Salary benchmarking site Emolument.com is behind the survey of professionals, which analysed their job satisfaction. It’s not great news for employers on the whole, as 57 per cent of respondents said no when asked if they love their job, suggesting there is great room for improvement.
Gender
Interestingly, women are seven per cent more likely to dislike their role. According to the findings, 62 per cent of females said no to loving their job, compared to 55 per cent of males.
There has been talk of the gender pay gap for some time and it’s suggested that the trend of females receiving lower salaries than men has created a ?gender happiness gap?. Emolument pointed that the pay gap in the UK is around 19 per cent, but added female frustrations may also be caused by juggling work with family life.
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Industry
As for the industries with the workers most satisfied by their roles, those in human resources are the most likely to love their work, as 55 per cent responded with a firm yes. This was followed by 51 per cent of technology & telecoms professionals, 49 per cent of engineers and 48 per cent in sales and the public sector & education alike.
Comparatively, tourism & restaurants, construction & property and logistics are the sectors with the workers least likely to appreciate their job, as 68 per cent said no to loving their work.
Emolument believes HR professionals are more likely to enjoy their jobs than counterparts in other sectors because of the social interaction it requires. Duties aren?t focused on company growth and finances, but supporting personal growth of peers, which is said to result in lower stress levels.
On the other hand, jobs further down the rankings increase in stressful environments, with demanding customers and problem-solving generating staff frustrations. Interestingly, it would then be down to HR to help resolve problems and discuss them, creating a full circle scenario.
Continue on the next page, which details job satisfaction based on location, employee experience and company size.
Country
The Netherlands is home to the happiest workers in the world, the study found, as a majority of 56 per cent confessed love for their jobs. That outstripped France and the US, which has 47 per cent and 45 per cent of workers respectively declaring love of their roles. Meanwhile, 58 per cent of those in the UK said no to holding their jobs in such high regard, though Spain was the most dissatisfied as 70 per cent said no.
The feelings of the Spanish were linked to the current economic situation that has pushed many graduates into low-paid careers, creating resent. Elsewhere, the low level of job satisfaction in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong were attributed to the intense working practices in the countries.
Experience
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who have worked the least time are more likely to be in love with their job, something Emolument referred to as the honeymoon period. Some 49 per cent of those who had been working up to two years said they love their job, which dropped to 44 per cent for those in work for three to five years.
Interestingly, that number fell even further to 38 per cent satisfaction for five to ten years, suggesting that’s the time the seven-year itch feeling will kick in, leaving workers questioning their next move.
Company size
When it comes to size, our SME readers will be pleased to know they?re doing something right. Employees in companies with under 250 people were the most satisfied, while happiness decreases as the business grows in size.
Indeed, micro businesses with under ten staff members have a 63 per cent approval level, which fell to 52 per cent in companies with ten to 50 staff and 48 per cent with medium-sized companies with 50-250 workers. Job satisfaction at large public firms, meanwhile, fell to 40 per cent.
According to Emolument, this is down to the flexibility of small companies and opportunities for personal growth, while red tape can be problematic in larger corporate companies.
?Happiness at work is in no way correlated to absolute pay levels. The happiest employees are either very junior, in support functions, or working for small businesses, not necessarily where clich’s would have us believe happiness lies, i.e., high-flying corporate careers,” said Alice Leguay, co-founder & COO at Emolument.com.
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