8 Things that Make Workplace Really Cool: Part 1

It seems that when you will see a cool workplace you will instantly know – this is it!

In some cases, corporate culture assessment can be based on very emotional and personal criteria. In other cases, it can be as strategic as the assessment of any other business activity. But there is no magical managerial formula for creating a perfect workplace for any industry, any city, any employee, and any.

However, there are a few basic ingredients for creating and maintaining a good atmosphere in a company. These factors can increase the morale and make lives of your employees more pleasant. Besides, they can bring additional profit for the management. Ask your employees what can motivate them to work harder and you will get the list.

Tracking the changes in employee job satisfaction is a more difficult task. Only 68% of the employees in the US have confirmed that they are satisfied with their work this year. Last year this figure was higher — 71% (according to the study of American Psychological Association). However, if you look at the study of Society for Human Resource Management 88% of employees are satisfied, and this is the highest percentage in a decade.

If we ignore the margin of error after examining a number of surveys about job and workplace satisfaction, including studies of the Psychological Association, the Society of human resources, and Gallup Staples retailers and PwC consulting’s questionnaires we can distinguish eight key factors that separate good jobs from the usual and terrible ones.

We all like to be liked. And even in the super-competitive business environment employees expect polite treatment. Although courtesy seems to be a paragraph from the "Management for dummies" booklet, really cool jobs reach the highest level of it.

The study of the Society of human resources noted that the point "respect for all employees at all levels" had the highest position in the assessment of employee satisfaction two years in a row. "Developing effective communication practices and respecting employees’ work and opinions help build better relationships between managers and their staff," the report said.

The same study measured the gap between employees’ expectations about the workplace and how these expectations are fulfilled. If compared to respect, only payment issues are at greater variance with the estimates.

A simple "Thank you!" has a very big impact.

Do not fall for the nonsense that compensation is not a significant factor in the formula for a cool workplace. The most popular reason for quitting is salary (based on the statements of 62% of employees who were searching for a job).

According to the Psychological Association, if nothing else intervenes, a decent level of wages in itself reduces the overall stress level in the company. And small salaries is the leader in the list of the most stressful factors at work. By the way, it is followed by the lack of opportunity for growth.

Money is a noose for many employees. PwC notes that the financial stress for employees increased 3 times this year. The same survey noted that financial problems are ahead of many life problems that were distinguished by 45% of respondents: they are issues related to work (20%), health problems (15%), relationship issues (15%), and other issues (6%).

Money can't buy love, but it definitely can improve the workplace.

Like any other process in the company, great jobs depend on the leadership. For many leaders, a high position is a challenge. The interaction of employees and management is critical for the employee satisfaction, but, according to surveys, the bosses rarely deliver on their promises. The lack of trust for the headquarters is the fourth largest discrepancy between employees’ expectations and reality.

At the same time, managers who focus on supporting their employees eventually gain significantly from that.

91% of employees who said that their management supports them also indicated that they consider themselves highly motivated. And only 38% of employees who do not receive support from managers feel the motivation to work.

In addition, loyal bosses also have a higher level of employee retention and the advantage in recruiting: 89% of employees who feel management’s support will recommend their employer to others (vs. 17% of employees who do not receive the support) and only 25% of these employees intend to look for another job (compared with 51% of employees who do not receive the support).

Forget about the headquarters.

The latest survey of Society for Human Resource Management showed that the most satisfied employees are characterized by a very personal and very unpredictable relationship with the direct supervisor (it is curious that career opportunities ranked last among 18 other factors of job satisfaction).

The situation with employee-manager relationships does not improve. In fact, this year 72% of employees noted a good relationship with the leadership, but five years ago this figure was higher — 77%.

Yes, the satisfaction of an employee with the workplace can be defined just by one simple value: relationship with immediate supervisor.