We all know pay matters, but a new Indeed-Forrester workplace survey has found that other factors can lead employees to long-term job happiness. Indeed career expert Scott Dobroski joined Closing Bell to discuss the survey’s findings and what they mean for employers hoping to keep their employees happy. He said long-term employee satisfaction is rooted in feeling energized in the job, and having a sense of belonging and trust in leadership. “What the employers have to do is really take employee feedback into account and take it seriously, really understand what's working well and what needs improvement in the eyes of their employees,” he said.


Closing Bell

Survey: Pay Is Important, but Workplace Happiness Matters Too

Welcome back to closing bell on cheddar news. Everyone, despite fears of a recession in waves of layoffs coming out of the tech sector, the U. S. Jobs market is still pretty robust. More than half a million new jobs were created last month and the unemployment rate hovering around 3.5% a half century low. But how important is happiness at your job for your overall well being and how is it best achieved? A new survey by indeed forest. You're asking just that and joining me now to discuss the findings is Scott Dabrowski, career expert at. Indeed Scott thanks so much for joining such an important topic. And I know your survey finding that 90% of people believe how we feel at work matters, but there's a discrepancy between what we think is important versus what does actually matter. Can you share what those are? Yes, christian great to be here. You're exactly right. This survey really um really reaffirmed what we see and we have been feeling here and indeed in many other studies we've been seeing essentially, we know that pay matters and while pay matters a lot of space actually to get employees in the door. Um what really drives employees to stay satisfied and engaged and retained in their jobs long term while it comes down to work or happiness or well being. And so what that really means is that pay being paid fairly for your skills and your experience um for where you are in the world combined with flexibility, especially after the pandemic um fair pay and flexibility are really table stakes right now and what the survey revealed is three drivers of a long term employee status, faction or happiness really being energized in your job or engage your job is a top factor along with feeling like you belong in your job. And then number three trust, trust in senior leadership, trust in your company that they're going in the right direction that you're behind it and you know how your work fits into that greater mission. Okay, that's super helpful. How do we best achieve these, those top three factors scott that you just listed that keep people happy on the job? How do companies successfully get to those levels? Yeah. And you know, employees made it quite clear 90% of them believe that keeping employees happy and satisfied in their jobs really is in the hands of the employers and so what the employers have to do is really take employee feedback into account and take it seriously, really understand what's working well and what needs improvement in the eyes of their employees. Also considering that all feedback is not created equal meaning, looking at certain breakouts teams, employees by region and understanding the different needs of your organization and then just not saying you'll deliver on it, but actually putting proof in the pudding, walking the walk and actually making the improvements for your employees and if companies still don't quite understand why this is so important. We know that our survey shows that also there is a correlation between stronger financial performance when employ are happier in their jobs and feel a greater sense of well being. So, again, for the employer it's in their interest and it'll affect the bottom line, right? It makes sense when employees are happy in their jobs and they're feeling good and engaged in their jobs, they're more productive, they're going to do better. And again, that is a direct correlation to business impact and growth. Is there anything that employees themselves can do scott to feel better on the job? To have a greater sense of well being? Yes and you know, this is highly individual and personal, really comes down to your preferences and what matters most to you, right. Some people want to advance that career ladder very quickly, others want to learn maybe different skills, uh you know, different types of things around their business. So what we always recommend is really taking an inventory of first what matters most to you, understanding how that structure is set up at your company and also really understanding what it's like to work at the company even before, before you enter on day one. This is exactly why indeed, for instance, we have reviews, we have ratings, we have happiness factor ratings that people can go on and understand what it's really like to work at that company even before they join a company and it's way too easy this day and age, you know what it's really like to work at a company today before even joining, I've got to ask this question scott because many people working remote or hybrid in the wake of the pandemic, how does that factor into employ well being? Well, it factored in certainly, like we said, flexibility has been around for years, but no doubt about it has the importance has grown significantly. In fact, we're seeing it in the labor market today, voluntary quits. And with the great resignation, people are leaving their jobs mainly because of a lack of flexibility and wanting to find greener pastures, different opportunities. So what we know, like I said, fair pay and flexibility are really now table stakes. Today's employees are still very much in the driver's seat. And not only do they expect, but they demand fair pay and flexibility. So employers first check those two boxes and then really they should be addressing workplace happiness well being. And again, how are they keeping their employees engaged? Long term feeling like they belong and showing them to have trust in the company scott. Dubrowski. Indeed. Career experts scott. Thanks so much for joining me. It's great to see you