Nearly every corporate dashboard I have seen in the past decade has a KPI for ‘Employee Satisfaction’. The methods and measures underlying this KPI range for surveys, complex testing and somewhat dated management and psychological theories. In reality, most of these measures fail to accommodate four pretty simple principles that define employee happiness – the key factor to employee satisfaction. These principles start with:
- I can do my work, with meaning and purpose.
- I feel I belong here and have positive relationships with those I work with
- I am recognised, treated with respect and my work contribution is acknowledged
Sounds simple doesn’t it – and it is. But of course, something this simple would not satisfy the ego of a psychologist seeking to make a name for themselves as an organisational psychologist. So we end up with convoluted, over-simplified and generalised models, which rarely fit anyone. And that brings me to the most important principle 4:
4. My perception of happiness is unique to me!
Every person has their view of what they expect from life, and what they hope to experience and achieve. That life vision is the starting point for determining happiness with anyone.
So, please stop and consider the generalised HR tools you are using to measure employee satisfaction, and instead, focus on individual happiness. It really isn’t that complicated to be human.
