We’ve all heard the old adage: a happy worker is a productive worker. It seems to make sense that the more satisfied an employee is, the better job he or she will do. However, starting back as far as 1945, researchers have tried to prove a link between the two. Yet every major research study has been unable to find a substantial correlation between job satisfaction and job performance. Does this mean that companies need not be concerned about employee satisfaction? Are all those annual employee surveys a waste of time? No, of course not. But to reap the benefits of these efforts, resources should be focused on areas that enhance life satisfaction rather than job satisfaction.

 

 

Life satisfaction, job satisfaction, employee satisfaction. You may think these are all the same, but the impact on performance lies in the definition. An extensive study conducted by Wright and Cropanzano in 2000 broadens the definition of job satisfaction to look at how happy employees were with their overall life, including their job. They found a significant correlation between happiness with life, or life satisfaction, and job performance. Furthermore, life satisfaction was shown to be a significant predictor of job satisfaction five years down the road.  

 

To illustrate this distinction consider the following scenario. An employee is very satisfied with his job but very dissatisfied with his life. He will likely perform poorly on the job or give poor customer service despite his high level of job satisfaction. Conversely, if someone is not satisfied with a job, yet is generally happy with life, he or she is apt to be an engaging, friendly customer care professional. The Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management agrees with this assessment, saying: “a reasonable conclusion from this research would be that by making people happier with their lives overall, organizations are also increasing the job satisfaction of their employees and can, in turn, reap the benefits of having employees with high job satisfaction.”

 

 

Based on the above findings, companies need to take a more holistic approach to employee relations to remain successful in today’s highly competitive environment. This is especially true in the customer service industry, where employees are undoubtedly the most valuable asset of a customer contact organization. Over years of working in the call center market, I have personally witnessed the direct relationship between highly satisfied employees and high customer satisfaction scores. The below illustration demonstrates how closely connected these concepts are to revenue and shareholder value:

By focusing on factors that can improve how employees feel about their lives, companies can look forward to the improved revenue growth directly related to a loyal, satisfied customer base. A study by Manpower found that for every one percent improvement in employee satisfaction there is approximately a two percent improvement increase in customer satisfaction. On top of that, there are the more obvious benefits of lower turnover and increased employee tenure.

 

 

To more specifically define life satisfaction and the role companies can play in improving happiness, it is helpful to look at the example provided by the home-based virtual contact center model. These centers are living proof that greater life happiness equates to improved customer satisfaction and increased revenue. The ability to work from home gives employees greater work/life balance and has resulted in better performance compared to traditional call center staff. Among other metrics, virtual contact centers consistently deliver top box satisfaction scores, higher order totals and more word-of-mouth referrals.

 

Specific ways virtual contact centers help employees achieve overall happiness can be found by comparing the issues that drive satisfaction with features of the home-based model. Below is a list of the top five issues that drive an employee’s satisfaction according to SQM Research Group and how the design of a virtual contact center fulfills each stated need.

 

 

The fact that a satisfied workforce helps drive profits and deliver economic success is undeniable. Yet most businesses still are unclear about how to foster and sustain this desired outcome. In my experience, employee satisfaction tends to be viewed as a nebulous goal that pertains to salary, office size or maybe managerial issues. They go through the motions of conducting lengthy employee surveys and then simply do not have the resources to conduct meaningful follow-through. A better way is to concentrate resources on fixing areas that are important to employees beyond the strict parameters of the job. Through flexibility and communication, life satisfaction can be achieved and will produce positive business results. Home-based virtual contact centers do it everyday.