Issues Related To Personal Satisfaction and
Business Performance in the Workplace

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The is good evidence for a link between employee attitudes and perception, with the bottom-line performance of their organization.

  Research concludes that for an organization to perform well financially it must first perform well at the front-line employee level.

Climate has been shown to be responsible for no less than 30% of organizational performance.  One further note is that 70% of climate is explained by leadership/management style issues.  In a study by Ernst & Young in 1998, Measures That Matter, non-financial factors were shown to affect 35% of shareholder valuation.

1.      Clear Expectations

People need to know what is expected of them.  Different people require different methods of clarification and structure.  However, all in all, clarifying expectations is a major hurdle in the workplace.

2.      Tangibles

Do people have what they need to do their work well.  The proper environment, tools and workplace to accomplish or what is expected of them.

3.      Job Match  

In my view, this is critical and one of Deming’s 5 factors of performance.  Did the company properly select, orient, train and match the employee with the job they are expected to do.

4.      Recognition

Does the company recognize the employee in a way that is consistent with the employees needs for recognition and acknowledgement.  We know people are different, what works for one, won’t have value to another.  The ability of the organization to recognize employee involvement, achievement and contribution are essential to promoting high employee perception of the workplace.

5.      Caring Supervision

Another issue that is sometimes taken for granted.  What seems like care to one person (providing a paycheck for work) is not perceived as caring by others.  Herzberg noted in his theory of motivation that money is simply not enough to motivate high performance.  Money is important, but there are other issues—such as caring supervision—that are even more essential.  In the study by Gallup, they found that front-line supervisors were the key.  If your supervisor, the person having direct influence on your job duties cared about you in ways that were meaningful to you, your perception and satisfaction in the workplace was improved.

6.      Positive Development

Encouragement towards your potential; support towards improving your position and positive steps taken—regularly-- on behalf of your progress are key success factors for this issue.

7.      Feedback

Do you receive timely and constructive about your contribution.  Are you able to act as your own authority in determining your performance and is the information and knowledge that you need from reviewing or measurement available to you on a regular basis?

8.      Opinion’s Count

Does the company take into consideration your ideas?  Does the company solicit your opinion in matter that counts in your workplace?  Is there clear evidence that your opinion and the opinion of others—matters?

9.      Connected Goals

Does the company’s goals allow me to feel good about the alignment of my own personal goals.  Is the purpose of the company consistent with my own?

10.  Shared Vision

This is a little misleading, in that the Gallup question has to do with everyone being committed to doing quality work.  Yet, I felt that when people are committed to doing their fair share of quality work that shared vision exists.

11.  Friend @ Work

I used the @ sign to indicate a changing workplace and that in light of our technological advances, our “friend” could be non-resident.  Friendship at work is important to people and no wo(man) is an island, even in the workplace.  Because we spend so much time at work, we need to establish personal relationships with our peers.  In today’s world, this is fraught with difficulty and innuendo.

12.  Opportunity

People need to have the feeling that they have the opportunity to learn, grow, develop and move onto things that make a difference to them.  Some want promotion, others freedom, less responsibility and others want to contribute.  Whatever it means to have opportunity, each person’s perception of the workplace improves and consequently the bottom-line performance moves along with it—if people perceive opportunity.

Perception really pays.  Leading indicators as represented by these so-called soft issues are precursors to bottom-line performance. 

If you want to hit a moving target, you have to lead it.

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