Employee Work Perception Predicts Company Success
Posted November 23rd, 2010
Work consumes a lot of life, in many different ways, so it’s not really news that work affects our quality of life on several levels ways. Many studies have shown that our attitudes about work affect our mood outside of work, as well as our health.
Now researchers have found that the way employees perceive their work can have big influence on the efficiency and profitability of a company. They looked at more than 10 major companies. They did surveys of employee job satisfaction, employee retention rates, customer loyalty and the organizations’ financial outcomes. Then they analyzed the data to look for correlations between the job satisfaction of employees and the performance of the companies.
What they found is that employee perceptions can predict the performance of the organization as a whole. If employees have a favorable attitude toward their jobs, their companies tend to have greater worker retention, more loyalty among customers, and better financial performance. Moreover, they found that employee perceptions affected results more than results affected perceptions of their jobs.
A clear lesson from the study is that the more favorable attitude employees have of their job, the better the company will perform, and that management should put practices in place that will improve the employees’ perception of their jobs. One way this can be done is by being clear about expectations – enabling employees to see the overall results the company is aiming for and how each employee plays a role in achieving those results.
When employers share this information about the overall goals of the company and the employees’ role in it, they get a greater sense of fulfillment in their job than if they look at their work just in terms of their own performance, unconnected to anything else. They feel they are part of a larger community, composed of people all working toward a common goal.
Working conditions also play an important role in the employees’ sense of satisfaction they get from their job. Establishing a warm, pleasant working environment will go a long way toward improving productivity.
The research shows, however, that what the employees perceive the organization to be doing is more important than what actually is being done. So, to make sure the employees have a favorable perception, they need to be brought into the process, to be consulted, and to have their input implemented.
Managers need to know that they cannot improve organizational performance without first addressing the perceptions employees have of their jobs.
If you’re a San Francisco-area employer looking for strategic staffing solutions to help your company become more productive and profitable, contact Bayside Solutions. We can help find you great employees and provide you flexible, cost effective, customized staffing solutions. Contact us today!
