When it comes to job satisfaction the oldest cliché in the book still rings true. Do we work to live, or do we live to work? Without a doubt the Baby Boomer generation were looking for financial reward above all else in their working lives. They may have talked about quality of life, but being a generation who were materially wealthier than their parents gave them a level of satisfaction that could be seen in bank balances. However, it is a different story for Millenials and Gen Z who view work through a different lens. Many younger people do not believe they will ever have the same opportunities that were afforded to their parents. In addition, they have seen real estate opportunities run away from them.
The gig economy initially appeared an attractive proposition for digital nomads with no attachment to locality or corporation. However, the reality has often turned out to be poor working conditions and little flexibility on the workers’ side. They found that the employers were dictating the terms. We often hear about dissatisfaction with workers of the big tech companies. Younger workers are rejecting the toxic work culture and becoming unionized. Workers born between 1997 and 2012 have entered the job market at a time when college degrees no longer guarantee job stability and there is heightened anxiety around the economy. A survey for the National Society of High School Scholars, questioned 11,000 high-school and college-aged people. They found that the highest priority for this cohort was fair treatment of all employees, quality of life, employer flexibility and corporate social responsibility. Just chasing the dollar is not enough for them.
Millennials were dubbed the job-hopping generation and this does not seem to be changing. Young workers want better opportunities than their parents and they are prepared to ask for it. Gallup reminds us that job turnover is costly to employers and puts a figure of $30.5 billion on it. Their research found that many Millenials are essentially ‘checked out’ at work. It is not that they do not want to be engaged, just that the work does not connect to their passions.
While this looks like a fairly gloomy picture for employers, there are plenty of businesses who have understood the challenges and are aiming to create workplaces where people want to work. While Meta has announced that it will be laying off 11,000 workers, there are other online industries that are recruiting and retaining contented staff.
eBay is more than auctions
eBay has been around for longer than many of the newer online start-ups, so has probably had a great opportunity to work out how to keep its employees happy. While the founders of PayPal found its structures too corporate after their fintech baby was acquired by the online auction site, employees at the company have posted glowing reviews on Glassdoor. eBay has sites all around the world and offers well-paid roles with flexible working and employee well being bonuses. Employees like the ‘relaxed atmosphere’ and good benefits. 69% of people approved of the CEO. However, some reviewers said that there were limited progression opportunities, while others were critical of management decisions.
Online Gambling
The gambling industry goes the extra mile to attract bright recruits to the industry. It is a rapidly growing sector and understands that to compete it needs to offer employees a good work-life balance. While customers are looking for the best online casino payouts, the employees behind these platforms can expect to receive attractive salaries, flexible working and international opportunities. One recent survey found that BetMGM was regarded as a ‘great place to work’ by 91% of its employees compared to 57% for a typical US company. People liked the fact that leaders shared business updates with the staff which created an inclusive work culture. In addition, people talk about everyone’s health and well-being being prioritized.
Video Communications
Comparily.com undertook research of over 10 million employees around the globe. They wanted to find out which companies had the happiest personnel. According to their most recent data Zoom video communications had the happiest employees. It would appear that not only are younger people very happy to be able to use the technology to work remotely, but that they are also very satisfied with working in the sector.
One employee wrote
“They are passionate and dedicated to their various roles in the organization which motivates those they lead to do more”
Another said,
“The entire leadership is transparent and communicates all information proactively. Zoom has the best culture out of all the companies I have worked for. They genuinely care about employees and customers and always do the right thing for both.”
Business to Business
Some companies are there to make life run more easily and profitably for other businesses. While such organizations might not be household names, they are often the power behind well-known brands and online platforms. The business in this category that is said to have the most satisfied employees is HubSpot, the leading CRM platform. While their mission is to empower businesses to attract new customers, they have also done a good job of attracting and retaining a happy workforce. They have any number of employee accolades including being one of the best workplaces for parents.
Across all these industries, the keywords that come up are transparency, respect and inspirational leadership.
