Job satisfaction more important to job seekers?
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Mohammad Polash Khan
Kazi Tareq, a lecturer at a private university, joined us for tea one afternoon. He was talking of the expectations of the students regarding their job environment and the reality shock that some of them face when they step into the real word. "Throughout my years of experience with the students, as they share their mindset during the academic life and in their work life, I have noticed 3 common things. First, they hate an inept Human Resources department that fails to see the trees through the forest and does not listen to its employees or take action when it comes to supervisor issues. And entry level executives hate it when superiority always takes the trump card, regardless of logic. Second [thing] they hate is a performance appraisal process which is widely viewed as a joke among the employees - especially if the system can be and is manipulated to move people up or move them out. And the third thing they hate is when someone in the company for some strange reason has supreme job security, while most others don't." Kazi Tareq's comments tell you just about the whole story. Today's students are smart. They ask their seniors about the job satisfaction and work environment. We talked to Nahian Sharif, a student who holds high hopes about his career. "I don't want to end up with a company that gives me poor work environment. I don't want the typical Bangladeshi telecoms to bring me the benefit that Google does. But I want a workspace where you're not discriminated and no colleagues wait to stab you on your back." That is pretty much it about the mindset of tomorrow's job seekers regarding job satisfaction factors. Sabina Sharmin works for a multinational but she is eager to change her job. Is the pay the problem? "No. I'm paid decently. It's just that I don't get a feeling of belongingness here. The company behaves in a way that I'm being pitied. And the managers are not sympathetic to our problems," she said. "Could you draw an example?" I asked. "Well, the money makers don't have a child care centre, which would cost them little. I have to leave my 2 year old back home and life isn't easy that way. I'm looking to switch to a company that has childcare facilities and is more understanding towards the employee needs. I don't care even if I'm paid less than this." Though money is 'the' big factor to most of us, it's not the ultimate job satisfaction factor. The workspace is where you spend a large part of your life and you want to be happy with it. Many companies in the US have started to realise that. It's an irony that companies in Bangladesh want to incorporate North American standard in corporate goals, polices and values. But most are less enthusiastic about integrating North American policies when it comes to fostering employee satisfaction and creating more favourable work environments. At the other end of the spectrum, there are professionals like Jubair Alom, who just feel 'okay' with the regular career haul. An East West University, he started his career with a merchandizing company. Being a finance graduate, he dreamt of working in the finance or banking sector. Jubair now works for a Fortune 500 multinational company and he is pretty satisfied with what he does and how he's paid. "Starting out in the merchandizing sector was quite a twist in career track, right?" I asked. "Yeah... that's right technically. But job satisfaction has never been a problem," he replied. Though Jubair learned a lot regarding Portfolio Analysis and Investment or Financial Research Statistics, his current or former job description requires less of that know-how. But at the end of the day, Jubair isn't unhappy with it. He's working with an MNC and getting the benefits and perks that an executive of his level usually gets in Bangladesh. People like Jubair (who happen to be the great majority, I guess) are happy the mainstream career line in their job life and also in their academic life. Besides the industry average salary, we are happy with the mobile allowance, launch, bonuses, retirement benefits and most of all - job security. So here's the verdict. the nation's tomorrow's workforce are happy with the industry average payroll and benefits, if the employers provide a positive work environment! Most students today have a mindset same as Jubair's. They are happy to grow with the minimal perks (compared to that of the best practices of many North American companies) and with a decent work environment. The good thing is that, some employers are blowing the wind of change. Companies like Somewherein are providing their employees with much more than what others of its class are offering. Take car pooling for an instance - it is of a great value to many employees and many companies are following the footsteps of Somewherein. And unlike the current generation, the students in the next generation are ready to expect more. Though Bangladesh is a super-tiny economy, people are beginning to ask for the perks, benefits and positive work environment that will cost the companies just about nothing but will make the workspace better and more satisfying. May be the days are not far when we will see better and more positive changes in the work environment that creates more job satisfaction. And the employers need to understand that it's not primarily the money that yields job satisfaction. We are waiting for that day when employers in this country will start to realise that they can hire the best workforce if they focus more on the benefits and treatments that aren't tied to money, but still are valuable enough to put a real smile on the face of an employee!
Kazi Tareq, a lecturer at a private university, joined us for tea one afternoon. He was talking of the expectations of the students regarding their job environment and the reality shock that some of them face when they step into the real word. "Throughout my years of experience with the students, as they share their mindset during the academic life and in their work life, I have noticed 3 common things. First, they hate an inept Human Resources department that fails to see the trees through the forest and does not listen to its employees or take action when it comes to supervisor issues. And entry level executives hate it when superiority always takes the trump card, regardless of logic. Second [thing] they hate is a performance appraisal process which is widely viewed as a joke among the employees - especially if the system can be and is manipulated to move people up or move them out. And the third thing they hate is when someone in the company for some strange reason has supreme job security, while most others don't." Kazi Tareq's comments tell you just about the whole story. Today's students are smart. They ask their seniors about the job satisfaction and work environment. We talked to Nahian Sharif, a student who holds high hopes about his career. "I don't want to end up with a company that gives me poor work environment. I don't want the typical Bangladeshi telecoms to bring me the benefit that Google does. But I want a workspace where you're not discriminated and no colleagues wait to stab you on your back." That is pretty much it about the mindset of tomorrow's job seekers regarding job satisfaction factors. Sabina Sharmin works for a multinational but she is eager to change her job. Is the pay the problem? "No. I'm paid decently. It's just that I don't get a feeling of belongingness here. The company behaves in a way that I'm being pitied. And the managers are not sympathetic to our problems," she said. "Could you draw an example?" I asked. "Well, the money makers don't have a child care centre, which would cost them little. I have to leave my 2 year old back home and life isn't easy that way. I'm looking to switch to a company that has childcare facilities and is more understanding towards the employee needs. I don't care even if I'm paid less than this." Though money is 'the' big factor to most of us, it's not the ultimate job satisfaction factor. The workspace is where you spend a large part of your life and you want to be happy with it. Many companies in the US have started to realise that. It's an irony that companies in Bangladesh want to incorporate North American standard in corporate goals, polices and values. But most are less enthusiastic about integrating North American policies when it comes to fostering employee satisfaction and creating more favourable work environments. At the other end of the spectrum, there are professionals like Jubair Alom, who just feel 'okay' with the regular career haul. An East West University, he started his career with a merchandizing company. Being a finance graduate, he dreamt of working in the finance or banking sector. Jubair now works for a Fortune 500 multinational company and he is pretty satisfied with what he does and how he's paid. "Starting out in the merchandizing sector was quite a twist in career track, right?" I asked. "Yeah... that's right technically. But job satisfaction has never been a problem," he replied. Though Jubair learned a lot regarding Portfolio Analysis and Investment or Financial Research Statistics, his current or former job description requires less of that know-how. But at the end of the day, Jubair isn't unhappy with it. He's working with an MNC and getting the benefits and perks that an executive of his level usually gets in Bangladesh. People like Jubair (who happen to be the great majority, I guess) are happy the mainstream career line in their job life and also in their academic life. Besides the industry average salary, we are happy with the mobile allowance, launch, bonuses, retirement benefits and most of all - job security. So here's the verdict. the nation's tomorrow's workforce are happy with the industry average payroll and benefits, if the employers provide a positive work environment! Most students today have a mindset same as Jubair's. They are happy to grow with the minimal perks (compared to that of the best practices of many North American companies) and with a decent work environment. The good thing is that, some employers are blowing the wind of change. Companies like Somewherein are providing their employees with much more than what others of its class are offering. Take car pooling for an instance - it is of a great value to many employees and many companies are following the footsteps of Somewherein. And unlike the current generation, the students in the next generation are ready to expect more. Though Bangladesh is a super-tiny economy, people are beginning to ask for the perks, benefits and positive work environment that will cost the companies just about nothing but will make the workspace better and more satisfying. May be the days are not far when we will see better and more positive changes in the work environment that creates more job satisfaction. And the employers need to understand that it's not primarily the money that yields job satisfaction. We are waiting for that day when employers in this country will start to realise that they can hire the best workforce if they focus more on the benefits and treatments that aren't tied to money, but still are valuable enough to put a real smile on the face of an employee!