Sunday, August 12, 2007

Job Satisfaction - most effective long term retention strategy

A recent Assocham survey predicts that job satisfaction is higher among middle level employees in India than those at the helm of affairs or those at competitive entry level positions.

The reasons?

Middle positions = Higher job satisfaction and quality of life

* Working hours which do not entail long shifts and spill overs after official work hours

* Lesser accountability and chances of being ‘hauled up’

* Greater flexibility to structure one’s working day

* Management has modest and more realistic expectations

* Greater opportunity for availing leave

* Clearer lines of reporting and debriefing

In contrast, Senior positions = More tension and stress

And the factors that led to their plummeting job satisfaction included

- their longer working hours have no defined ceiling. Most often clock in more than 60 hours of work/week compared to the mandatory 40-48 hours precedent in Europe& U.S.

-their overall accountability made them answerable 24X7 to not just one boss, but multiple bosses who went beyond plain and simple hierarchy.

- higher targets to achieve with expectations which most felt were unrealistic,

-the absence of a personal life and the inability to balance their priorities.

This led to frequent job changes, health problems and a distressed personal life.

Rising divorce rates in the IT sector are also attributed to Financial freedom, lack of time at home, and stress.

Is there a lesson for business leaders and HR professionals in attracting and retaining talent? Can we think of solutions before it is too late?

The labor arbitrage advantage that gave rise to the country's tech industry and booming economy is probably declining faster than many of us anticipated even a few years ago. The wage differential with the West is fast disappearing anyway!

So while business leaders are trying to learn how to create a culture of innovation to gain advantages through business-model innovation, supply-chain innovation, should not some of us in the HR fraterity be thinking of improving the internal (employee) customer experience??

3 comments:

ABI said...

Keeping the rupee factor in consideration, will the trend of Happy Middle Management employees continue as companies are planning to cut down the costs to increase profit levels, starting off with long working hours for thier employees and may be he middle management employees need to work on weekends too ..

Satisfaction Questionnaire said...

Yes I totally agree with your article and information.

Middle positions = Higher job satisfaction and quality of life

In contrast, Senior positions = More tension and stress

Job Satisfaction Survey said...

One approach isn't necessarily better, and you might find elements of all three perspectives important. Still, if you're unsatisfied with your job, it's helpful to reflect on why you work.