Two-thirds of employees are proud of the work they do

Research shows that the majority of employees takes pride in the work they are currently doing. The Belgians and the Dutch score highest with 80% followed by the Dutch employees with 70.7% and the British and the Germans are close behind with roughly 64%. 57.1% of French people take pride in their job. The survey was conducted by payroll & HR services provider SD Worx and the Antwerp Management School in the first quarter of 2020, before the COVID-19 crisis.

SD Worx wanted to know more about the current work situations of people around Europe and thus conducted a grant research put together with the Antwerp Management School. While the survey merely focused on the impact of digitalization at work, it also measured the pride we take in our jobs and how happy we are with our current work regime. The results were measured pre-Corona and showed that a big majority has pride in what they do for a living: 8 out of 10 employees in Belgium, 7 out of 10 in the Netherlands, more than 6 out of 10 in Germany and the United Kingdom and 57 percent in France.

Being proud of what we do is one thing, but are we also satisfied with our current job? The results vary. Belgium scores highest here too, with 72% of surveyed Belgians being satisfied to very satisfied with their jobs. The Dutch follow with 66.9%. Germany (62.6%) and France (55.4%) score somewhere in the middle, while 53% of the British employees surveyed say they are satisfied to very satisfied.

“This high satisfaction is a positive sign for employers as it is related to retention and performance”, explains Ans De Vos, professor at the Antwerp Management School and specialized in “Next generation work: Creating sustainable careers”. “The challenge is to keep employees satisfied for intrinsic reasons such as a stimulating job content and avoid that satisfaction with the current job brings them in a comfort zone they don’t want to give up. The latter no longer fits with our rapidly changing world of work where adaptability and openness to change are key for sustainable careers.”

Proud and satisfied; that must mean we enjoy going to work. The numbers also seem to confirm this. In Belgium, 73.4% are enthusiastic about their work and 54% are bubbling with energy at work. This proves that quite a few employers are really succeeding in creating a pleasant working environment. According to the survey enthusiasm about their jobs is second biggest amongst Dutch employees with 65.9%, ahead of the Germans (54.6%) and French (53.9%). The UK is next with a 52.7% score.

Jan Laurijssen, Managing Consultant, Team People & Digital Transformation at SD Worx: "We are all doing rather well. We all received high scores and that is something to inspire pride in us all, but it’s important to stay alert to keep these figures high. Job satisfaction is determined by various factors. It is not yet clear on how Covid-19 will affect this, but due to the circumstances health and wellbeing are currently without any doubt the biggest concern for employees. They need to feel that their superiors are also concerned with that aspect of life. Next to that it’s always important to keep the work they are doing challenging and make sure they have a certain amount of responsibilities they can manage. Appreciation is another important but often underestimated factor. If employees feel appreciated for the hard work they do, this adds value to their jobs. One of the big issues amongst employees is that they don’t feel there are possibilities to grow between the company walls. They need the feeling they have some kind of outlook of the possibilities to take up more demanding and rewarding functions. These are a few of the important drivers for engagement which every employer should take in account on a daily basis."