One of the most important things for an employee is to feel good at work, and there are job satisfaction statistics that can prove it. However, it's not easy to measure the rate of job satisfaction since workers can have different opinions about the same working environment. Leading companies know how big an impact job satisfaction can have on their productivity, innovativeness, and the desire to get promoted. Understanding why job satisfaction should be one of the company's top priorities is crucial, as it can have a great impact on its success.

So, let's take a look at these stats and find out more about job satisfaction.

Top Employee Satisfaction Statistics (Editor's Choice)

  • 60% of employees consider their colleagues to be the biggest contributors to job happiness.
  • Organizations with high employee happiness outperform low employee satisfaction companies by 202%.
  • In the US, approximately 65% of employees are fully satisfied with their jobs.
  • 57% of remote workers are satisfied with their job, while 50% of in-house employees say the same.
  • 32.9% of worldwide developers are very satisfied with their job.
  • 81% of the people in legal jobs consider their work boring.
  • Around 76% of Nutanix's employees aren't happy at work.
  • Only 20% of Americans are very passionate about their occupation.

Job Happiness Statistics Regarding the Last Year

Truth be told, satisfaction is important both to workers and employers, and companies have realized they need to work more on employee happiness. Let’s see what was new in 2019 and also keep in mind that most of it is still relevant.

1. 96% of workers think showing empathy is crucial for employee retention.

Earning employees' trust is one of the main ways for a company to become and remain successful. Things like encouraging employees to take vacations, providing gym memberships, health insurance, or celebrating their important life moments can improve their job satisfaction rate, increase the quality of their work, and instill a desire to stay in their current job position.

2. In 2019, only 50% of employees thought their CEO is empathetic.

The poor connection between employees and executives can lead to workplace failures. Workplace wellness statistics indicate the importance as leading companies know that human capital is among their most significant assets, and that's why they try to improve their workers' job satisfaction. However, empathy must start at the top.

3. 45% of millennials were satisfied with their career paths.

According to the job satisfaction statistics from 2019, over three-quarters (76%) of millennials are open to new career opportunities. The most frequent reasons cited were seeking a new profession, better benefits, or having an unclear career path, while 63% were satisfied with their company's culture.

The importance of these benefits can be seen in the fact that 72% of organizations improved their benefits in order to retain employees.

4. 60% of employees consider coworkers to be the biggest contributors to job happiness.

According to Statista’s survey on job satisfaction statistics from 2019 in the USA, 60% of respondents said commuting to work and people at their workplace were the main contributors to their job satisfaction.

Apart from that, 59.9% of employees stated the interest in work was as important. Some other contributors important to them were the physical environment (59.3%), job security (59.2%), supervisor (55.4%), and others.

5. 89% of HR leaders agree that clear and regular feedback is critical.

HR executives also claim that values-based recognition is equally important. Employees need to feel that their work has meaning and purpose and that that will increase their job satisfaction in the workplace. Feedback and recognition should always be tied to a company's mission. Employee engagement should be an essential part of every company's strategy.

6. Organizations with high employee satisfaction outperform low employee satisfaction companies by 202%.

Satisfied employees who feel positive emotions are 10 times more engaged than dissatisfied employees.

What’s more, disengaged employees cost companies between $450 and $550 billion every year. The most disengaged age group are millennials (67% of millennials are disengaged at work).

Employee Satisfaction Statistics — What’s New These Days

Now that we have a better picture of employee satisfaction in 2019, we can compare it to the present and see what has changed and what has stayed the same. All in all, companies are aware of the benefits of employee satisfaction, but not many of them do something about improving its rates.

7. Around 65% of employees in the US are fully satisfied with their jobs.

According to recent job satisfaction statistics from 2020, one out of four people accepted or turned down a job because of the offered benefits.

It appears that benefits can be even more valuable than monetary compensation, at least when it comes to worker retention. Around 55% of employees would at least consider accepting a lower-paying job that offered good benefits.

8. 74% of US employees claim company culture is important for job satisfaction.

As the statistics on American job satisfaction show, many employees would switch to a job that has a better company culture. Company culture is important to employees because they feel better if their values or needs are consistent with their employers.

For 58% of American employees, fitting company culture is one of the must-have features. People who are satisfied with the company culture tend to be more productive and form better relationships with their coworkers.

9. India has the highest percentage of satisfied workers (89%).

More than 13,600 employees from 34 different countries were surveyed. Job satisfaction statistics worldwide indicate that India, without a doubt, has the most satisfied employees, along with Mexico (85% of satisfied workers).

With regard to some other countries, 78% of employees in the US, 74% in China and the UK, 71% in Germany, and 68% of employees in France are satisfied.

10. Japan is the country with the lowest percentage of happy employees (42%).

Japanese people are the country with the highest rates of unhappy employees in the world. It's important to note that not only are Japanese the least satisfied with their work, but unhappy employee statistics also reveal that 21% of them are actually dissatisfied. The reason for that is mostly the nature of the Japanese working culture and bad working conditions.

11. 57% of remote workers are satisfied with their job, compared to 50% of in-house employees.

Not only are remote workers more likely to be satisfied, but they’re also more likely to consider themselves well-paid, satisfied with their company’s career advancement opportunities, and state that their coworkers value their contributions at work.

Career satisfaction statistics regarding remote jobs reveal that people are actually more comfortable with working remotely.

12. 60% of millennials prioritize traveling and state it's one of the main reasons they work.

The most important thing for millennials are basic necessities (82%), and the ability to travel comes second. According to these millennials in the workplace stats, after traveling, 55% think about saving for retirement, and 50% care about paying off debts.

Older workers don’t prioritize travel, as only 44% consider traveling the primary reason they work.

Job Satisfaction Statistics About Different Professions

If we compare employee happiness in different professions and job positions, we will realize that employee satisfaction doesn’t depend only on employers. Not every person would feel good while working in every profession, but there certainly are industries in which employees are more satisfied. Let’s see which are the jobs with the highest satisfaction rates and which jobs are considered dull and boring.

13. The top job positions in 2020 are software developer, dentist, and physician assistant.

The jobs with the highest satisfaction rates and an expected increase in employment by 2028 are software developer, dentist, physician assistant, orthodontist, nurse practitioner, statistician, physician, speech-language pathologist, oral surgeon, and veterinarian.

14. Clergy professions had 90% of satisfied employees in 2019.

In a list of 454 job professions, the clergy had the highest sense of job meaning to their employees (98% of workers considered their job meaningful).

Apart from clergy, 93% of rotary drill operators were satisfied with their job, but only 80% considered it a meaningful job.

15. 32.9% of developers across the world are very satisfied with their job.

Employment satisfaction statistics published on Statista can tell us that 65% of global developers are either slightly or very satisfied with their workplace. 12.8% of them are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, while 15.8% are slightly dissatisfied. Only 8.3% of them are very dissatisfied.

A majority of employees in legal jobs consider their work boring. Boredom quickly leads to dissatisfaction.

According to the job satisfaction statistics by profession, most of the respondents say legal jobs are the most boring because of loads of paperwork, terms and conditions, and varied policies. Project managers take issue with the lack of thrill and excitement, and 64% of engineers find their jobs dull.

Other Interesting Job Happiness Statistics and Facts

Let’s talk more about other relevant factors that can contribute to job happiness, such as gender, age, ethnicity, education, the type of organization, and some other things. Passion also plays a big role in how satisfied an employee is. It’s also important to note that working in a big and prominent company doesn’t guarantee job satisfaction. In fact, some stats in this part tell us that big companies have surprisingly low job satisfaction.

17. Black people are twice as likely to be in bad job positions compared to white people.

Statistics on job satisfaction also indicate that there's a considerable difference between job positions when race, gender, age, and ethnicity are in question. Black women with low education levels are especially in a bad position.

On the contrary, older and more educated people are more likely to have better jobs, and workers who live in small areas report higher job satisfaction.

18. 33% of employees state that their reason for dissatisfaction at work is boredom.

Boredom can lead to complete disengagement and a decrease in job satisfaction rates, regardless of their position or the sector they work in. Managers can contribute to employee satisfaction rates by improving the environment, using employee retention strategies, etc.

Also, having a job that isn’t demanding enough can be boring, but too many challenges can lead to increased anxiety in workers.

19. Careers that require no formal education are the happiest.

Statistics on job satisfaction by profession show that people with jobs that require greater education requirements are less likely to look forward to going to work.

However, the least satisfied ones are the people with jobs that require high school education, because such careers are usually service or labor careers. The best job positions are the ones that require no formal education, such as artisanal or entrepreneurial jobs.

20. Around 33% of black women stated they worked in bad jobs, compared to 11% of white women.

According to Gallup’s poll about job satisfaction in 2019, women often occupied 18 out of 25 lowest-paying jobs, especially black and Hispanic women.

They had irregular working schedules, little enjoyment in everyday activities related to work, and unstable pay. Overall, 16% of employees reported they worked in bad job positions in 2019.

21. Around 76% of Nutanix's employees state that they're not happy at work.

Some of the big US companies with the unhappiest employees are Nutanix, Visa, and IBM. US job satisfaction statistics reveal that around 76% of Nutanix's employees aren’t happy at work.

Other companies with a considerable percentage of unhappy employees are JPMorgan Chase n Co. (69.2%), Symantec (68.18%), NVIDIA (61.8%), and Twitter (55.6%).

22. Only 20% of Americans are very passionate about their jobs.

Passion is contagious, and all employees feel more engaged next to passionate workers.

For leaders, maintaining realism and credibility is the key to keeping employees happy and engaged all the time. Many leaders aren't sure what's the "right amount of energy" they should show to their employees.

Job Satisfaction Statistics—Conclusion

It's a fact that engaged workers perform well, and companies with happy and engaged workers have more revenue. It's hard to say which profession is the happiest. 

Let's not forget that ethnicity, age, gender, and education can influence a person's job position.

Different factors can contribute to overall job satisfaction, and a high salary isn't on the top of the list. People find meaning and a sense of purpose the most important when it comes to job satisfaction. 

Of course, managers are also there to keep employees happy, engaged, and motivated.