Dive Brief:
- About 80% of U.S. workers gave their jobs' day-to-day tasks, work-life balance, company morale and benefits packages a letter grade of B-, according to a new pole of 2,000 full-time workers by Kforce.
- When asked to rate their organizations' potential for internal growth, company morale and benefits, women gave their jobs one letter grade lower than men did. About 10% more men than women said they love their jobs. Half of respondents said they would sacrifice their salary — as much as 29% of it — to work a job they enjoy.
- Survey respondents cited the top five office weaknesses as poor communication/feedback, employee retention, staff diversity/inclusion, lack of transparency, and health and safety. The top three factors respondents said they value are trust, passion and mentorship.
Dive Insight:
Although B- job ratings may not send employers into a state of panic, employees in the survey revealed they could be happier about critical factors such as work-life balance, company culture and compensation — which may prompt employers to assess their own practices and consider some solutions.
A lack of communication and feedback are common pain points in the workplace that create transparency and trust issues for employees. A recent study by Dynamic Signal found that most U.S. workers are unhappy and ready to quit their jobs because of ineffective communication. Employees often call out HR as part of the problem, according to a report by HR.com and Ipsos. HR leaders can set the standard for communication by speaking with employees in an honest, transparent, timely and frequent fashion.
Other surveys have highlighted employee willingness to take a pay cut for a more satisfying work experience. Although money remains the top motivator for many job seekers, a Glassdoor report found, employers should note that creating a workspace that provides and promotes meaningful work, offers development opportunities and provides benefits that workers value most can be effective engagement and retention tools.
