Editor’s note: In a previous post, I introduced you to the Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey, which is conducted annually by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The survey is used as a tool to identify factors that influence overall employee satisfaction and engagement in the workplace, and it’s results provide insight to employee preferences and highlight key areas for businesses to consider as they develop and enhance initiatives for organizational improvement. The survey assesses 43 aspects of satisfaction and 37 aspects of engagement that are both categorized into eight areas, and I am dedicating a blog entry to each area. For this blog, we are focusing on the area of Work Environment.
The term work environment encompasses a lot of things. It can be physical things, like computers and room temperature; or it can be intangible things, like co-worker relationships and office culture. But everyone who has ever worked for an employer knows the a good work environment is imperative to happiness at a job.
According to the Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey results, the most important thing to employees when considering work environment is job security. Even though economic conditions have stabilized, job security still continues to be a major factor influencing workers’ job satisfaction which is showcased by the 58 percent of polled employees who said it was a very important factor. Ranked underneath job security is (in order): Organization’s financial stability (53 percent), feeling safe in the work environment (50 percent), the work itself (48 percent) and the overall corporate culture (44 percent).
Since job security, financial stability and, well, the work itself are outside my realm of expertise, let’s talk about every-day things you can do as a manager or employer to better your work environment.
In this Business News Daily article “23 Ways to Create a Better Work Environment,” Brittany Helmrich makes suggestions on how to freshen up your work environment in order to create happy employees. “Everything from physical changes–like lighting and organization–to shifts in the company culture and management techniques can turn a company from a place to merely put in hours and get a paycheck into a place employees love going to every day,” Helmrich writes. “Even subtle changes can take your company to the next level — not only to help you retain your current employees, but also to pique the interest of potential new hires.”
My top ten favorite suggestions Helmrich makes are:
- Make sure your office is well lit.
- Have a relaxation space.
- Encourage personalization of spaces.
- Let employees move around.
- Hold activities during the work week.
- Focus on wellness.
- Give feedback.
- Don’t overload your employees.
- Rephrase instructions to me more team-focused.
- Foster collaboration.
I highly encourage you to click the link below and check out the other 13 tips for bettering your workplace. After you read all 23 of Helmrich’s ideas, I challenge you to incorporate at least five of these suggestions in your workplace and notice what, if any, changes appear in your employees’ attitudes.
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