Written by Arne
4 min reading time
Work on more job happiness
Work happiness vs job satisfaction
Very often we use the words job happiness and job satisfaction interchangeably. However, they are two fundamentally different concepts that are closely linked.
The degree of job satisfaction of your employees is determined by the salary package, the working conditions, the work environment and infrastructure. These are, as it were, the basic needs of your employees and are closely related to the company culture. But even if your employees have ticked all these boxes, this does not automatically mean that they are genuinely happy on the shop floor. Job satisfaction is obviously a first step in the right direction, but job happiness goes further.
Job satisfaction is a growth process
The work happiness of your employees is influenced by the interaction with colleagues and managers, but also by the fact whether or not they feel involved in the whole. Work happiness is therefore not created overnight. It is a growth process both on a personal level of the employees and on a team or company level.
So you can see job satisfaction as a necessary basis for job satisfaction, but if you really want happy employees, then the following things must also be present:
- mutual trust
- honest and open communication
- appreciation
- room for involvement
Disastrous consequences for Corona
The figures from the National Happiness Survey (March 2020) led by Professor Lieven Annemans (Ugent) do not lie. The corona crisis and the accompanying compulsory homework and gnawing job insecurity have caused our job satisfaction score to plummet even further. Togetherness, commitment, collegiality, ... it's all not so obvious in a world of mainly online contact. Moreover, a lot of employees - especially single ones - feel lonely.
That is why it is important for companies to take the bull by the horns and not only focus on job satisfaction, but also and especially on job satisfaction.
Dajo De Prins, doctor of law and notorious happiness expert, published a new book at the end of May with numerous usable tips for more happiness at work after a corona. It is a passionate plea to give work happiness a central place within your organization.
So what are you waiting for?