Essay 1

Submitted By imgt999
Words: 1120
Pages: 5

Ian Munroe
Savannah State University
Essay 1: Job Satisfaction

Ian Munroe
Dr. Jun Wu
MGNT 3300
8 February 2015
Essay 1: Job Satisfaction As a manager it is essential to understand what makes and keeps employees satisfied with their jobs. A stable work environment where employees feel that their work is meaningful and important is vital for an organization to run at maximum efficiency. Researchers have compiled an extensive amount of data that explains the causes of job satisfaction and its implications in the workplace. An effective manager must be fluent with this data and know how to apply it to his or her unique environment to assure that they are being proactive in keeping their employee’s needs fulfilled. Excellent managers are able to recognize when job satisfaction is wavering and take the appropriate actions necessary to reestablish employee’s feelings of contentment with their positions. By doing so, the negative repercussions that spawn from job dissatisfaction can be minimized and/or prevented. Job satisfaction is defined as “a positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics (Robbins, 79).” This broad, yet all-encompassing definition shows that job satisfaction is a more complex issue than simply being content with your basic tasks while at work. To be truly satisfied, employees must find a level of gratification from several different elements including interactions with co-workers and superiors, job security, wages, stress levels, work environment, facility conditions, etc. (Robbins, 79). Managers measure how satisfied employees are in many ways. At my company we use a two-step approach. First, each employee is given an anonymous survey to fill out. The survey is thirty questions long and asks employees to honestly answer yes or no to questions covering topics such as compensation, work conditions, co-workers, management, emotions, perceived value, stress, etc. At the end of the survey employees are given the opportunity to offer any suggestions to management that would help improve their overall level of job satisfaction. The anonymity of the survey ensures that honest answers are given without the fear that any detrimental action will take place based on any negative responses. This survey gives the management a solid pool of data to assess the current state of the company’s work environment and whether any changes need to be made to help the business run more efficiently. In the second phase, each employee has an individual meeting with their direct supervisor. The supervisor gives their employees a performance evaluation and suggestions on how to improve their performance if any shortcomings are present. The employee is also given the opportunity to voice any comments or concerns that he or she may have with anything pertaining to their position and get direct feedback from their manager.
After evaluating this year’s surveys and performance evaluations it is apparent that our employees are not as satisfied with their jobs as they were in previous years. The survey indicates that stress levels have risen and cohesiveness between co-workers is suffering. It is not uncommon, but an increased level of concern over pay and promotion opportunities were also voiced during this year’s performance evaluations. My management staff and I have met to assess the root causes of these issues and to develop a plan of action to reestablish the feeling of satisfaction among our employees. It is absolutely essential that our employees feel comfortable with their co-workers, valued, and fairly compensated for their contributions, a sense of pride for the organization as a whole and the motivation to constantly improve their performance.
After meeting with my fellow managers, we have come to the conclusion that the majority of our issues are stemming from the feeling that promotion opportunities are limited. Because of this, several employees feel that if they