What Do Employees Want Most? (It’s Not Money)

Tangible rewards play a role in job satisfaction, says today’s expert, but for many workers, the “happiness factor” depends heavily on intangibles, such as respect, trust, and fairness.

Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the Christian Science Monitor’s Marilyn Gardner, but it’s not enough. Beyond pay and benefits lie eight key factors that influence happiness at work—factors that motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here’s our distillation of Gardner‘s eight factors, as found on the website communityinvestmentnetwork.org.

1. Appreciation

Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn’t cost the employer anything to provide it, says Gardner. A sincere thank you or a short note can mean a great deal.

2.  Respect

Again, there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out in letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them like adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.

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3. Trust

Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but they need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done on their own.

4. Individual Growth

Today’s workers—especially the Gen Y group—want training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based on their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities could actually backfire, notes Gardner. As one expert says, if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.

5. Good Boss

It’s the old saw: People don’t leave companies, they leave bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen Y workers ranked “working with a manager I can respect and learn from” as the most important aspect of their work environment.

6. Compatible Co-Workers

Working with people you enjoy is also very important, says Gardner. Spending the day—every day—with people you don’t like does not make for a productive workplace.

7. Compatible Culture

Employees want a work environment that fits their needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean high flexibility and significant attention to work/life balance.

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8. A Sense of Purpose

People want to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization’s core purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know how their particular job fits into the whole.

One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee “happiness” is that there is a disconnect between what managers think and what employees think about happiness at work.

Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main motivators, while workers consistently respond that factors such as those mentioned above are what’s important. Successful organizations will find a good balance to retain their best people.

In the next issue of CED, we’ll see how “happiness” plays out in team settings, courtesy of a unique resource, HR Department of One.