Work is important, and not just because of the money-aspect. Having a stable job or pursuing an aspiring career comes with many benefits. It may help us advance socially, grow, form better relationships, and generally give us the life experience we need to keep on making relevant and practical decisions.
This is where job satisfaction statistics come into play. Since half of our active day revolves around our jobs, it’s important to find a position and a career that we find fulfilling. The pandemic changed our perception of workplaces, and it seems harder than ever to take care of your employees’ wellbeing and happiness.
Hopefully, these stats can help you assess your current situation. It may also give you some 2021 guidance if you are planning on quitting, shifting to another industry, or generally taking better care of your employees.
Top Ten Employee Satisfaction Statistics:
- Employee satisfaction and productivity statistics show that Indian employees are the happiest.
- Nearly 83% of employees said that recognition for contributing to a project is more satisfying than gifts or rewards.
- Employee retention stats show that natural light, free drinks, and less isolation are what employees appreciate the most at the office.
- Workplace wellness and higher job satisfaction have a trackable ROI for companies.
- Only 4% of US employees were dissatisfied with their current jobs.
- The Japanese are the least likely to get a pay raise.
- High-cost rewards aren’t the norm anymore
- Employee motivation stats show that 90% of employees wish to have more fun.
- People in the Asian-Pacific region were the most satisfied with their jobs.
- 79% of US employers offer wellness programs, according to the employee retention statistics.
General Job Satisfaction Statistics for 2022
One of the keys to a successful business is satisfied employees. Many people are happy with their jobs, but there is a growing number of those who are stressed by their work environment. Unfortunately, a lot of employers rarely recognize the warning signs until it’s too late.
Here are some basics about the (dis)satisfaction rates at work you need to know about before you start tackling the problem yourself.
1. Job satisfaction rates show that only 4% of US employees were dissatisfied with their current jobs.
(Statista)
Regarding employee satisfaction statistics, only 1% didn’t know what to say or had no opinion on the question, while 17% were somewhat dissatisfied.
On a more positive note, 33% of the respondents reported being very satisfied with their current jobs, and the majority (45%) stated that they were somewhat satisfied.
2. People in the Asian-Pacific region were the most satisfied with their jobs.
(Statista)
With a respectable 62%, this region had the most positive job satisfaction statistics in 2012 when people were asked whether they are happy at their jobs. Second on the list was the Americas, with 54%, while the least satisfied was the EMEA (Europe, The Middle East, and Africa) region with 49%.
This means that on a global scale, 53% of respondents were happy with their jobs in 2012.
3. Job satisfaction in the US is not very high — some 54% of US employees are satisfied with their current workplace.
(The Conference Board)
The 2019 report from the Conference Board surveyed a total of around 2,000 employees across the country. Over half of them stated that they were happy with their current jobs, which is better than 51% from 2018.
4. Employee satisfaction statistics show that, in 2019, the Japanese were the least satisfied at work.
(Statista)
Data from the latest Randstad Workmonitor suggest that only 42% of Japanese employees were satisfied with their job, while a whopping 21% stated that they are dissatisfied. These two figures make for both the lowest and highest outcomes of the entire survey.
5. The Japanese are the least likely to get a pay raise.
(Statista)
Some unhappy employees statistics might primarily be the cause of the stern and demanding nature of the working culture in Japan, but experts believe that a bad work environment also contributes to their dissatisfaction.
Lastly, according to the same survey, they were the least likely to get raises or work bonuses at the end of the year.
6. Employee satisfaction and productivity statistics show that Indian employees are the happiest.
(Statista)
Among the 34 surveyed countries, workers were the most satisfied in India, with a whopping 89%. Following them were employees from Mexico with 85%, and the US came in third, with a respectable 78%. With 74%, China and The United Kingdom took fourth and fifth place.
Job Motivation Facts—What Makes Employees Happy at Work?
Now that we have a general idea of how things work, let’s go into more details. We gathered some stats to show you what motivates people to give their best.
Apparently, you need to provide a bit more than money to boost your employees’ performance. Make a ‘To Do’ list and read on!
7. According to Make Their Day and Badgeville’s employee motivation survey from 2013, 70% of workers don’t require a raise to feel appreciated and motivated.
(PRNewswire)
According to their results, employee motivation statistics have more to do with recognition and praise than higher paychecks. Nearly 70% of the 1,200 people asked stated that recognition is their number one motivator, compared to 2007 when 57% of asked employees said the same.
8. High-cost rewards aren’t the norm anymore.
(PRNewswire)
According to the same survey, employee recognition statistics have shifted from the monetary realm to no-dollar rewards in the US. Therefore, there’s an increase in virtual rewards and “free” recognition.
9. Nearly 83% of employees said that recognition for contributing to a project is more satisfying than gifts or rewards.
(PRNewswire)
In the same survey, 71% of respondents said that the most meaningful recognition was one that didn’t have any financial value.
10. There are more than a few right ways of motivating and rewarding employees.
(PRNewswire)
In the same 2012 survey, 69% of respondents said that individual recognition motivated them the most, while 76% said that praise from their coworkers was the best motivator.
Moreover, 88% said that receiving praise from their managers was most motivating, while only 14% said that rewards or gifts over $1,000 motivated them the most.
If you are not motivated at your current workplace and are thinking about starting your own business, here are a handful of entrepreneur statistics that you might find helpful.
11. Employee motivation stats show that 90% of employees wish to have more fun.
(PRNewswire)
Nearly 90% of the respondents of the same survey think that a fun work environment can motivate them better.
Interestingly, a fun work environment was ranked significantly higher than other categories, such as cash equivalents, job titles, and gifts, regarding motivation.
12. Workplace wellness statistics indicate that personal growth and good workplace relationships keep people in their jobs.
(PRNewswire)
Lastly, according to the survey, personal growth and good workplace relationships are the main reasons for people to stay with particular companies.
Moreover, 80% of respondents said that they feel motivated to stay when they’re working with people they like (the top reason for workers aged 36 and older).
Overall, growth opportunities received a score of 76% in these employee satisfaction stats, but it was reported to be as high as 90% for millennials under the age of 25.
13. 79% of US employers offer wellness programs, according to the employee retention statistics.
(PolicyAdvice)
Data from PwC shows that a large number of US-based businesses offer wellness programs to improve the workers’ loyalty and productivity by showing them that they care about their well-being, according to employee engagement statistics.
14. Workplace wellness and higher job satisfaction have a trackable ROI for companies.
(Sfmic)
Reports have also shown that comprehensive wellness programs not only help boost employee productivity, as per employee engagement stats but also offer companies a return on their investment.
On average, companies have made $1.50 to $3 on every dollar they’ve spent during two- to nine-year periods of supporting different wellness programs.
15. Fatigue was the main reason behind most of the missed workdays in 2016.
(Rise)
According to Rise, fatigue was behind most of the missed workdays in 2016 — 29% of instances. The next on the list was sleeplessness, with 26%.
The rest of the top five culprits were aches and pains (24%), anxiety (23%), and weight gain, with 18%.
By looking at these figures, it is clear that good workplace wellness programs can help with improving employee loyalty and morale. Not to mention that it might also help shorten or even close the gap between motivated employees vs unmotivated employees.
When you’re dissatisfied with your job, you are also more likely to make poor health decisions. Read these shocking addiction statistics, which might help you reevaluate your choices and actions.
Employee Loyalty Statistics & Engagement
How does job satisfaction affect your business? The answer is simple—a happy employee is a loyal and motivated employee who gives 101% of themselves to do their work in the best possible way. Here are some numbers to convince you.
16. According to the latest stats, a bit over half of the millennials work as managers and plan on staying with their current company for a decade, on average.
(Zapier)
Not too far behind, Gen Z employees said they want to work for their current employer for 6 years, on average. Lastly, around 16% of both generations have quit their jobs because their employer failed to provide the necessary technology for them to perform their job properly.
17. Employee morale statistics show that most people would quit their job due to no progression options.
(CareerAddict)
For the reason mentioned above, nearly 82% of the respondents would leave their current jobs. Next on the list of reasons was low pay (81%), the third was the lack of deserved pay raises, and a change of career goals (80%) was fourth on the list.
Interestingly, 79% of employees also marked bad leadership as their main reason for potential quitting, alongside poor benefits, lack of promotion (77%), lack of teamwork, and no options for setting up a flexible work schedule (75% and 72% respectively).
18. According to employee engagement statistics, talent strategy comes first.
(The Predictive Index)
A 2020 benchmark report from The Predictive Index states that 37% of executives think that talent strategy is their number one priority, and 22% of businesses think that talent strategy should be a shared responsibility to improve company organization.
19. Companies that optimize their business strategy for talent have a 30% lower turnover of their top performers.
(The Predictive Index)
The same companies also have a 34% higher average employee performance, and they spend 31% less time-solving people-problems.
These numbers show that implementing a talent-focused strategy can help improve the statistics on employee engagement and save companies some money in the future.
20. Little under half (47%) of high-performing workers left their job in 2019.
(The Predictive Index)
This tendency signals that the current talent strategy of most businesses needs to be improved.
21. Around 77% of employees are happy with their office.
(Olivet University)
The most satisfied (90%) were those who worked in private offices. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since the top requirements for more productive working hours were “dedicated office space” and a “quiet location.” Lastly, around 67% of employees are working at their top capacity in their work environment.
22. Employee retention stats show that natural light, free drinks, and less isolation are what employees appreciate the most at the office.
(Olivet University)
When asked what employees like about their office, the majority of the surveyed people said natural light, comfortable meeting areas, pet-friendliness, standing desks, games, and free drinks.
On the other hand, things like no privacy, noise, too much isolation, and visual distractions can hurt their productivity — and decrease the figures of employment satisfaction statistics.
Interestingly, about 27% of the respondents that use instant messaging platforms at work admit to using them for socializing more than they think it’s appropriate. However, only 1 in 5 thinks this could be hurting their productivity.
FAQ
What percent of employees are engaged?
(Small Business Trends)
According to Achiever’s latest report from last year, only 19% of the asked employees felt that they were engaged in their current jobs. The report also suggests that 64% of employees might have left their jobs that year, which is almost two-thirds of the interviewed employees.
These employee engagement statistics for 2019 clearly show a trend that needs to be addressed in the future.
The same report points out the importance of employee engagement and reminds employers that people aren’t only looking for a good salary when they choose to work for a company.
Are you thinking about leaving your job too? Remember, a fresh start sometimes starts with education. Read these surprising podcast statistics to get new ideas.
What is a good employee engagement score?
(CustomInsight)
To tell whether a business has a good engagement score or not, you should look for T-Scores, which tell how a specific organization’s scores compare to other businesses’ scores.
When T-Scores are being used, the average is always 50 points, with a standard deviation of 10. When your organization scores are weaker than 50, it’s below average. If it gets more than 50 points, it’s above average.
To put it into perspective, if you’re T-Score is 60, it’s higher than 84% percent of all businesses. Keep in mind, T-Scores require good benchmark data, and the lack of it can lead to results that do not represent reality.
What is employee engagement, and why is it important?
(SocialChorus) (Emptrust.com)
Employee engagement is a concept that focuses on describing and understanding the nature and characteristics of the relationship between organizations and their employees. By default, “engaged employees” are active, enthusiastic about their job, positive, take action, and look to improve the organization’s outlook and reputation.
This is important because it has been shown that businesses with high engagement rates have lower employee turnover rates and can significantly cut hiring costs. That’s why engaging employees is a crucial part of retaining talented workers.
How can HR increase employee engagement?
(SocialChorus)
HR professionals should strive to create an environment that inspires workers to care more about their work and become more involved in the work processes. As such, looking for ways to improve employee communication should be a priority.
When employees don’t have the necessary information they need, chances are, they won’t do their jobs well and will end up dissatisfied not just with their productivity but with the entire working culture. Their lack of motivation can lead to a drop in overall company productivity and other problems as well.
Good communication, on the other hand, can help set up better tasks, clear expectations, and an overall more streamlined workflow.
What percentage of people are satisfied with their jobs?
(The Conference Board)
According to a report published by The Conference Board, almost 54% of US employees are satisfied with their job, which is a 3% improvement over the reported figures of 2018.
Professionals believe that this improvement is a direct result of the positive developments in the labor market.
What job has the highest satisfaction rate?
(Glassdoor)
According to Glassdoor’s 2019 survey on the same topic, when looking at job satisfaction statistics by profession, the position of a recruiting manager was the job with the highest satisfaction score of 4.6 and a median base salary of $70,000.
ext on the list were dental hygienist, sales operations manager, and product designer with a satisfaction rate of 4.5. The fifth highest job on the list was marketing assistant, with a satisfaction score of 4.3 and a median base salary of $34,000.
What jobs are the most stressful?
(CNBC)
In 2019, CNBC summarized CareerCast’s survey regarding stress in the workplace. According to their result, in the US, enlisted military personnel have the most stressful job and an annual median salary of only $26,802.
The second most stressful job is being a firefighter with an annual median salary of $49,080. Lastly, third on the list was airline pilot, with an annual median salary of $111,930.
Conclusion
As you can see, when it comes to how satisfied people are with their jobs, there are a lot of different aspects to take into consideration. When looking at happy employee statistics, engagement, rewards, recognition, stress levels, job role, age, company culture, and salary all play a role in determining just how satisfied an individual is. And some of these aspects may be more crucial than others.
Also, being satisfied with a job or a position can often depend on the individual. However, these job satisfaction statistics give both employers and employees a better picture of the job market trends, which might give them clues on how to improve certain areas as well.
