Money, up to a point
There’s no disputing that the amount you earn for your position correlates with job satisfaction, and overall happiness. A number of studies have proven that more money, which equals more financial security and stability, can really amount to feelings of validation and well-being. What we don’t talk about is that this money = happiness balance actually starts to become more complicated when people reach higher salaries.
Glassdoor recently researched other values contributing to the satisfaction of these employees over time. According to their findings, as salary increases or becomes more stable, other characteristics of a work environment begin to hold greater weight more often than not.
Determining motivation
In order to collect information, the researches at Glassdoor utilized the Shapley Value Method, for which they collected a set of desirable properties from their wealth of salary reports and employee reviews. They then determined their importance based on salary range. So what are these drivers that can motivate happiness more than money?
One
Company Culture
It doesn’t come as a surprise exactly, but culture and values were found to be of great importance to employees ranking their job satisfaction. They aren’t just meaningless buzzwords, as old school 9-5’ers often assert.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Culture and values aren’t just meaningless buzzwords.” quote=”Culture and values aren’t just meaningless buzzwords.”]
As an employee’s salary rises, their investment in positive company culture and core values becomes far more important. Employees should want to benefit from forming meaningful connections with their peers, and that’s much easier to do if you have a shared collection of values. If employees can feel that their input is valued, and not just a work mandate, then they are better able to stand behind and feel proud of what their workplace stands for.
Two
Quality of Leadership
It’s not just their peers they want to connect with, employee’s want to connect with managers and CEO’s who inspire.
It’s less difficult to follow leaders who walk the walk as often as they talk the talk.
Managers who not only listen to their employees concerns and needs, but lead by example make for a positive top-down experience.
Three
Opportunity
With the rise of a more flexible career arch, few are content to simply find the “right” job and stay until retirement. Dynamic and fluid experiences within a workplace have a lot of value.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Dynamic and fluid experiences within a workplace have a lot of value.” quote=”Dynamic and fluid experiences within a workplace have a lot of value.”]
Most employees find feeling challenged and stimulating validating, and having opportunities to pursue growth through new or different roles and projects rank highly for employees reporting on job satisfaction.
