The link between job satisfaction and employee performance

As an employer, one of your main goals should be to have employees who are productive and able to do their job to a high standard. Building a team of friendly, talented and creative individuals is your main goal – so what can you do to get there? You need to help create an environment that is rich in employee satisfaction.

The trouble with job satisfaction? It isn’t always easy to achieve. However, if you want to build a dynamic and productive workforce, then you need to put some time and effort into raising the levels of job satisfaction that they experience working for your firm.

Are job satisfaction and performance linked?

Many studies have shown that investing in improving job satisfaction is a good investment for any business. The main reason of course is that, as a business, you will want to have happy employees working for you. Many different studies and articles show that employee satisfaction is one of the strongest predictors of long-term positive company performance.

High job satisfaction is also linked to performance, which in turn is linked to higher profits. Those employees who feel happy and content in their roles are much more likely to approach the tasks that they need to carry out with enthusiasm and dedication.

Loyalty is another positive that comes along with job satisfaction. Your employees will feel a link to your company, and they will also recognise that any work they carry out for you will have an effect on the overall success of the company. They will be less likely to move to other companies, and may even recommend your business as a place to work.

Job satisfaction isn’t the same for everyone

The thing to remember about job satisfaction is that what satisfies one person might not satisfy the next. Some will value flexibility in their working patterns, others will need to feel challenged during their working day.

Age is another factor to consider when thinking about job satisfaction. Older workers, are by nature, much more satisfied in their roles. Often they have worked for a considerable amount of time within their career or the company itself. They will often feel more satisfied if they are challenged within their day to day work. Younger workers, on the other hand, may feel more satisfied if they receive benefits that can help with their family life, as well as feel happy that their roles can progress as time moves on.

How to improve job satisfaction within your company

So, now that you understand why job satisfaction is so important, here are a few ways that you can improve the satisfaction within your company.
Respect

One of the simplest things you can do to try and improve job satisfaction amongst your employees is to make sure that they feel that they are respected. In order to show that you value and respect those who work so hard for you, you need to be honest and authentic with your work ethic, let them be involved in some of the decision making aspects of the business, and also help them to develop their own potential too.

Trust

Another way to improve job satisfaction is to ensure that you demonstrate your trust in your employees, and encourage them to have trust in you. It is important that you understand the ways that you can improve trust levels between you and your staff.

Security

If you went to work everyday not knowing whether your position was secure, then chances are that you wouldn’t have the most positive experience. Employees that are unsure of their job security are more likely to feel anxious, and much less likely to be satisfied in their roles. One simple way to improve feelings of job security is to be honest in your communications and always be transparent in the things that your employees can expect.

A healthy working environment

A healthy working environment is much more likely to be a place that people want to work! Those who have high levels of job satisfaction work in a place that has high morale, is free from stress and has a low or non-existent rate of harassment or discriminatory incidents.

A career path

No matter the career that you are engaged in, if you feel that there is no hope for your progression, you are not going to feel too satisfied. If you feel that you can not only grow but perhaps excel and move on, then you are much more likely to want to work hard in the current role that you have. Make sure that your employees understand that they can grow within their roles, that there are not only new career paths open to them, but developmental opportunities as well.

Pay and benefits

We come to work to earn money, and some employees are lucky enough to earn good money when they come to the office for another day. However, this is less important than you may realise. Sure, competitive pay is key in attracting and keeping employees, but you can also make them feel better by offering a range of benefits. This includes health care, wellbeing in the workplace and family help such as childcare vouchers and flexible working.

Workplace job satisfaction is key, so make sure that this is always top of your list for things to improve within your business. If this isn’t on top of your priorities, you should make it so. You can’t afford to miss out on this opportunity.