Effective employee engagement vital in ensuring workplace satisfaction

Seek Asia Country Manager Philip Gioca urged business executives and employers to set up a mechanism where employees could share their concerns and participate in crafting policies that would ensure their career development. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – Increase in salary and benefits, better prospects for promotion and career development, and effective management are some of the reasons that would make employees happy in their workplaces.

The latest Happiness Index Report by online job search firm Jobstreet showed that Filipino workers have the highest job satisfaction rating among other Asian countries interviewed, among them Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

The survey showed that Filipinos cite smooth working relationship with colleagues, convenient work location, and working in a reputable company as factors that would determine their happiness in their workplaces.

Seek Asia Country Manager Philip Gioca urged business executives and employers to set up a mechanism where employees could share their concerns and participate in crafting policies that would ensure their career development.

“Continuing engagement with employees is vital in ensuring their loyalty. Employers must be receptive to the feedback of their subordinates and make them feel that they will address their concerns. Employees should have a feeling that they have a major part in ensuring that their company would sustain their profitability and competitiveness,” Gioca said in an interview with PNA.

Flexible working schedules, training for career growth and providing incentives are just a few of the policies that companies should implement so their employees would be motivated in their work performances.

Jobstreet disclosed that SM Investments Corp. and Ayala Land Corp. are some of the business organizations that participated in the Happiness Index Report.

Both companies said they value employee happiness through creating a working environment that will provide opportunities for personal and professional growth.

SM Investments provides sessions that encourage employees to speak up, as well as health and wellness activities, such as vaccination programs, group exercise activities and talks from various speakers on a variety of health topics.

Meanwhile, Ayala Land offers corporate social activities, movie-watching with families and various sport activities to make their employees happy.

Both companies also conduct an organization climate survey every two years to gauge the effectiveness of employee management.

With the country’s increasing economic growth, Seek Asia Country Manager Gioca believes that employees will be encouraged to further excel in their work.

“Increasing economic growth leads to the increase in purchasing power of workers. As their salary increases, employees will now be able to spend on electronic gadgets, automobiles or appliances which they consider as rewards for their hard work and dedication to their jobs,” he said.

The Happiness Index Report seeks to determine factors that will make employees leave or stay in a company and the programs and systems they can create to establish a better working environment. Respondents were drawn on position levels ranging from fresh graduates to supervisory and managerial positions and top management nationwide, having stayed in their current jobs for varying lengths of time, and representing various specializations and industries.

Of the 12,796 Filipino respondents, the average satisfaction rating is 6.25 on a 10-point scale followed by Indonesia (6.16) and Thailand. Singapore has the lowest satisfaction rating averaging 5.09 out of 10.

The Philippines also led the Job Happiness Index with 73 people out of 100, just two points more than Indonesia at 71. Malaysia has the lowest happiness index at 41.

JobStreet.com is a leading online job board that covers employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. It is part of Seek Ltd., the world’s largest network of job market places by market capitalization.