What 8 Things Do Employees Want?

 

Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the
Christian

Science Monitor's Marilyn Gardner, but it's not enough. Beyond pay
and

benefits lie eight key factors that influence "happiness" at work-factors
that

motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here's our
distillation

of Gardner's eight factors.

 

1. Appreciation - Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn't
cost

the employer anything to provide it. A sincere thank you or a short note
can

mean a great deal.

 

2. Respect - Again there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out
in

letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them
like

adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.

 

3. Trust - Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but
they

need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done
on

their own.

 

4. Individual Growth - Today's workers - especially the Gen Y group -
want

training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based
on

their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities
could

actually backfire. As one expert says, if you give more money to an
unhappy

employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.

 

5. Good Boss - It's the old saw: People don't leave companies, they
leave

bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen
Y

workers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from"
as

the most important aspect of their work environment.

 

6. Compatible Co-workers - Working with people you enjoy is also very

important, says Gardner. Spending the day-every day-with people you
don't

like does not make for a productive workplace.

 

7. Compatible Culture - Employees want a work environment that fits
their

needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean
high

flexibility and significant attention to work / life balance.

 

8. A Sense of Purpose - People want to know that they are contributing
to

something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization's core

purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know
how

their particular job fits into the whole.

 

One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee

"happiness" is that there is a disconnect between what managers think
and

what employees think about happiness at work.

 

Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main
motivators,

while workers consistently respond that factors such as those
mentioned

above are what's important. Successful organizations will find a good
balance

to retain their best people.