Isn’t it nice to receive good service?
A while ago I bought a vacuum cleaner, but had to return it because of a faulty part. I half expected to have to argue my case, but was delighted to find the shop assistants both pleasant and helpful. Rather than return the whole vacuum cleaner to the manufacturer, they decided to simply replace the faulty part and write a note to the manufacturer explaining what they’d done. This solved my problem in one go and left them to sort out the details.
Service like that comes from people using their initiative, and initiative is strongly linked to job satisfaction. To use your initiative as an employee, you need permission to think outside the square and make minor decisions. You also need a sense of purpose about why you’re in the job.
Research shows that people are happiest in their work when they can use their unique personal strengths in the course of their work and also when the company’s values are aligned with their own.
Job satisfaction is therefore strongly linked to the culture of an organisation. A culture that values its employees and treats them with trust and respect breeds happy employees who treat their customers the same – passing on those ripples of happiness through society.