Fresh grads most satisfied with work, says survey

Filipino employees become less satisfied with their jobs the longer they stay in the company and the higher they move up the corporate ladder, a recent study revealed.

Although generally happy with their work across the spectrum, the number of employees who expressed satisfaction with their jobs gradually decreased as the position level increased, according to the results of a study released by job searching website Jobstreet Philippines.

Fresh graduates posted the highest satisfaction rating (79 percent), followed by junior executives (70 percent) and supervisors (66 percent), said Jobstreet Philippines Marketing Director Yoda Buyco during a recent press conference in Makati City.

The satisfaction level took another dip with the managers (66 percent) but rose by only a percentage point with those holding a director post or higher, she added.

Consequently, those who were less than a year into their jobs registered the highest satisfaction rating (75 percent), followed by those with a tenure of between one and three years (72 percent), and between three and five years (65 percent), results of the study showed.

Those who were more than five years into their jobs posted the lowest satisfaction rate of 62 percent.

“The basics are the ones that make you happy at first,” explained Buyco. “And then you yearn for more, in terms of your contribution to the company and the opportunity to perform,” she added.

Buyco cited the survey’s results showing “salary, company benefits and incentives” as the top reason that give satisfaction to fresh graduates.

Junior executives and supervisors cited “relationship with colleagues and superior,” while managers and those who are holding a director post or higher noted “job role.”

The results of the study were drawn from the responses of over 7,500 participants from across the country and submitted between June and July of this year.

The survey population had an almost equal split among males (51 percent) and females (49 percent), with the majority of the respondents coming from Metro Manila (55 percent).

Generally speaking, Filipino employees posted positive results with 70 percent saying they were satisfied with their jobs (55 percent “quite happy” and 15 percent “very happy”).

The country posted the highest satisfaction rating among five Southeast Asian territories surveyed.

The Philippines was followed by Thailand with 59 percent, and Singapore with 51 percent.

Employees in Hong Kong and Indonesia were the least satisfied with their jobs, posting 37 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

For Filipinos, “salary, company benefits and incentives” topped the reasons for employees’ satisfaction (64 percent); followed by “job role” (62 percent); “learning and development programs, and career growth” (60 percent); “working environment, culture, and work-life balance” (59 percent); and “relationship with colleagues and superior” (56 percent).

However, employers appeared to have a different view.

If job role was the second most significant driver for employees’ satisfaction, it was noted by only 23 percent of the 269 human resources executives who participated in the survey, shared Philip Gioca, Jobstreet Philippines country manager.

“Salary” also topped the employers’ list (93 percent), followed by “learning” (63 percent), “working environment” (55 percent) and “relationship” (48 percent).

Gioca shared that employers find employees’ satisfaction important, citing survey results which showed that “regular salary reviews” topped their measures to boost workers’ happiness at 68 percent, followed by “learning and development programs” with 59 percent.

A minority of the employers (35 percent) cited “proper on-boarding and job expansion,” followed by “regular town hall meetings and internal communication” (27 percent), and “flexible work hours.”

Only 19 percent of the employers said they improved employee satisfaction through “camaraderie-boosting programs” such as team-building activities or sports fests.

The study also revealed that while a big majority of Filipino employees were satisfied with their jobs, many of them were still looking for a career shift.

Forty-six percent of the employees said they planned to move within the next 12 months, and another 18 percent in the next year or two, for an aggregate score of 64 percent of the entire workforce. Twenty-seven percent were “undecided” while a mere 9 percent gave a definite “no.”

Of those who recently changed jobs, 90 percent said they made the right move.

When a worker leaves the company, the majority of the employers (66 percent) said they “take note of their concerns but do not stop them from leaving,” Gioca noted.

Only 29 percent said they try to “address the concern or make a counter-offer.”

For the study, distribution of survey forms, submission of responses and gathering of data were all conducted online.

Follow up interviews were randomly conducted to provide qualitative support for the quantitative results of the study.