The report, which found that only 39% of jobs are classified as being 'good' investigates employee attitudes and is produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Reflections on employee well-being and the psychological contract is based on a survey that explores trends in employee attitudes to work and relationships with managers and colleagues and provides a consistent baseline against which UK organisations can benchmark their own employment relationships.
Based on people's reported experiences in the workplace, jobs are categorised in terms of two key factors: excitement and stress. "Good" jobs are defined as jobs which people find exciting but not too stressful. Nic Marks, Head of well-being research at nef (the new economics foundation) and co-author of the report says, "Interest and excitement are key elements in the psychological contract between employers and employees. If employees don't feel their role is exciting this will be reflected in their lack of commitment, underperformance and satisfaction.
"Employers should look to create a balance between the challenges of the job and the individual's abilities if employees are to flourish in their roles. This will ultimately help to create good jobs, and good jobs not only benefit employees and the organisation but ultimately society as a whole."
The report suggests the key factors that influence people's well being at work, as identified in the CIPD's psychological contract survey, can be split into two factors -creating interesting and exciting jobs, and stress and frustration with work. Stress at work depends on support from supervisors, relationship with colleagues, status of their role, and sense of identity with the organisation. Interesting and exciting jobs can be explained by the following:
- job variety
- role clarity
- physical security
If employees have a positive psychological contract, this means they will show higher levels of satisfaction, motivation and commitment to the organisation. Research shows these factors are important in helping employers increase performance, reduce absence, retain staff and solve recruitment difficulties.
Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, says, "The evidence suggests that most employers need to work a lot harder in order to get the best from their staff. They need to see that line managers understand and buy into the people management policies they are expected to deliver. This means convincing managers of the value of these policies and helping them to understand the consequences of not handling them well. Most jobs can be made interesting or even exciting, if they are well managed."
This new report is based on findings, from Employee Well-being and the Psychological Contract, which show employers need to do more to boost performance through people management. Good communication plays a major role in helping to ensure staff are satisfied and feel they are fairly treated.