Satisfaction Survey: Satisfaction

Wing Leung and Mike Zimmerman -- Interior Design, 12/6/2012 5:50:55 PM

How to make life sweeter in your own cubicle... Pursue the new Look to branch out into as many diversified areas as you can. Choose experiences over toys. A person is more inclined to appreciate a great project or challenge rather than a new computer. Promote a strong sense of team and encourage workers and managers to interact and support one another. Let folks take regular time off to be with family and friends. The dividends will be sweet.

Right now, perhaps for the first time since the financial meltdown, constant grumblers appear to be a minority. There a resigns of real happiness in the industry. Our survey yields useful information for raising satisfaction scores even higher.

One of our findings leads to the question: How can 84 percent of respondents say they’re happy at work when a vast number of the same group have, over the last few years, been working more hours (39 percent) and getting no raise or, worse, taking a pay cut (54percent)? For the answer, we applied some psychology. Hedonic adaptation holds that if a person has a positive experience, the associated euphoria will fade over time. In short, you get used to things. But in a recent study, hedonic adaptation was slowed in happy subjects when they were shown appreciation and encouraged to vary their life experience. They stayed happier longer.

Our survey found similar effects. Two-thirds of those asked say that their job responsibilities have changed in the last three years, the most common reasons being: personal initiative (54 percent), staff downsizing (29 percent), additional education (27 percent), a new job outside the company (27percent), company growth (23 percent), and promotions (19 percent). Of all those categories, only staff downsizing is a negative reason for change. All the others show employees taking control of their careers, embracing the new, and being rewarded for the effort. If work is changing in a positive way, or a variety of positive ways, science tells us that our jobs will make us happier.



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Satisfaction Survey: Happiness
Satifaction Survery: Salary