performance feedback from management on an ongoing basis." Thirty years' worth of experience told me that the employees (and this includes all employees, managers as well as staff) are often left in the dark except perhaps in a formal annual review session, if then.

Result: Only 33% said that they received feedback on an ongoing basis; 62% said that they did not. This result is affirmed by the answers to questions 7 and 10. Further, there is sufficient evidence that the survey participants wanted feedback. As we know from our previous motivation surveys (one of which is in our subscriber's section), while feedback is not necessarily a motivator, knowing where one stands is extremely important to most employees. While, as readers normally tend to think of themselves as not part of the group, "employees" include managers and supervisors. Over 95% of this job satisfaction survey participants were in managerial or supervisory positions.

6. "I am rewarded for a job well done" addresses bonuses, time off, wage or salary increases, or just some form of recognition. Again, my presumption was that once hired employees are rarely told how well they've done and that a pat on the back or a bonus would be on a sporadic basis, often inconsistently administered.

Result: There was a 42/55% split in this area, somewhat skewed from the "fairness in pay" issue.

7. "Performance standards are well known and communicated to me" was a question acting as a check of responses to question number 5. The responses should be similar.

Result: While 33% answered question 5 affirmatively; 37% answered this one in the same manner. 60% felt that performance standards are not known or communicated, a response that cut across all types and sizes of companies. Is it safe to say that managers are not doing their jobs when it comes to supervising others? Perhaps, but one must also consider that this is a "trickle down" problem: If managers do not communicate performance standards, perhaps more senior management hasn't communicated such standards to the managers.

8. "My responsibilities are interesting and varied" was asked because 70 years of motivation theory says that the job itself is the most important motivator. Employees are willing to put up with lower pay, poor supervision, and even lousy benefits if the job is interesting.

Results: 87% responded that their jobs were interesting and varied, while only 11% did not. Interestingly, that 11% gave the same reasons for leaving a company as the 87%. They did not say that they would leave the company for more interesting jobs or growth.

9. "There is sufficient opportunity for personal and professional growth with this company" was asked in an attempt to determine whether growth, a definite motivator, would be a reason for leaving a company. My original hypothesis was that, considering the economic times and pay levels for managers, even those stifled in growth would remain with the company -- unless something "better" came along.

Results: The answers were split 48/50%. I suppose the optimist would say that almost half have or think they have opportunities for growth. But that still leaves half who, hypothetically speaking, are looking for growth opportunities with other companies.

10. "I would like to see more teamwork and communications at this company." When I formulated this question, I knew that I would have a problem with the "teamwork" aspect. I also knew that it was going to be difficult if not impossible to separate those who wanted more teamwork from those who wanted more communications. On the other hand, teamwork or getting things done through and with others, calls for consistent and better communications than what my thousands of email tell me.

Results: 84% answered positively -- which is a negative. I think it can be surmised from this and two other questions that a great failing in most companies is communications, up, down, and laterally.

11. "I look forward to coming to work every day...well, almost every day" was asked as an overall satisfaction level of the participants. It's also an honesty check. Much as I love what I do, and much as I love the person I work with (me), there are days when I would love to be doing anything but work.

Results: I'm happy to report that 65% responded that they almost look forward to going to work every day. I must admit that I thought some people would take the commute into consideration, but the commute really seems to be a non-issue (it was listed by less than 2% as a reason for changing jobs).

12. "I receive recognition for my efforts and productivity." Again, "recognition" is a primary motivator. However, I do wish that I had left out the word "efforts" in the original question. There are still way too many employees who confuse efforts with results, and this could have skewed the answers.

Results: 41% said that they did receive recognition, but 57% stated that they did not. One subsequent question is whether or not the participants conceptually "confused" recognition with performance evaluations or merit increases when what I was really going for was a bonus, a pat on the back, verbal "thank yous", etc. Still, I don't think I'd be far off by thinking that the majority of employees do not feel appreciated by their managers, supervisors, or companies.

13. "My suggestions to management are taken seriously." Judging from my email, a constant source of frustration is that senior management often wants "expert" backup for data or suggestions given to them from lower level managers. While suggestions should be well thought out -- except in brainstorming sessions -- many have written that every suggestion must be backed up by someone with more experience or education.

Results: 57% felt that their suggestions were taken seriously, while 43% did not.

14. "I don't have enough time for leisure activities and my family" was a media driven question, having been bombarded by stories of how the family and play time have suffered in this high paced e-commerce society. Other than realizing that the whole world is not Silicon Valley or e-commerce, I thought that the answers would be yes (which means not enough leisure time) since there are so many two-worker families, etc.

Results: 51% felt that they don't have enough leisure time, while 39% felt that they did. I suggest that the 51% find out how the 39% are doing it, but knowing the "A-type" personalities, they'd probably say that the 39% are just lazy. Okay, bad joke. In the part of the survey where we asked why people would leave their jobs, a portion of the "Other" combined with "Family" do show that many are unhappy about the hours that they put in on a regular basis.

 

Why Employees Stay and Why Employees Leave (Total w/o Breakdown)

*Going into business for oneself.

Summary

So, are people satisfied or dissatisfied with their jobs? Other than on an individual basis, it's hard to tell. There are certain aspects of the jobs where one can say that employees definitely want improvement, and there are indications that many employees want more from management, not in terms of money or benefits, but in terms of pure management. What I did find interesting is how many answered that they stay because of the "easy going nature" of the company or organization. That, and the fact that "stress" was not often claimed as a reason for leaving, leads me to believe (but not necessarily conclude) that perhaps stress has also been overplayed in the media. Any conclusion may well get back to my proposal that there is a difference between pressure and stress though we may have obliterated the lines.

As to why people leave or stay, the same is also true: there are no definitive conclusions. In a time of economic prosperity, people stay because the money is good, and people leave because there is the expectation that money may be better elsewhere.

The reasons of "Work Itself" and "Growth" both follow classic motivation studies. As for becoming ones own boss -- the entrepreneurial spirit, if you will -- did not follow previous studies that I have read, but I think that the reader will find that taking the risk will be more predominant in economic hard times than in good times. That may not seem logical, but I would still hypothesize that that is true.

Footnote: Job satisfaction appears to be a balancing act. Money vs. communication. Benefits vs. feedback. Comfort level vs. stifling aspects of ones day-to-day responsibilities. In no other time would I be able to have written such theories. I've been through six recessions, and the results of this survey are certainly very different from those done during less tumultuous times, and these are tumultuous times. Balancing family and job, the "good life" with all the negatives (such as commute, but commuting in a nicer car, but with high gas prices ... which really don't mean that much because the money's so good ... but the money's not so good when one considers the cost of day care and the mortgage and property taxes ... but they're not so bad when one considers the 3,000 square foot house that isn't really needed, but desired ... which is not so good when one considers the taxes and utilities ... which is not so bad when ....). Like I said, a balancing act, both mentally and fiscally draining. But then most people love their work. No other statistic from this survey supports Mallow's motivation theory than the fact that the work itself is the most important motivational factor and most employees are willing to put up with an awful lot of "inconvenience" for the job itself.).

 

Again, a complete breakdown, other observations, and discussions can accessed by subscribers at http://www.ewin.com/subart/js.htm

All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2000. E. A. Winning Associates.
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