Money & Employee Satisfaction

It’s interesting to think about factors that lead to employee satisfaction in a broader, more logical sense. When most employers think about employee satisfaction, they assume that one of the most common factors that affect it is salary – one of the few factors that most employers are hesitant to change, as giving a raise to everyone on staff can quickly bankrupt a company.

But after taking a step back, it appears as though money may not play much of a role in satisfaction – at least not to the degree that others believe. Consider the following: Choice Employees choose to come work for your company for a salary of $X. Very few employees are going to have low satisfaction scores with your company for a salary that they agreed to.

If it is less than they wanted, they would either not take the job, or they would be unlikely to hold it against the company. Very few are going to blame the company for them not making enough. Low Growth Potential Little growth potential, however, is far more likely to be a factor in low satisfaction scores.

An employee believes that they are amazing at their job, but they are not getting rewarded with a promotion and higher pay. It would be erroneous to claim that money is the factor that needs changing. Rather, it is recognition and reward that is causing the low satisfaction scores.

There is certainly a relationship to money there, but the money itself is not a factor. Entry Level Jobs The lowest paid employees are most often the ones that are entry level – and often the ones that have the highest turnover rate. These employees are going to have the most menial roles – the ones that rarely coincide with their dreams and aspirations.

They are also more likely to have “cruel supervisors” and the ones that are going to have the least identity with the company. Once again, money is correlated with low satisfaction (because entry level jobs get paid the least) but it is not a cause of the low satisfaction. Bosses, Work, Etc.

Finally, satisfaction is most often caused by things like poorly perceived supervisors, difficulty or tediousness of work, and other related issues that plague many jobs. Once again, we see something that may be correlated with money, but isn’t necessarily caused by a low salary.

The only example above that indicates salary itself may be a factor is a perceived lack of recognition and growth potential, and even in those situations, it is the recognition and growth potential that is affecting employees, not necessarily the salary itself. Companies should be able to improve these satisfaction scores without increasing salaries, as it does appear that salary plays little of a role.