Money Just Isn’t Enough

Thursday, December 6, 2018

“Just pay more to get the best”, has been a mantra in organisations for many years. However in more recent times the research is indicating that there are more important things to employees than money. In a recent article for McKinsey & Company, Jeffrey Pfeffer (read it here) notes two issues that contribute to employee engagement – job control and social support.

Job control refers to the amount of discretion employees have to determine what they do and how they do it. Studies have found that this has a major impact on employees’ physical health. The article notes a number of studies to support this, including one that found people who had a higher level of influence and task control in a reorganization process had lower levels of illness symptoms for 11 out of 12 health indicators, were absent less frequently, and experienced less depression. Pfeffer also reports that chaotic workplace environments also adversely affects people’s motivation, leaning and emotional state.

Social support in organisations also impact on employee health and well-being. Workplaces frequently create environments that are disincentives to developing social support, due to pitting people against one another in competitive assessments and promotional criteria. Whereas organisations that encourage people to care for one another enjoy higher employee wellbeing and satisfaction. And it can be as simple as fixing the language of the workplace through less titles and being more community focused.

Perhaps the best way to sum this article up is to allow Pfeffer himself to conclude:

“Giving people more control over their work life and providing them with social support fosters higher levels of physical and mental health. A culture of social support also reinforces for employees that they are valued, and thus helps in a company’s efforts to attract and retain people. Job control, meanwhile, has a positive impact on individual performance and is one of the most important predictors of job satisfaction and work motivation, frequently ranking as more important even than pay. Management practices that strengthen job control and social support are often overlooked but relatively straightforward—and they provide a payoff to employees and employers alike.”

The Avondale Business School can help your organisation develop employee well-being. To find out how, simply contact Warrick Long at [email protected] or 02 49802168.