What Do Workers Want?

You aren't the first to wonder what your employees want from their jobs, nor will you be the last. . . . Here's what the surveys say

You want to know what satisfies your workers? Well, fortunately for you, a veritable industry has ballooned to tell you precisely that -- what pleases them, motivates them, makes them want to never leave your company. Measuring employee satisfaction is hardly new. Social scientists have surveyed employees on the topic for decades.

We've sifted through thousands of numbers, dozens of survey, and years of research to save you the exhausting legwork and the excruciating mind work of combing through the available quantitative research on what matters most to employees. You can rest easy. Regardless of the fact we found one survey that says white for every one that says black, the cumulative results won't startle you. It turns out your employees want the same things they've always wanted. And they're probably a lot happier with their jobs than you think. What do they want? Read on.

What Workers Really Want
Health insurance, benefits, and job security pop out as being of top importance to today's workers, which shouldn't surprise you, given an environment of mass layoffs, cost cutting, and increased health-care expenses. Since workers often must share the burden of those escalating health-care costs, it also should come as no surprise that far less than half of America's workers feel completely satisfied in terms of those three factors.

The disparity between what workers want and what they're getting may drive some employers to creative alternatives, but the gap isn't likely to close. With costs continuing to spiral upward, it's questionable just how much you can do to bridge it.

But check out how high "interesting work" ranks below. Here's a factor you can control far more directly and cost-effectively than benefits and, for that matter, compensation. Given the dramatic 22-point lead interesting work has over high income when it comes to importance to workers, where are you going to put your efforts?

"Yeah, right," you say. "All my employees want is more money." Well, statistically and experientially, that's just plain wrongheaded thinking. You can look it up. People will work for less (not less than a fair wage, but certainly less than the deepest pockets in town) if they enjoy their work and feel as if they're being treated fairly. If your workers are complaining about their pay, it's usually a sign that something else is missing.

Listen to C. J. Cranny, the man who wrote the book on job satisfaction, Job Satisfaction: How People Feel About Their Jobs and How It Affects Their Performance (Lexington Books, 1992). Ultimately, says Cranny, the chairman of Bowling Green State University's psychology department, the most important factor in creating an atmosphere that workers find satisfying is whether employees find their work "intrinsically interesting."

And it wouldn't hurt to take a hard look at how you can relieve some of that employee job stress, either.

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How important is each of the following characteristics to you? How satisfied are you with it in your current job?

% of workers who . . .

Source: Gallup Poll, Princeton, N.J., 1991.

The More Things Change, the More They Appear the Same

The change in the level of satisfaction workers have with individual aspects of their jobs was relatively minor over the past two decades. But if anything stands out in the trend tables below and confirms some of what we observed earlier, it's that workers have grown less satisfied with benefits and pay than they have with any other characteristics of their jobs.

No surprise, argues David Abramis, an organizational psychologist at California State University at Long Beach. "When times are tight and you're worried about your job, pay becomes an important issue."

Absolutely. And when times are tight and costs are escalating, look elsewhere for a solution. It just might be found in some numbers that have hardly budged over the last 10 to 20 years, namely, the high percentage who desire "important and meaningful work" and the high level of satisfaction with "type of work." Remember how high "interesting work" ranks in importance among characteristics workers want in a job?

What do you most prefer in a job?
% of workers saying aspectwas the most important

Source: National Opinion Research Center surveys, University of Chicago, 1973, 1980, 1985, and 1990.