Factors in Worker Moral and Job Satisfaction

Introduction-

Worker morale and job satisfaction is a topic that should be thoroughly

thought about and contemplated by managers, CEO'S, workers, or any other type of

position held in the business world. The word morale means, the state of the

spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness,

discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks. The word satisfaction

relating to workers means, the fulfillment or gratification of a desire, need,

or task that a worker feels necessary or gets pleasure or contentment from this.

To be satisfied a worker must feel a sense of gratification. In this paper I

will be talking about ways to boost worker morale and job satisfaction, ways to

maintain it, things that would lower worker morale and job satisfaction, and

specifics that relate to the topic and its functions in business. Topics such

as the environment workers have to work in, benefits, bonus', factors in

self-esteem, courtesy, and so on will also be discussed in the paper.

Factors of morale and satisfaction-

"With worker morale, there isn't one thing that we can throw a dart at and

say, `If we do this, we're going to increase worker morale by 50 percent. It's

not that simple of a formula. There's a lot of contributing factors,"(2) said Ed

Rovetto, president of Rovetto Design Group Inc., an interior design firm in

Troy. This point shows just how important and how many little details there are

entailing this topic. There are certain things/factors that will effect a

workers morale and satisfaction. These factors may not be blunt, however, they

are taken seriously and could have a large impact on a workers motivation.. In

business workers work to earn money. They put in their hours so that they could

support themselves, a family, and buy things for leisure such as a new car or a

new boat or the vacation they have been planning for so long. These things

cannot be achieved without the worker being given the best possible position

that they could earn. Another factor is that the worker need to feel wanted and

comfortable at the position. If they are being treated unfairly, or feel that

they are just being given busy work, then this could seriously effect the

motivation, and morale of the worker. Is the person you are working for

appreciating the work you do? Are they telling you that you are doing a good

job or are they dismissing the work that you put in? These examples and these

questions are factors that need to be looked into. "Increasing

job satisfaction is important for its humanitarian value and for its financial

benefit (due to its effect on employee behavior.) As early as 1918, Edward

Thorndike explored the relationship between work and satisfaction in the Journal

of Applied Psychology." His studies

have showed that employees with higher job satisfaction include employees that

believe the organization will be satisfying and successful in the long run,

employees that care about their work, they are more committed to the

organization, have higher retention rates and are more productive."(1) These

factors all lead to the morale of the worker and how satisfied they are with

their job and position they are in. Other factors such as the environment of

the work space are also important to a worker. The factors in order believed to

be most important through the worker's themselves in a survey says the

"opportunity" is the most important factor in workers being satisfied..

Following this factor in order is "stress, leadership, work standards, fair

rewards, and adequate authority."(1) All of these factors could lead to a

promising or dim organization.

Actions and ways to boost worker morale and job satisfaction-

"Companies today are really looking at ways to boost morale." It is evident

that workers would like to be treated fairly. They would also like to be treated

importantly. To boost

a worker's morale and keep them satisfied is important in many different ways.

Not only does it keep the workers happy for their own sake, but it will also

keep them honest, hardworking, productive, and responsible. A worker would much

rather be given a challenge and something important to do than be put of. This

will keep a worker feeling important and give them a high self-esteem.