According to a survey by Personal Group, 55.6% of all UK workers are dissatisfied in their current role.

This is an overwhelming percentage especially considering the fact that dissatisfaction accumulates over time and is arguably easy to avoid.

Understanding what causes employee dissatisfaction

The first step in tackling employee dissatisfaction is being aware of how it is caused.

Low pay, a lack of interest and no career development are three of the main reasons why employees might no longer feel satisfied within their role or within your company. Other issues however, such as poor workplace relationships, work-related stress and a lack of appreciation from managers are also key causes of employee demotivation.

It’s highly likely that you have experienced the impact of employee dissatisfaction to your business at least once, and wish you could have prevented it. With our advice below we hope to help you well on your way to do just that!

Ways of improving employee satisfaction

1.         ‘Open door’ policies

Open door policies quite literally mean that your office door, or a manager’s door, is always open to employees should they have something they wish to discuss. It can also be a symbolic gesture to staff, highlighting the importance of communication to break the walls between hierarchical levels.

Building an understanding across the organisation that management is available to staff members is often beneficial for the business and puts employees at ease.

This available and open approach should also be used to handle grievances, official complaints and less-formal issues which could otherwise lead to weakened working relationships and embittered attitudes.

Ensure there is someone impartial for every employee to turn to and who can deal with their issues confidentially.  With no-one to talk to issues can easily be left unaddressed and further deteriorate staff satisfaction.

For example, imagine an employee is unhappy with the treatment from their line manager. However, in the current business set up the employee can only log complaints with that line manager has no one else they can go to with their complaint.

2.         Creating a positive company culture

Creating a positive workplace culture is actually a lot simpler than it may seem.

All employers should be aspiring to create an engaged and motivating workspace where staff members are praised for their achievements and mistakes are seen as learning curves.

You can improve your company culture by adopting a variety of simple practises, such as allowing your employees more responsibility over their work and opportunities to train for internal promotions.  Consider offering flexibility to staff members with family commitments or lengthy travel requirements.

Other benefits should also be considered such as monthly team meals, social competitions and staff outings. These can be relatively inexpensive and a great method to show that you appreciate your employees’ hard work.

Show you care about your employees’ opinions by listening. Are employees frequently complaining about the excessively high prices in the local coffee shop? Consider purchasing a vending machine or coffee dispenser.

3.         Emphasise the importance of progression

Research by people management firm Penna revealed that 63% of employees (out of 2,000 respondents) said that the lack of career development with their current employer is enough to urge them to look for another job.

A lack of progression leads to employees feeling dissatisfied causing them to quickly move on. A high turnover rate can then further the dissatisfaction amongst the remaining employees due to the many changes and negative work environment, essentially creating a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.

If your employees share with you they want to develop a certain skill beneficial for role or progress to a certain job title it benefits the business to help them achieve this.

Think of it like this:  if someone supports your career goals and actively makes changes to accommodate for your objectives ultimately helping you to progress to your dream position, would it be likely that still feel dissatisfied with your job?

The negative impact of employee dissatisfaction

The research by Personal Group shows that dissatisfied and unhappy employees are 12% less productive than their more positive co-workers.

A decrease in productivity almost always results in less profits as work is being carried out at a lower standard or simply isn’t getting finished in time.

If your business involves working with the public, you would likely see your standard of customer service decline, which can on its own have a disastrous impact on your reputation.

Dissatisfied employees can bring down workplace morale significantly affecting the rest of your team and turnover rates in the long-term.