Employee satisfaction or job satisfaction shows the extent to which employees are satisfied with their jobs within the organisation. Employee satisfaction is usually made tangible by using satisfaction questionnaires. These questionnaires often contain questions or statements around the work itself (job content), conditions in which a person works (working conditions), relationship with supervisor(s) and colleagues (labour relations) and the method of compensation (terms of employment).
The above issues are important to understand the satisfaction of employees. This allows organisations to respond in a timely manner to any dissatisfaction within teams or departments, for example. After all, dissatisfaction can be unwanted staff turnover push back.
However, employee satisfaction is just one component that makes employees truly happy, effective and loyal. For some organisations, employee satisfaction is actually secondary to true loyalty to the organisation.
Therefore, a distinction is often made between employee satisfaction and employee engagement. It is not always clear what the difference between these concepts is. As a result, they are regularly used interchangeably. In any case, it is a good start to state that employee satisfaction creates the most important conditions and is therefore often used in employee survey is put in as a concept. This only says, for example, to a limited extent whether someone is proud to work for the organisation or whether the employee can identify with the organisation's core values.
Difference between employee satisfaction and employee engagement
Both concepts are therefore important to get a complete picture. Therefore, they are explained below.
Definition employee satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is the extent to which employees are happy and content with their work and associated environment. A satisfied employee is less likely to leave the organisation voluntarily.
Employee engagement definition
Employee engagement refers to the extent to which employees are engaged with their work and the organisation. An engaged employee tends to take extra steps when needed.
If this distinction is made properly, it is possible to distinguish motivated employees from those who are only satisfied in their current role. With this distinction, it is possible to look at why employees are less engaged. With the identify of reasons, barriers to achieving engagement can be removed. This ensures that departments, divisions and/or teams can become more effective.
