RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – If you are not happy with your job these days even in the midst of 50-year lows in unemployment rates, you are far, far from alone. So what can companies do about worker morale?
Only 13 percent of workers are “largely satisfied” with their work experience, says research firm Gartner.
And a whopping 46 percent are “largely dissatisfied” with what’s happening on the job.
Corporate executives routinely say that finding and retaining talent is one of their top concerns in these days of digital transformation and a lack of qualified talent to fill several million open jobs.
So what do companies do?
To deal with such a high level of disatisfaction, companies will need to spend more on initiatives to improve the workplace experience, Gartner says.
One way to improve attitudes is through initiatives that help workers drive “shaping” of their companies and jobs, Garnter says.
“This approach to improving employee experience satisfaction focuses on influencing and improving employees’ feelings about their overall experience using psychological, motivational and social principles,” Gartner says.
Companies that “effectively apply shaping the employee experience” can deliver results, such as:
- 38% more likely to report high intent to stay
- 33% more likely to report high discretionary effort
- 44% more likely to be high performers
So how do companies do that? Gartner offers the following suggestions:
- Minimize downsides to employees
Ensure employees feel comfortable using available information to personalize their experience without the concern of any risk or downside.
- Nudge employees
Provide employees with clear guidelines that direct them toward the appropriate next steps required to use information to personalize their day-to-day experience.
- Offer connections to others
Help employees seek out proper support from their networks, often from their peers, that will help them clarify how others have used information to better personalize their experiences.
- Shaping the Memory:
Analysis shows that 83% of HR leaders believe that responding quickly to negative experiences will have a significant impact on an employee’s overall experience. However, responding quickly to an employee’s experience does not always guarantee a positive impact. Additionally, only 32% of HR leaders agree they help employees themselves address problems within their work experience.
- Shaping Employee Expectations
While most organizations focus on understanding employees’ most important expectations around their experience, this approach is not enough. These expectations are typically relative and incomplete, and employees’ needs do not align with what the organization offers.
- Shaping the Day-to-Day Experience
Managers are losing confidence in their ability to guide their teams and are ill-equipped to take the lead on personalizing the day-to-day experience on behalf of their employees. Only 24% of employees agree they fully trust their leaders and managers to make recommendations about how to adapt their day-to-day experience.
