Hi there,
I trust you are doing good and the second half of the year is coming along well. Never stop pushing in the quest to see your goals achieved and constantly work on self-development. Welcome to another edition of your favorite productivity article, Productivity Wednesday.
The current unemployment rate in Nigeria stands at about 32.5% and keeps fluctuating but in recent times, has never gone lower than 29% and this is a cause of concern. Although, youths have one job or the other that engages them, most employees whilst working are seeking out other opportunities. There has been this great dissatisfaction in workplaces that you find employees using spare time and maybe company’s internet in search of other jobs. Often, you hear of organizations that you would believe anyone who works there has their dream job, but you hear their employees seeking other opportunities and you begin to wonder.’
What is the cause of the increasing job dissatisfaction or is it just the human nature of being insatiable? What would you have in a job that would lower your search or totally suppress the desire for looking for something else? I have even seen employees who just join an organization and within the first three months when they are probably under probation, looking for other jobs. I look forward to answers but let’s look at common factors that could drive job satisfaction and promote employee engagement and productivity.
- Passion, Values and Purpose: A lot of times, we take up jobs to just get busy and to have income every month. We often fail to look inwards and examine if the jobs we are taking up match with our purpose, values or something that we are passionate about. Quick question: can you do your current job without pay for a couple of months or with half the pay you currently earn? This is a litmus test to how passionate you are about the current role you work in. Employers also have a role to play in this because most employers hire the “body” not the “heart”. We draw judgements from the experience in the CV and the interview. This isn’t wrong but with the prevailing economic situation, one can build experience in a role they are not exactly passionate about just because it pays well. Employers can go beyond that to consider the employee’s interest to tell how passionate they are about the role they are interviewing for. If employees are hired for the positions, they are passionate about, morale would be higher.
- Mental and Physical Health: The awareness for mental health has seen increase in recent times and this is as a result of the increasing cases of mental health issues such as depression, memory loss, psychosomatic disorders etc. Employees who are mentally and physically healthy will give in their best in their jobs but when people work in places that put them in harm’s way either mentally or physically, the tendency to leave the organization will be heightened. Activities to promote both mental and physical health should be included and encouraged in organizations.
- Learning and Development: Everyone loves to advance and garner more knowledge either as a result of doing the job which they have been employed to do or enrolling in trainings. Organizations who invest in training its employees will see an increase in employee retention and creativity in performing their roles than organization that do not. Employees get bored and begin to feel redundant and stagnant with routine jobs which do not present new challenges and opportunities of growth.
- The Work Environment: This includes both physical, cultural and social environment of the workplace. Adequate space, well ventilated and lit environment will encourage employee retention as well as team bonding activities, healthy relationships among the employees and with the management. Employees tend to exit an organization that promotes unfairness, bullying and other harmful activities.
- Work Tools and Perks: Everyone loves to work with functional and adequate tools and enjoy when salaries are paid on time and consistently as well as bonuses. Outstanding performances should be recognized and not just the wrongs be amplified. Employees can be frustrated with systems that do not provide work tools but expect the employees to give their best or owe salaries.
Job satisfaction is a deliberate and continuous effort from both employers and employees. One cannot exactly have a 100% but with consistence, job satisfaction and employee retention is achievable. 21Search provides manpower and training services; kindly send us an email today to help you get your dream team. Remember, great teams are made up of individuals who love what they do and commit to excellence. Visit 21search.ng today to see our service offering.
Until I come your way again, stay safe, work smart and not just hard.
Love,
Lizzy.
Ceehillz
July 16, 2021Awesome, good piece…..I love it. Keep it coming!!!.