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Contents

3 The Dierent Perspectives o Employees and HR Proessionals

4 Executive Summary: Stability Still Paramount to Employees Job Satisaction

6 Survey Results

9 Top Five Aspects o Job Satisaction Most Important to Employees9 Job Security

9 Benefts

13 Opportunities to Use Skills/Abilities14 Organizations Financial Stability & the Work Itsel

15 Compensation/Pay

17 Results o Other Individual Employee Job Satisaction Aspects17 Career Development

17 Career Advancement Opportunities Within Organization

19 Job-Specifc Training

19 Organizations Commitment to Proessional Development

20 Career Development Opportunities

20 Paid Training and Tuition Reimbursement

20 Networking

21 Employee Relationship With Management

21 Relationship With Immediate Supervisor

21 Management Recognition o Employee Job Perormance

22 Communication Between Employees and Senior Management

23 Autonomy and Independence

26 Work Environment

26 Feeling Sae in the Work Environment

28 Flexibility to Balance Lie and Work Issues

29 Overall Corporate Culture

29 Meaningulness o Job

30 Relationships With Co-Workers

30 Contribution o Work to the Organizations Business Goals

30 Variety o Work30 Organizations Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility

32 Organizations Commitment to a Green Workplace

33 Overall Employee Job Satisaction

36 Employee Satisaction With Individual Job Aspects

40 Conclusions

2010 Employee Job SatisactionIvetiati What Matter Mot to Employee


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2 2010 Employee Job Satisfaction Ivetiati What Matter Mot to Employee

41 Methodology

41 HR Proessional Sample

41 Employee Sample

41 Notations

43 About the Respondents

43 Employees

44 HR Proessionals

45 Appendix

45 Elements o Job Satisaction

46 Tables 1-18

57 Endnotes

58 Recently Published SHRM Products

Special Sections

18 Married Men Less Satisfed With Their Jobs

24 Does Age Matter?

31 Female Employees Satisfed With How Their Job Contributes to Society


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2010 Employee Job Satisfaction Ivetiati What Matter Mot to Employee

This report compares the responses o HR proes-

sionals and employees in an eort to understand

the similarities and dierences between these two

vantage points. HR proessionals are strategically

primed to serve as a voice or employees. In ad-

dition, as the unction in the organization most

heavily involved in recruitment, retention and per-

ormance management, HR proessionals beneit byknowing which actors employees value most. Yet,

this is sometimes diicult because understanding

what satisies employees is a dynamic and evolving

process. HR proessionals need to know that the

programs they are promoting or employees are

indeed important to them. One way or HR proes-

sionals to gauge their knowledge o employee needs

is to recognize the degree to which their perceptions

are accurate when matched up against employees

perceptions. While collecting only employee data on

job satisaction would provide useul inormation

or HR proessionals, another piece o the puzzle

is ound in a direct comparison o the two groups

perceptions.

In order to make meaningul comparisons, it is

important to consider the employees represented in

this study. Employee data were analyzed by de-

mographic variables such as age, gender, job level,

organization size and job tenure. These types o

analyses are useul because they highlight that not all

employees have the same preerences with respect to

job satisaction.

HR proessionals were asked to report on employees

in their organizationsin other words, the entire

workorce, including both exempt and nonexempt

workers. With this in mind, it is accurate to say that

the proile o employees rom the HR proession-

als perspective tends to be a more generalized and

inclusive category.

By becoming aware o the needs o dierent groups

(e.g., age, gender, job tenure), organizations may

be able to develop programs that appeal to certain

groups more than to others. For example, i an

organization has high turnover among male employ-

ees, it would be useul to know what actors aect

their satisaction the most and how the organization

can oer programs that appeal to this segment o its

workorce.

The Dierent Perspectives o

Employees and HR Proessionals


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Employees overall satisaction with their current job

remains high at 84% (40% are overall very satis-

fied and 44% are somewhat satisfied), according

to this study. More tenured employees (16 years or

more) were more likely to report being very satisied

overall than were employees with less than three

years o tenure at their organization (51% and 32%

respectively).

Are employees really satisied with their current

jobs or are they waiting or the economy to ully re-

bound beore seeking employment elsewhere? Only

30% o employees said that they were likelyto look

or work outside o their organization in 2010 (15%

said they were very likely to look for job outside of

their current company, 15% said likely). Also, 51%

o employees reported that the current economic

climate has made no dierence in their satisaction

level with their current job.

What contributors are most important to employee

job satisaction? Job security (63%), or the third

consecutive year, remained at the top o employees

list o most important determinants o job satisac-

tion. This was in contrast to HR proessionals, who

indicated that relationship with immediate supervisor

was the most important determinant o employee

job satisaction. Benefits (60%), opportunities to use

skills and abilities (56%), the work itself (54%) and

compensation/pay (53%) rounded o employees top

ive very important actors contributing to job satis-

action. The organizations financial stability (54%),a new contributor to job satisaction or employees,

also made the top ive list, tying with the work itself

(see Table 1).

Factors that were not strongly connected to em-

ployees overall job satisaction were organizations

commitment to a green workplace; networking; paid

training and tuition reimbursement programs; organi-

zations commitment to corporate social responsibil-

ity; and career development opportunities.

Other Noteworthy Findings

Employees whose organizations did not lay ox

any employees were more satisied overall (very

satisied) with their current jobs compared with em-

ployees whose organizations had laid o employees in

the past 12 months.

In 2010, only 16% o employees reported beingx

very concerned about their current job in light o the

economy compared with 22% o employees in 2009.

HR proessionals indicated that their organizationsx

have taken measures to keep employees job satis-

action at high levels. Common measures included

encouraging open communication between supervi-

sors and employees, ostering open communication

with employees regarding the organizations inancial

standing and ostering open communication with

employees regarding budget cuts, hiring reezes and

layos.

What Do These FindingsMean or Businesses?

Communicate Eectively:x The economic

climate has changed the way employees look at their

employers, their jobs and aspects important to their

job satisaction. The indings o this research indicate

that companies have taken steps to keep employees

job satisaction high. The top three measures ocus

on communicating with employees. How eective

are these communications? Although organizationsmay be communicating with their employees, there

might be some disconnect between the message rom

management and the interpretation by employees, es-

pecially during times o economic and organizational

uncertainty. Communicating eectively with employ-

ees can provide the workorce with direction, dispel

rumors and promote trust. Employers might consider

promoting upward communication, such as gathering

eedback rom employees through ocus groups lead

by employees.

Executive Summary:

Stability Still Paramount to Employees Job SatisactionOly 30% oemployeeaid that theywere likely tolook or workoutside o theirorganization in2010.


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Partner With Employees:x One o the top

contributors to employee job satisaction is hav-

ing the opportunity to use employees skills and

abilities. Employees also reported that their proes-

sional abilities and skills increased their sense o job

security. Employees requently have skills and abilities

beyond the position that they have been hired or.

Organizations need to take steps to discover the skill

sets o their employees and utilize them. Employee

ormal training and development may have been a-

ected by budget cuts, so tapping into the existing tal-

ent to help shape the organizations uture could beone o the ways that organizations train and develop

employees. This could help organizations increase

employees motivation, productivity and chances o

retaining their best talent.

Take Action:x You have talked, collected eedback

and conducted ocus groupswhats next? Employers

will need to take the results o their dialogue with

employees and translate them into measurable actions

that it into their organizations strategic plans. These

actions will need to have both short-term and long-

term results. HR proessionals are in the position to

help their organization navigate through the changes.


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Employees and HR proessionals were asked to

rate the importance o 25 aspects o the work

environment commonly associated with employee

job satisaction using a our-point scale where 1

represented very unimportant and 4 repre-

sented very important. Components o employee

job satisaction in order o importance by employees

and HR proessionals are illustrated in Figures 1, 2

and 3.

Signs o an economic recovery appeared to have

very little eect on the aspects most important

to employee job satisaction. These aspects have

remained stable since 2008, with ew dierences in

their ranking order.Job securitywas ound to be the

most important aspect o job satisaction, according

to employees. Other aspects identiied by em-

ployees as most important to their job satisaction

were benefits, opportunities to use skills and abilities,

organizations financial stability, the work itselfand

compensation/pay(see Figure 2).

Relationship with immediate supervisorremained

at the top o HR proessionals list o contributors

to employee job satisaction. Other aspects in HR

proessionals top ive list were job security, commu-

nication between employees and senior management,

organizations financial stabilityand opportunities to

use skills and abilities. Beneits, which ranked second

on the employees list this year, placed seventh on

HR proessionals list. Data are depicted in Figure 3.

Survey Results

Figure 1 | Top 5 Very Important Aspects o Employee Job Satisaction (Employees and HR Proessionals)

1 2 3 4 5

Job security63%

Benefts60%

Opportunities

to use skillsand abilities

56%

The work itsel;

organizationsfnancial stability

54%

Compensation/pay53%

Employees

Relationship

with immediatesupervisor

72%

Job security

69%

Communicationbetween

employees and seniormanagement

65%

Organizations

fnancial stability64%

Opportunities

to use skillsand abilities

62%

HR Proessionals

(n = 1,177)

Source: 2010 Employee Job Satisaction (SHRM, 2010)


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Figure 2 Very Important Aspects o Employee Job Satisaction (Employees)

63%

60%

54%

48%

56%

53%

48%

46%

42%

38%

33%

17%

38%

34%

22%

35%

28%

41%

34%

26%

36%

31%

54%

51%

47%

Job security (1)

Benefts (2)

The work itsel (4)

Relationship with immediate supervisor (7)

Opportunities to use skills and abilities (3)

Compensation/pay (5)

Management recognition o employee job perormance (7)

Autonomy and independence (9)

Flexibility to balance lie and work issues (10)

Relationships with co-workers (12)

Organizations commitment to proessional development (16)

Organizations commitment to a green workplace (21)

Meaningulness o job (12)

Career advancement opportunities (15)

Networking (20)

Variety o work (14)

Organizations commitment to corporate social responsibility (18)

Overall corporate culture (11)

Job-specifc training (15)

Paid training and tuition reimbursement programs (19)

Contribution o work to organizations business goals (13)

Career development opportunities (17)

Organizations fnancial stability (4)

Feeling sae in the work environment (6)

Communication between employees and senior management (8)

(n = 600)

Note: Figure represents those who answered very important. Percentages are based on a scale where 1 = very unimportant and 4 = very important.



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Figure 3 Very Important Aspects o Employee Job Satisaction (HR Proessionals)

72%

69%

62%

49%

65%

61%

49%

48%

46%

44%

34%

9%

46%

34%

19%

40%

22%

46%

35%

19%

41%

32%

64%

60%

49%

Relationship with immediate supervisor (1)

Job security (2)

Opportunities to use skills/abilities (5)

Job-specifc training (8)

Communication between employees and senior management (3)

Management recognition o employee job perormance (6)

Overall corporate culture (8)

Compensation/pay (9)

Career advancement opportunities (10)

Organizations commitment to proessional development (11)

Paid training and tuition reimbursement programs (15)

Organizations commitment to a green workplace (19)

Flexibility to balance lie and work issues (10)

Meaningulness o job (15)

Organizations commitment to corporate social responsibility (18)

The work itsel (13)

Variety o work (17)

Career development opportunities (10)

Autonomy and independence (14)

Networking (18)

Relationships with co-workers (12)

Contribution o work to organizations business goals (16)

Organizations fnancial st ability (4)

Benefts (7)

Feeling sae in the work environment (8)

(n = 577)

Note: Figure represents those who answered very important. Percentages are based on a scale where 1 = very unimportant and 4 = very important.



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Top Five Aspects o Job SatisactionMost Important to Employees

1Job SecurityIt is not surprising that with the economic

climate remaining unstable, employees con-

tinue to choose job security over all other

aspects o job satisaction. According to SHRMs

Labor Market Outlook (LMO) report or the

second quarter o 2010, 11% o organizations plan

to decrease sta in the second quarter o 2010 and

59% plan to maintain current sta levels.1 Employees

are understandably ocused on avoiding unemploy-

ment in this generally weak labor market. However,

improved hiring conditions could eventually aect

this job satisaction actor. Forty-three percent o

HR proessionals surveyed in the LMO or Q2

reported optimism about job growth in the second

quarter o 2010. And according to the SHRM

Leading Indicators o National Employment (LINE)

survey or April 2010, hiring expectations were up

or the sixth consecutive month in both manuactur-

ing (a net o 52.4% hiring) and service sectors (a net

o 42.9% hiring). LINE tracks monthly changes in

U.S. manuacturing and service-sector jobs.

Employees were asked how certain actors have

inluenced their sense o job security in the current

economic climate. Nearly one-hal o employees

indicated that their proessional abilities/skills (49%)

and the importance o their job to their organiza-

tions overall success (42%) increased their sense o

job security (see Figure 5).

There was overall agreement on the importance

o job security to employee job satisaction across

employee demographics. It topped the list or em-

ployees 18 to 64 years o age, but not or employees

over 65. Job security was also the most important

aspect by gender, job level and tenure (or more de-

tailed data, see Tables 5 through 9 in the appendix).

There were, however, some dierences by employee

job level: job security was more important to non-management and middle-management employees

than to employees in executive-level positions.

2BeneitsThe unstable economy, the rising cost o

health care and potential impact o health

care legislation, along with altering retire-

ment beneits, are major concerns or employees.

In a 2010 SHRM study, 18% o organizations

reported that they have reduced employee beneits

as a means to cut costs. Among the beneits reduced

were health care coverage or employees, health carecoverage or employees spouse/dependents and

workplace lexibility. In the same study, 31% o HR

proessionals indicated that their organization was

likely to reduce employee beneits oerings i the

economy did not improve.2 So while beneits have

not been the target o budget cuts or most orga-

Figure 4 Importance o Job Security

Very unimportant Unimportant

2% 0% 2% 2%

33%

63%

29%

69%

Important Very important

Employees (n = 593) HR Proessionals (n = 573)


nearly oe-halo employeeidicated thattheir proeioalabilitie/kill(49%) ad theimportace otheir job to theiroraizatio

overall ucce(42%) increasedtheir sense ojob security.


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nizations, that may change i the economic orecast

or companies does not start to brighten.

The 2010 employee job satisaction study ound

that beneits remain an important contributor to

employee job satisaction. Beneits have ranked

among the top two aspects o job satisaction or

employees since 2002 (Table 1). Beneits ranked as

the top contributor to job satisaction or employees

65 years o age and older and were also the highest

ranked contributor or more tenured employees

(16 years or more o tenure), who may have earnedsubstantial vacation days, paid time o and pension

earnings. Dierences emerged based on employees

gender and organization sta size. Female employ-

ees were more likely than their male counterparts to

report beneits as an important aspect o job satisac-

tion. Employees rom large organizations, which,

according to the 2010 SHRM Employee Benefits3

report, tend to have greater beneits oerings, were

more likely to indicate that beneits were important

to them, compared with employees rom small orga-

nizations (see Table 3).

The same percentage o employees and HR proes-

sionals (60% each) indicated that beneits were

very important to job satisaction. In 2010, as in

2002, beneits did not make the list o the top ive

employee job satisaction actors as perceived by HR

proessionals (Table 2).

Employers use beneits as one o the tools to recruit

and retain top talent. HR is tasked with inding the

right mix o employee beneits that satisy personal

and inancial needs o the current and potential

workorce, given existing business conditions and

cost constraints. It is important or organizations to

take into account and anticipate the needs, preer-

ences and makeup o their workorce when consid-

ering beneits oerings. Finding a cost-eective and

aordable beneits package is particularly chal-

lenging, given the high costs o oering beneits,

particularly health care.

Figure 5 Factors Increasing Employees Sense o Job Security

Proessional abilities and skills

Relationship with immediate supervisor

Organizations past practice o layos

Management eorts to avoid layos

Communication between employees and management

Status as a unionized employee

Importance o job/role to organizations success

Organizations fnancial standing

Organizations industry afliation

Length o service at organization

Employment status (ull-time, part-time, etc.)

Organizations location

49%

42%

36%

28%

38%

32%

28%

22%

37%

31%

25%

22%

(n = 500)

Note: Figure represents those who answered actor increased their sense o job security at their present organization.



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Beneits or employees can include a wide array

o perks and other oerings; however, o primary

importance to many employees are health care, paid

time o, retirement and amily-riendly beneits.

These beneits were urther examined to learn

about their importance to employee job satisaction,

and these data are illustrated in Figure 7.

Beneits most important to employee job satisac-

tion are health care/medical benefits. Roughly equal

proportions o employees and HR proessionals

reportedpaid time offas the second most important

beneit. Adefined benefit pension planand family-

friendlybenefitsare more important to employees

than HR proessionals indicated in their rankings.

Figure 6 Importance o Benefts


1% 0%5%

1%

34%

60%

39%

60%




Beet rakeda the topcontributor tojob satisactionor employee 65year o ae adolder.

Figure 7 Very Important Benefts Aspects

Health care/medical benefts

Family-riendly benefts

Defned contribution plans (401(k), 403(b), etc.)

Paid time o

Defned beneft pension plans

65%

73%

43%

23%

62%

34%

33%

65%

43%

20%


Note: Figure represents those who answered very important. Percentages are based on a scale where 1 = very unimportant and 4 = very important. Not

applicable responses were excluded.



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Q: Is there one single actor that you, as an HRproessional, see as important regarding employee

job satisaction or 2010?

A: Oe actor i job tability. The ecoomy, layo,job coolidatio, etc., have all cotributed to a

ueay eeli o ucertaity i the workplace.

Wae reeze, ecalati health iurace cot,

co-worker bei laid o have all cotributed to thi

ueaie. It dicult to keep employee moti-

vated duri thee tryi time.

Q: In your opinion, looking toward stronger eco-nomic times, how important to employee engage-

ment and productivity are such actors as benefts,

career development, compensation, economic

climate, employee relationships with managementand/or work environment?

A: The ecoomic climate ad employee relatio-hip with maaemet are importat i eai,

ocui ad motivati employee. Employee look

to their upervior ad maaer or iormatio about

the buie ad their uture. Year ao, I leared

that i employee were ive the ame iormatio

a upervior, 90% o the time they would reach the

ame cocluio ad olve the problem i the ame

maer a their upervior. The other 10% o the

time they would implemet a better olutio.

I the abece o accurate ad timely iorma-

tio rom their maaer, employee will tur to

co-worker, ale people ad outide ource or

iormatio that may or may ot be accurate. May

employee will allow their imaiatio to ru wild

ad ote lite to ad believe the more vocal em-

ployee, whether the iormatio i accurate or ot.

Maaer are bet erved by hari timely ad ac-

curate iormatio, whether the ew i ood or bad.

Employee jut wat to kow the truth o they ca

prepare ad pla accordily a they eek to have

ome cotrol o their eviromet. They alo wat

a ee o beloi. Mot employee will hadle

the truth ad repod i a proeioal maer. Likemaaer, employee dot like urprie.

Q: What are the top three actors o employeejob satisaction that are important in your business

sector?

A: I the mauacturi ector, employee wattimely, accurate iormatio, a maaer who pro-

vide employee the tool they eed to complete

their job, ad a upervior who care about them

ad treat them with diity ad repect.

Q: When you consider the role o HR as achampion or eective and successul employee

relations, what areas do you view as the most

important or employee job satisaction?

A: A HR practitioer, we mut be eaily acce-ible, be actively ivolved i the buie, et out o

the foor ad iteract with our people. We hould be

litei to udertad, howi that we euiely

care ad oeri to help whe appropriate. Mot o

the time, employee jut wat u to lite.

Q: What do you consider to be the key leader-ship opportunities or HR today to promote overall

employee job satisaction?

A: HR proeioal eed to acilitate actio/chae withi their oraizatio. We alo eed to

uide upervior to talk with their employee ad

help them to iorm ad educate their employee.

InsIgHTs

David Koesters, SPHRHuma Reource Maaer, Macor

sHRM Employee Relatio special Expertie Pael


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There were dierences across employee demograph-

ics. Health care/medical benefitsand retirement

benefitswere valued more by employees at large

organizations compared with those at small orga-

nizations. More tenured employees placed greater

value on retirement benefitsthan did employees who

are relatively new to their organizations. Female

employees placed more value on health care/medical,

family-friendlyandpaid time offbeneits than their

male counterparts did (see Table 4).

The signiicant drop in the stock market in late2008 led to great losses in retirement savings or

many Americans, especially Baby Boomers and older

workers, who may need to continue working past

retirement age because their retirement beneits are

no longer what they expected. In a 2009 survey by

SHRM, 68% o HR proessionals reported that there

has been an increase in the number o employees

planning to extend their retirement date due to

the recession.4 Many orecasters predict that Social

Security and deined beneit pensions will either be

inadequate or unavailable to many employees by the

time they leave the workorce. These actors aloneare troubling, yet studies have shown that em-

ployees are also not saving enough or a inancially

secure retirement. More organizations are adopting

technology to help their employees with various

aspects o their retirement planningor example, by

automatically enrolling employees into deined con-

tribution plans unless they opt out and implementing

investment advice programs that provide a range o

services tailored to participants needs. According

to SHRMs 2010 Employee Benefitsreport, 39% o

employers oer automatic enrollment o employees

into deined contribution plans. This is an increase

compared with 2006 (30%). For more detailed

inormation about the types o beneits and trends

in beneits oerings over the last six years, see the

SHRM 2010 Employee Benefitsresearch report.

3Opportunities to UseSkills/Abilities

Almost six out o 10 employees rated op-

portunities to use skills/abilities as the third

most important contributor to their job satisaction

(see Figure 8). This is the highest that this category

has been since 2004, when it was irst added to the

list o aspects important to employee job satisaction.

It was ith in the HR proessionals list. It is gener-

ally thought that employees eel good about their

jobs when they are utilizing their skills and abilities

and contributing to their organization. This aspect

is also related to the highest-rated contributor to jobsatisactionjob security. When asked about their

sense o job security in the current economic climate,

almost hal o employees indicated that their proes-

sional abilities/skills and the importance o their job

(role) to their organizations overall success increased

their sense o job security (Figure 5).

Figure 8 Importance o Opportunities to Use Skills and Abilities


1% 0%4%

2%

39%

56%

36%

62%

Important Very Important



68% o HR proessionals reported that there has been an

increase in the number o employees planning to extend their

retirement date due to the recession.SHRM Poll: The U.S. Recession and Its Impact on Employee Retirement


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4Organizations FinancialStability & the Work ItselTwo actors tied or the ourth spot on

the list o most important contributors to

employee job satisaction: organizations inancial

stability and the work itsel.

Organizations Financial StabilityThe global recession aected the workplace in a

signiicant way. Industries and organizations once

thought to be stable collapsed, and some looked

to the ederal government to bail them out o theirinancial bind. Unemployment in the United States

reached a high o 10% in October 2009.5 According

to this study, 30% o employees indicated that they

oten (10% very often and 20% often) think

about the prospect o losing their current job. Is it

any wonder that one o the top ive contributors

to employee job satisaction is the organizations

inancial stability? Employees (54%) and HR proes-

sionals (64%) both ranked it as ourth on their lists

o contributors to job satisaction (see Figure 9).

The organizations inancial standing was chosen

by 32% o employees as one o the actors that

increased their sense o job security (see Figure 5).

The ranking o the organizations inancial stability

varied across employees demographics (see Tables59). Employees with three to ive years o tenure

rated it, along with beneits, as the second top con-

tributor to their job satisaction. There were no sig-

niicant dierences within employee demographics.

Figure 9 Importance o Organizations Financial Stability


1% 0%5%

2%

40%

54%

34%

64%




Figure 10 Importance o the Work Itsel


0% 0%4% 3%

42%

54%57%

40%




Femaleemployee weremore likely thamale employeeto elect thework itsel as acontributor tojob satisaction.


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The Work Itself

It can be diicult or employees to remain moti-

vated and satisied with their jobs when their work is

not interesting, challenging or exciting. In gen-

eral, a similar proportion o employees have rated

this aspect as very important over the years. More

than hal (54%) o employees indicated that the

work itsel was very important to job satisaction,

compared with 40% o HR proessionals. These data

are illustrated in Figure 10. This is the second time

in the past three years that employees ranked the

work itsel among the top ive contributors to jobsatisaction.

Gender was the only employee demographic where

there were dierences or this aspect. Female

employees were more likely than male employees

to select the work itsel as a contributor to job

satisaction.

5

Compensation/PayCompensation has consistently remained as

one o the top ive job satisaction actors

most important to employees, but in 2010,it ranked lower than in previous years as actors

like the work itsel and the organizations inancial

stability moved up. During a period o economic

uncertainty, HR proessionals continued to perceive

relationship with immediate supervisor, communi-

cation between employees and senior management

and job-speciic training as more important to em-

ployees than compensation. This is not to downplay

the importance o compensation, because almost

hal o HR proessionals indicated that this aspect

is very important to employee job satisaction. It

may be that while HR proessionals see the value o

this aspect to employee job satisaction, they also

understand that the employees relationship with

his or her immediate supervisor and an open line

o communication with senior management are

integral to job satisaction, especially now, when

employee morale may be low. Employees who are

compensated well but have a poor relationship with

their supervisor may be more likely to be rustrated,

less productive and dissatisied.

Due to the economic climate, many organiza-

tions made changes to their operational budgets,

and some o these changes had a direct impact on

compensation/pay. According to a poll conducted

by SHRM in March 2010, organizations roze

employee wage increases, cut bonuses, reduced

employee work hours with pay reduction or sa lary

reduction and demoted employees to lower-pay

positions.6 When employees were asked i they had

received a pay raise (e.g., merit increase, cost o

living increase) within the last 12 months, 45% re-ported receiving a raise and 37% indicated that they

received bonus (Figure 12).

Even though compensation has consistently ranked

among the top components important to employee

job satisaction, it is unlikely that employees view

it in isolat ion rom other actors. To better under-

stand how various elements o compensation actor

into employee job satisact ion, employees and HR

45% oemployeesreportedreceiving araise ad 37%idicated thatthey receivedbou withi thelat 12 moth.

Figure 11 Importance o Compensation/Pay


1% 0%4%

1%

42%

53%51%48%





18/64


proessionals were asked about our common com-

ponents o compensation (see Figure 13).

Being paid competitively with the local market:x To

attract the best employees, companies must research

the market in their area to ensure that their salaries

match up against their competitors. A similar propor-

tion (50%) o employees and HR proessionals rated

this aspect as very important.

Base rate of pay:x 47% o employees and 38% o

HR proessionals viewed base rate o pay as very

important to employee job sat isaction. Employees

rom large organizations were the most likely to

perceive this aspect to be important to employee

job satisaction than were employees rom small

organizations (see Table 4).

Opportunities for variable pay (bonuses, commis-x

sions, other variable pay, monetary rewards for ideas

or suggestions):Variable pay, or dierential pay, is not

added to the employees base pay and is dependent

upon perormance. This allows organizations to bet-

ter control their labor costs and tie perormance and

pay together. More than a third o employees (39%)

and 29% o HR proessionals reported that this

aspect was very important to job satisaction.

Figure 13 Very Important Compensation Aspects

Being paid competitively with the local market

Opportunities or variable pay

Base rate o pay

Stock options

50%

50%

39%

7%

47%

29%

38%

16%


Note: Figure represents those who answered very important. Percentages are based on a scale where 1 = very unimportant and 4 = very important. Not

applicable responses were excluded.


Careeradvancementwa moreimportat oremployeei middlemaaemet-level poitiotha or

omaaemetemployee.

Figure 12 Compensation Change in the Last 12 Months

Yes No

45%

37%

55%

63%

Received pay rise (n = 526) Received bonus (n = 492)

Note: Not applicable response were excluded rom this analysis.



19/64


Stock options:x This is another orm o compensa-

tion that organizations oer to their employees.

Only 16% o employees and 7% o HR proessionals

rated stock options as very important. Employees

rom large organization were the more likely to per-

ceive this aspect to be important to employee job

satisaction than employees rom medium organiza-

tions (see Table 4).

Results o Other IndividualEmployee Job Satisaction Aspects

Career Development

The irst series o questions employees and HR pro-

essionals were asked ell under the category o ca-

reer development. Career development encompasses

employees continually taking part in more advanced

or diverse activities (e.g., training, networking,

etc.) that result in employees improving their skills,

gaining new skills, taking greater responsibility at

work, improving their status or increasing their

income. Employees rated only one o the actors in

career developmentopportunities to use skills and

abilitiesin the top ive very important contributors

to job satisaction.

Career Advancement Opportunities

Within Organization

As illustrated in Figure 15, 47% o HR proession-

als and 34% o employees reported that this actor

was very important. Career advancement was moreimportant or employees in middle management-

level positions than or nonmanagement employees.

This aspect was also a higher priority or Generation

X employees (between 31 and 45 years o age) than

or Baby Boomers (46 to 64 years o age). These

data are shown in Table 3.

Figure 15 Importance o Career Advancement Opportunities


3%0%

20%

4%

43%

34%

49% 47%




Figure 16 Importance o Job-Specifc Training


3%0%

13%

3%

50%

34%

48% 49%





20/64

Married Men LessSatisfed With Their Jobs

Married employees had dierent perspectives on the ranking o thetop fve contributors to job satisaction. Married male employeeshighly rated opportunities to use skills and abilities in their workand

married emale employees ratedjob securityas their top contributor.

Married emale employees valued eeling sae in the work environmentand married male employees included organizations nancial stability

in their top fve list. Contributors common to the top fve lists o both

married men and married women includedjob security, opportunities to

use skills and abilities, the work itsel, benets and compensation/pay,

although in varying order (see Table 17). Equally important to both mar-

ried sexes were health care/medical benets, at 63%. Married emale

employees were more likely than married male employees to report fex-

ibility to balance lie and work issues and amily-riendly benets as very

important in determining their level o job satisaction (see Table 18).

Compensation/paywas among the top fve job satisaction contributors

or both male and emale married employees. In order to determine i the

recession had an impact on employee pay, employees were asked i they

have been in their jobs or the past 12 months, and i so, i they had re-

ceived a pay raise in that year. A similar proportion o married men (47%)

and women (45%) reported that they had received a pay raise within the

last 12 months. However, married men were more likely to report receiv-

ing a bonus within the last 12 months than were married women. In act,

married male employees were the overall employee demographic that

was most likely to have received a bonus during the previous year.

Married emale employees, compared with married male employees,

were more likely to be very satisfed overall with their current job (45%

and 39% respectively). The current economic climate does appear to

have aected overall satisaction or married employees. Married men

(32%) were more likely than married women (20%) to report eeling less

satisfed with their current job as a result o difcult economic conditions.

Figure 14 | Top 5 Very Important Aspects o Job Satisaction by Employee Marital Status

1 2 3 4 5

Opportunitiesto use skills/abilities

57%

Job security

56%

Benefts,organizations

fnancial stability53%

Compensation/pay,

the work itsel,autonomy and

independence50%

Communicationbetween employees

and senior management47%

Male

Job security66%

The work itsel60%

Feeling sae

in the work environment,opportunities to use

skills/abilities

57%

Benefts54%

Relationship withimmediate supervisor,

compensatory/pay

52%

Female

Note: Table represents those who answered very important. Percentages are based on a scale where 1 = very unimportant and 4 = very important.




21/64


Career advancement opportunities were reported

as an important aspect o employee job satisaction

more requently by HR proessionals in large organi-

zations compared with respondents in small and

medium organizations. It was also reported as more

important by HR proessionals in publicly owned

or-proit organizations compared with privately

owned or-proits and nonproits.

Job-Specific Training

Employers may o er job-speciic training to provide

employees with the relevant skills to enable themto perorm their duties eiciently. The immediate

application o skills acquired through such training

may boost employee conidence and productivity.

Slightly more than a third (34%) o employees and

almost hal (49%) o HR proessionals viewed job-

speciic training as very important to employee job

satisaction (see Figure 16).

Organizations Commitment to

Professional Development

One-third (33%) o employees indicated that an

organizations commitment to proessional develop-

ment was very important to employee job satisac-

tion, compared with 44% o HR proessionals. These

data are depicted in Figure 17. Although employees

welcome opportunities to participate in training

paid or by their employers, HR proessionals have,

or the past eight years, predicted this aspect to be

more valuable than employees indicated. Proessional

development opportunities (e.g., attending trainingor conerences, obtaining certiications) are meant to

develop or enhance employees skills and knowledge

so that they can use this inormation in their current

positions, build their resume or uture jobs and

meet their personal goals.

Figure 18 Importance o Career Development Opportunities

3%0%

17%

6%

49%

31%

48% 46%

Very unimportant Unimportant Important Very important



Figure 17 Importance o Organizations Commitment to Proessional Development


2% 1%

13%

5%

52%

33%

50%

44%




34% o HRproeioalreported thatproeioaldevelopmetor employeewa amothe activitiesaected

by budgetcuts in theirorganizations.


22/64


While HR proessionals see the value o this

contributor to employee job satisaction, it was not

recession-proo in many organizations. According

to a SHRM poll on the U.S. and global recession

and its impact on organizations, 34% o HR pro-

essionals reported that proessional development

or employees was among the activities aected

by budget cuts in their organizations. In the same

poll, 41% o HR proessionals indicated that i the

current inancia l challenges to the U.S. and global

economy continue, their organizations will likely

or very likely cut proessional development oremployees.7

Career Development Opportunities

Through on-the-job learning experiences, cross-

training opportunities, stretch goals and other

mechanisms to utilize skills beyond what is normal

or required by ones position, employees can

enhance their skills and competencies. These

prospects help employees determine the next step

in their career either within or outside o the

organization. A lmost one-third (31%) o employees

and 46% o HR proessionals indicated that careerdevelopment was very important when assessing job

satisaction. These data are depicted in Figure 18.

Dierences emerged among employees age,

tenure and gender. This aspect was a higher

priority or employees aged 35 and younger than

or employees aged 46 to 64. It was more impor-

tant to employees with three to ive years o job

tenure than to employees who had been with their

organizations or 16 or more years. Employees in

middle-management positions were more likely

to tie career development opportunities to job

satisaction compared with employees in executive

positions. Female workers also appeared to place

more value on this component. These data are

shown in Table 3.

Paid Training and Tuition Reimbursement

More than one-third (34%) o HR proessionals,

compared with 26% o employees, perceived paid-training and tuition reimbursement as important

to employee job satisaction (Figure 19). Training

helps employees and their employers. In a 2010

SHRM study, HR proessionals reported that

their organizations oered educational assistance

to their employees: 62% oered undergraduate

educational assistance and 56% oered graduate

educational assistance.8 Employees rom large or-

ganizations value this actor more than employees

rom small organizations do, and employees 30

years and younger appear to place more impor-

tance on this component than do employees 45-to 64-years-old (Table 3).

Networking

This aspect o job satisaction was viewed by both

employees and HR proessionals among the least

important to employee job satisaction, as shown in

Figure 20. Only 22% o employees and 19% o HR

proessionals saw networking as very important to

Figure 19 Importance o Paid Training and Tuition Reimbursement Programs

6%2%

24%

10%

44%

26%

54%

34%

Very unimportant Unimportant Important Very important




23/64


employee job satisaction. Networking may not be

particularly important to employee satisaction, but

building alliances can be valuable when looking or

job leads or clients. Through networking, employees

can obtain career-related guidance and beneit rom

the experiences and perspectives o others.

Employee Relationship

With Management

Throughout the years this survey series has been

conducted, HR proessionals have tended to rank at

least two o the aspects rom this category (relation-ship with immediate supervisorand communication

between employees and senior management) in the top

ive very important aspects o employee job satisac-

tion, whereas employees have placed somewhat less

importance on these actors.

Relationship With Immediate Supervisor

The supervisor-employee relationship has consis-

tently been rated the most important contributor

to job satisaction by HR proessionals or the last

seven years (Table 2). Approximately one-hal (48%)

o employees have rated this aspect as very impor-tant over the years, compared with 72% o HR

proessionals (Figure 21). In 2010, this element was

rated the most important out o the 25 aspects o

job satisaction by HR proessionals, while it did not

make the top ive or employees (Tables 2 and 1,

respectively).

The relationship an employee has with his or her

supervisor is a central element to the employees aili-

ation to the organization, and it has been argued that

many employee behaviors are largely a unction o

the way they are managed by their supervisor. When

there are open lines o communication (e.g., encour-

aging an open-door policy), supervisors can respond

more eectively to the needs and problems o their

employees. Employees who have positive relationships

with their supervisors, where they eel sae and sup-

ported, may be more likely to share with their super-

visor job-related problems or even personal problems,which can be barriers to employee productivity. It is

also important that supervisors set clear expectations

and provide eedback about work perormance so as

to avoid any potential rustrations or issues.

This aspect was seen as more important by middle-

management employees compared with nonmanage-

ment employees (see Table 3).

Management Recognition of

Employee Job Performance

Acknowledging employees perormance throughpraise (private or public), awards and incentives is be-

lieved to be a cost-eective way o increasing employ-

ee morale, productivity and competitiveness. Almost

hal (48%) o employees and 61% o HR proessionals

indicated that this aspect was very important to em-

ployee job satisaction (see Figure 22). Employees in

middle-management positions were more likely to tie

Figure 20 Importance o Networking


4%1%

23%20%

51%

22%

60%

19%





24/64


this actor to their overall job satisaction compared

with employees in nonmanagement positions.

It is a commonly held belie that employees will eel

more committed to an organization i they believe that

their eorts are valued. This is even more relevant dur-

ing challenging economic times, when employees are

expected to do more with ewer resources.

Communication Between Employees

and Senior Management

Almost hal (47%) o employees and 65% o HR

proessionals reported that communication between

employees and senior management was very impor-

tant to employee job satisaction (see Figure 24).

Communication between employees and senior

management has consistently made the list o top ive

elements o employee job satisaction as perceived by

HR proessionals. It could be that HR proessionals

understand that eective communication rom senior

management, especially during times o uncertainty,

can provide the workorce with direction, dispel

rumors and promote trust.

HR proessionals were asked what measures their

organizations were taking to keep employee job

satisaction high during uncertain economic times.Encouraging open communication between su-

pervisors and employees (58%) and ostering open

communication with employees regarding the orga-

Figure 21 Importance o Relationship With Immediate Supervisor


2%0%

6%1%

44%48%

27%

72%




Figure 22 Importance o Management Recognition o Employee Job Perormance


2% 0%

8%3%

42%

48%

36%

61%




Eectivecommuicatiorom eiormaaemet,epeciallyduri time oucertaity, caprovide theworkorce with

direction, dispelrumors andpromote trust.


25/64


nizations inancial standing (43%) were the top two

measures they reported.

Employees need to be encouraged to pose ques-

tions and bring orth suggestions and concerns to

management. There are various mechanisms that

can be used to encourage eedback and commu-

nication rom employees to senior management,

such as employee attitude surveys, ocus groups

and suggestion boxes. In addition, employees can

meet with their supervisors one on one to discuss

any matters, regularly or as needed, and this can beused as a means o upward communication.

Likewise, it is important or senior management

to communicate with employees so that employees

understand the organizations strategy, business

goals, policies and vision, and are apprised o what

is going on in the organization. It can be particu-

larly challenging or large organizations to keep the

lines o communication clear and to keep employees

inormed o the pertinent business decisions and

strategies. Senior management can reduce these

potential obstacles by keeping employees well-inormed through companywide meetings and the

use o technology in top-to-bottom communica-

tions (e.g., CEO blog, intranet mechanisms and

e-mails).

Dierences related to this actor emerged by em-

ployee gender and job level. Employees in middle-

management positions were more likely to tie this

aspect to their overall job satisaction compared

with employees in nonmanagement positions.

Female employees also placed more value on this

component (Table 3).

Autonomy and Independence

Autonomy and independence reer to the degree to

which a job provides an employee with reedom,

lexibility and discretion to make decisions, such asscheduling the work and determining how it is to

be done. Increased autonomy can give employees a

greater sense o responsibility or the outcomes o

their work and, in turn, may increase their satisac-

tion. Forty-six percent o employees and 35% o HR

proessionals stated that this was a very important

job satisaction actor (see Figure 25).

There were dierences by employee organization

size and job level. Employees rom small and large

organizations perceived this aspect as more impor-

tant than employees rom medium organizations.Employees in middle-management positions valued

this aspect more than employees in nonmanage-

ment positions.

Figure 24 Importance o Communication Between Employees and Senior Management


2% 0%

7%3%

44%47%

32%

65%




It i importator eiormaaemet tocommuicatewith employeeo thatemployeeunderstand theorganizations

strategy,business goals,policies andvision, ad areappried o whati oi o i theoraizatio.


26/64


Does Age Matter?

Each o the our generations currently in theworkorce brings dierent perspectives tothe workplace. Are there generational dierences

when it comes to the actors that contribute to

employee job satisaction?

The survey ound thatjob securitywas ranked high-

est by the youngest employee demographic group,

while the oldest employee segment rated benets

as their top contributor to job satisaction. While

there were some dierences in the top fve con-

tributors across the generations, similarities were

more requent. All our generations rated benets

among their top three contributors to job satisac-

tion. However, the importance o some generally o-

ered employee benefts was divided sharply along

generational lines. No employees 65 years o age

and older considered amily-riendly benets to be

very important to their job satisaction, whereas

many employees younger than 65 (between 32%

and 40%) viewed these types o benefts as very

important. This illustrates a broader pattern: com-

pared with younger employees, workers over the

age o 64 generally place less importance on most

employee benefts aspects.

Other common determinants o employee jobsatisaction across the generations were: oppor-

tunities to use skills/abilities, the work itseland

the organizations nancial stability. Employees

over the age o 64 were most likely to rank items

rom the relationship with management category as

most important to their job satisaction. These data

are depicted in Figure 23 and in Tables 6 and 16 in

the appendix.

Another notable fnding is that overall job satisac-

tion appears to increase with age. As a result, em-

ployees aged 65 and older are the most satisfed

age group: 61% o employees in this age group

reported that they were very satisfed with their

jobs compared with only a third o employees aged

30 and younger.


27/64


Figure 23 | Top 5 Very Important Aspects o Job Satisaction by Employee Age

1 2 3 4 5

Job security69%

Benefts60%

Opportunities to useskills/abilities

58%

The work itsel56%

Organizationsfnancial stability

54%

Millennials(born ater 1980)

Job security66%

Benefts62%

Compensatory/pay,organizations fnancial

stability

59%

The work itsel55%


53%

Generation X(born 1965-1980)

Job security61%


59%

Benefts58%

The work itsel,eeling sae in thework environment

53%

Organizationsfnancial stability

52%

Baby Boomers(born 1946-1964)

Benefts44%

Relationship with

immediate supervisor,communication betweenemployees and senior

management

36%

Opportunities to useskills/abilities,the work itsel

35%

Organizationsfnancial stability,

autonomy

32%

Compensation/pay30%

Veterans(born beore 1946)


Source:2010 Employee Job Satisaction (SHRM, 2010)


28/64


Work Environment

The inal group o questions asked employees and

HR proessionals to rate various work environment

components on their level o importance to overall

job satisaction. Employers understand that employ-

ees spend a air amount o their time at work and

take steps to ensure the work environment is con-

ducive or employees to be productive and satisied.

Feeling Safe in the Work Environment

While at work, employees expect their employers to

take measures that ensure their saety. About one-hal o both employees and HR proessionals (51%

and 49% respectively) indicated that eeling sae in

the work environment was very important to em-

ployee job satisact ion. Female employees consider

eeling sae in the workplace an especially important

job satisaction actor.

With saety and security threats ranging rom terror-

ism and violence in the workplace to public health

issues and workplace accidents, it is not surprising

that employees are concerned about workplace

saety. This, in turn, may lead to greater expectations

o employers to protect their workorce rom major

threats. A number o employers have taken steps to

improve their saety and security systems and disaster

preparedness plans. In a SHRM poll conducted inSeptember 2009, 64% o HR proessionals reported

that their organizations had in place disaster pre-

paredness plans that would go into eect in the event

o an H1N1 or other lu virus outbreak.9

Figure 26 Importance o Feeling Sae in the Work Environment


2% 0%

7% 5%

40%

51%45%

49%




Figure 25 Importance o Autonomy and Independence


1% 1%6% 4%

47% 46%

60%

35%





29/64


Q: Is there one single factor that you see asimportant regarding employee job satisfaction

for 2010?

A: Commuicatio. A the ocu o uio oraiz-i icreae, eective iteral commuicatio

vehicle will be key or oraizatio.

Q: In your opinion, looking toward stronger eco-nomic times, how important to employee engage-

ment and productivity are such actors as benefts,

career development, compensation, economic

climate, employee relationships with management

and/or work environment?

A: Two key elemet o employee eaemet

ad productivity are employee relatiohip withmaaemet ad a udertadi that there i

room to row i the oraizatio. Employee who

repect their maaer ad udertad that they

have opportuitie or uture rowth will work hard

ot oly or that maaer but or the oraizatio a

a whole a they trive to obtai their career oal.

Q: What are the top three factors of employeejob satisfaction that are important in your busi-

ness sector?

A: The top three actor o employee job atiac-tio are eective commuicatio tool, maae-

met-employee relatio ad wae ad beet.

I ome o my more recet uio oraizi drive,

poor commuicatio ad maaemet-employee

relatio were leadi driver or employee uret.

Employee wat to eel repected i their poitio

ad kow that they have a voice i the oraizatio.

Q: When you consider making changes to youremployee policies and practices, which areas

would you focus on in order to promote and/or

increase overall employee job satisfaction?

A: I would ocu o fexibility i cheduli. To theextet eaible, employee are demadi fexible

chedule a careivi repoibilitie oly icreae.

Employer that oer fexible work arraemet will

likely eerate lo-term tability i their labor orce

ad icreae i productio.

Q: When you consider the role of HR as achampion for effective and successful employee

relations, what areas do you view as the most

important for employee job satisfaction?

A: Eective commuicatio. Without a voice i theoraizatio, employee are ot eaed, committed or

dedicated to remaii employed with the oraizatio.

Aother area i fexibility ad a poitive work eviro-

met. A eviromet that i ope, fexible ad a u

place to work will eerate eormou reult i term

o employee atiactio, productio ad retetio.

Q: When undertaking change managementinitiatives to improve overall employee job

satisfaction, what do you see as key areas to

develop, focus on and/or update?

A: I thik fexibility i the work chedule ad e-ective commuicatio are key to poitive employee

job atiactio. I would ocu o thee two area a

oraizatio udertake chae maaemet iitia-

tive i 2010.

InsIgHTs

Chad P. RichterAttorey at Law, Jacko Lewi LLP

sHRM Employee Relatio special Expertie Pael


30/64


Flexibility to Balance Life and Work Issues

Organizations may have dierent deinitions o

work/lie balance, but generally speaking, through

lexible work arrangements, the organizational

objective is to ensure that employees eel success-

ul both at work and at home. Flexibility to balance

work and lie, also reerred to as work/lie balance,

was selected by a similar proportion o employees

and HR proessionals (46%) as very important

(Figure 27). Female employees (55%) placed greater

value on this aspect than male employees (38%) did.

Workplace lexibility includes a speciic set o

organizational practices, policies, programs and a

philosophy that help employees meet the demands

o their work and personal lie. Initiatives can take

the orm o health and wellness support, inancial

support, paid and unpaid time o, and workplace

lexibility. These types o beneits oerings are

urther explored in SHRM research reports titled

Workplace Flexibility in the 21st Century: Meeting the

Needs of the Changing Workforceand 2010 Employee

Benefits. Flextime (oered by 49% o responding or-

ganizations), some orm o telecommuting (ad-hoc,

part-time or ull-time basis) (44%) and compressed

workweeks (34%) are examples o ways in which or-

ganizations provide lexibility or their employees.10

During challenging economic times, employers

may use workplace lexibility as one o their ways o

reducing costs, accomplishing business goals, andrewarding and retaining employees. Oering job-

sharing and introducing ull-time telecommuting or

employees to save on building and maintenance costs

were among the changes organizations made within

the past six months as a result o the economic reces-

sion, according to a 2010 SHRM poll.11 The same

poll shows that companies are exploring workplace

Figure 27 Importance o Flexibility to Balance Lie and Work Issues


2% 1%

12%9%

40%

46%44%

46%




Figure 28 Importance o Overall Corporate Culture


1% 0%

7%3%

51%

41%

48% 49%




Oeri job-hari aditroduciull-timetelecommutior employeeto save onbuilding andmaintenance

costs wereamo thechaeoraizatiomade withi thepat ix motha a reult othe ecoomicreceio.


31/64


lexibility options as a way to reduce costs. Four

percent o organizations reported that i the economy

continues to decline, job-sharing would likely be

implemented and 20% would likely implement ull-

time telecommuting.12 In another SHRM study o

employees, a quarter o respondents cited lexible

work arrangement beneits in the top three beneits

their employers could oer to help them cope with

current or possible increase in gas prices.13

Overall Corporate Culture

Figure 28 looks at the overall corporate culturetheorganizations reputation, work ethics, values and

working conditionsas it relates to job satisaction.

The deinition o corporate culture varies, but in

general, culture consists o the collective attitudes

and behavior o individuals within the organiza-

tionthe explicit and implicit expectations, norms

o behavior and standards o perormance. Forty-

one percent o employees and 49% HR proessionals

believed that corporate culture was very important

to job satisaction. Female employees (47%) placed

greater value on this aspect than male employees

(36%) did (see Table 3).

Meaningfulness of Job

When employees ind their work to be meaning-

ul and ulilling, they are more likely to be satis-

ied and do their work well. Some people derive

meaning through giving back to their community.

When asked about the meaningulness o ones job

(the eeling that the job contributes to society as awhole), 38% o employees, compared with 34% o

HR proessionals, believed that this aspect was very

important to overall job satisaction (see Figure 29).

HR proessionals in the nonproit sector perceived

this aspect to be more important to employee job

satisaction compared with HR proessionals in pub-

licly owned or-proit and privately owned or-proit

2010 Top

Healthand SaetyTrends

The increased threat o global pandemic issues, such as the H1N1 lu virus, will place greater1.

emphasis on the need or organizational disaster planning.

A growth in the incidence o workplace aggression will inluence employee saety policies.2.

The ongoing rise in both employer and employee health care costs will sustain and encourage an3.

increase in the use o workplace wellness programs.

Workers compensation claims and litigation will continue to be on the rise, resulting in the need or4.

more proactive management o saety in the workplace.

Saety compliance issues will increase and demand more attention rom HR.5.

Work/lie balance issues will continue to inluence employee stress levels.6.

The rising threat o raud and identity thet will require more employer vigilance in protecting em-7.

ployee data and privacy.

An increase in the number o employees using prescription medications and/or illegal drugs will8.

continue to emphasize the need or more proactive monitoring systems and support programs.

The rise in workplace violence will lead to an increased awareness and proactive stance among9.

organizations to ensure worker saety and mitigate liability.

The rise in mental health issues and illnesses, such as chronic depression, will continue to aect10.

workorce productivity and require increased organizational intervention.

Note: Trends sorted in order o importance with the frst trend being the most important.

Source: Future Insights: The top trends according to SHRMs HR subject matter expert panels (SHRM, 2009)

Flextime (oered by 49% o responding organizations), some orm o telecommuting

(44%) and compressed workweeks (34%) are examples o ways in which

organizations provide lexibility or their employees.2010 Employee Beneits: A Research Report by SHRM


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sectors. Likewise, this aspect was deemed more im-

portant by emale employees than by male employees

(Table 3). Organizations can make a concentrated

eort to communicate the ways in which the em-

ployees and the organizations work contributes to

society, including any corporate social responsibility

and sustainability activities that the organization may

be involved in.

Relationships With Co-Workers

Figure 31 examines relationships with co-workers

and their impact on employee job satisaction.Depending on the type o position, there are some

jobs where employees work predominately on their

own, while other jobs involve regular collaboration

with co-workers. Regardless, projects oten require

employees to work together to accomplish a common

goal, and teamwork skills are generally important or

success. According to 38% o employees and 41%

o HR proessionals, this actor is very important to

employee job satisaction. Female employees placed

greater value on this aspect than male employees did

(see Table 3).

Contribution of Work to the

Organizations Business Goals

Contributing to the organizations business goals was

viewed by 36% o employees and 32% o HR proes-

sionals as a very important aspect o employee job

satisaction. Contributing to the organizations overall

business goals can give employees a clearer sense o

their role (i.e., how their work its into the bigger pic-

ture) and the signiicance and relevance o their work

to business goals. As a result o the uncertain economic

climate, 42% o employees reported that the impor-

tance o their job (role) to their organizations overall

success increased their sense o job security (Figure 5).

Compared with those in nonmanagement positions,

employees in executive-level positions rated this acet as

more important.

Variety of Work

It has been argued that employees will be more

satisied with their jobs and ind their work moremeaningul when there is variety in activities and

the utilization o dierent skills. Similar to the

work itsel aspect, this includes providing em-

ployees with opportunities to work on new kinds

o assignments that call upon or develop a range o

skills and abilities. HR proessionals underestimat-

ed the importance o this component to employee

satisaction: 36% o employees, compared with

22% o HR proessionals, indicated that variety o

work was very important. These data are shown in

Figure 33.

Organizations Commitment to

Corporate Social Responsibility

An organizations commitment to corporate social

responsibility (CSR) involves balancing inancial

perormance with contributions to the quality o

lie o its employees, the local community and soci-

ety at large. A broad range o practices and activities

all under the umbrella o CSR, such as charitable

Figure 29 Importance o Meaningulness o Job


1% 0%

11% 12%

50%

38%

54%

34%





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According to the Bureau o Labor Statistics, in 2008, 59.5% o the people

in the workplace were women. O the women participating in the labor

orce, 71% had children under age o 18.14

With so many women in the workplace, it is important to examine the ac-

tors that make their work satisying. As illustrated in Figure 30, the top fve

contributors to job satisaction or women are:

Job security.1.

Beneits.2.

Feeling sae in the work environment.3.

Organizations inancial stability and the work itsel.4.

Opportunities to use skills/abilities.5.

The top job satisaction actors or emale employees were generally in line

with the top fve actors or all employees, except or their high ranking o

eeling sae in the work environment(61%) as one o their top contribu-

tors (see Table 11).

O the 25 job satisaction actors rated as very important, emale employ-

ees reported that they were very satisfed with the meaningulness o their

job, relationship with co-workers and contribution o work to organiza-

tions business goals. A third o emale employees said they were least

satisfed with communication between employees and senior manage-

mentand compensation/pay(see Table 14).

Among the compensation and benefts aspects rated by employees as very important, health care and medical benets were

rated as very important to job satisaction by 70% o women. However, only 37% o emale employees reported being very

satisfed with their current package o health care and medical benets. Women workers were most satisfed with their fex-ibility to balance lie and work issues andpaid time o. They were least satisfed with being paid competitively with the local

market, even though 52% indicated that this actor was very important to their job satisaction (see Table 15).

Female EmployeesSatisfed With How TheirJob Contributes to Society

Figure 30 | Top 5 Very Important Aspects o Job Satisaction by Employee Gender

1 2 3 4 5

Job security

60%

Opportunitiesto use skills

and abilities55%

Benefts

54%

Compensation/pay

52%

Organizations fnancialstability

51%

Male Employees

Job security67%

Benefts66%

Feeling sae in the workenvironment

61%

Organizationsfnancial stability,the work itsel

58%

Opportunitiesto use skillsand abilities

57%

Female Employees




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donations, cause marketing/branding and partner-

ing with environmentally r iendly suppliers/compa-

nies. As shown in Figure 34, 28% o employees and

19% o HR proessionals rated the organizations

commitment to corporate social responsibility as

very important.

Organizations commitment to CSR is growing.

According to a poll conducted by SHRM, 46% o

HR proessionals in 2010 compared with 35% in

2005 reported that their organization is matching

employee contributions via company-organizeddonation program to aid in disaster relie eorts.15

Organizations that practice corporate social respon-

sibility have a stronger appeal or some employee

demographics, particularly emale employees.

Organizations Commitment to a Green Workplace

This aspect o job satisaction was viewed by both

employees and HR proessionals as the least impor-

tant contributor to employee job satisaction: 17%

o employees believed the organizations commit-

ment to a green workplace, one that is environ-

mentally sensitive and resource-eicient, was very

important, compared with 10% o HR proessionals

(see Figure 35). Organizations commitment to

a green workplace, although ranked as the least

important actor, could grow in importance as the

demographic makeup o the workplace continues tochange with an increasing number o Generation

Y workers entering the workorce. According to

a SHRM poll on green workplace, the three top

drivers o environmentally responsible programs,

Figure 31 Importance o Relationships With Co-Workers


2% 0%

7%

2%

53%

38%

57%

41%




Figure 32 Importance o Contribution o Work to Organizations Business Goals


0% 0%

8%6%

56%

36%

62%

32%




Oraizatiothat practicecorporate ocialrepoibilityhave a strongerappeal orsome employeedemographics,particularly

emaleemployees.


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as reported by employees, were contribution to

society, environmental considerations and economic

considerations.16

Overall Employee Job Satisaction

Most management experts and business lead-

ers agree that when employee satisaction is very

high, it translates into increased productivity,

commitment and retention or organizations. In

2010, employees continued to be satisied with

their jobs, with 44% saying they were somewhatsatisied and 40% indicating they were very

satisied. HR proessionals perceived employees as

more likely to be somewhat satisied (73%) than

very satisied (16%). These data are depicted in

Figure 36.

The overall level o satisaction o employees has

been consistently avorable over the years and reveals

that employees are more satisied with their jobs now

than they were eight years ago (in 2002, when the

irst Job Satisaction Survey was conducted). Figure

37 illustrates the trend data on overall employee

satisaction rom 2002 to 2010. There were dier-

ences along employee demographics. More tenured

employees (16 years or more) were more satisiedthan less tenured employees (two years or less).

Executives were also more satisied than middle- and

nonmanagement-level employees (see Table 11).

Figure 33 Importance o Variety o Work


1% 1%

11% 13%

52%

36%

64%

22%




Figure 34 Importance o Organizations Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility


3% 2%

15%18%

54%

28%

61%

19%




Employees continued to be satisied with their jobs,

with 44% saying they were somewhat satisied and 40%

indicating they were very satisied.


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Employees were asked about their satisaction level

with their current job given the current economic

climate. More than one-hal o employees reported

that the current economic climate has not made a

dierence in their satisaction levels; that is, they

are not more or less satisied. However, more

employees in 2010 (28%) than in 2009 (22%)

indicated that they were less satisied with their

jobs given the economic climate (see Figure 38).

Because o the recession, organizations resources

have been stretched, and some employees may be

eeling atigued and dissatisied. One hal (50%) oemployees whose organizations have not been a-

ected by the current economic climate were over-

all very sat

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