Report shows SA employees among happiest in the world

SA employees show higher levels of engagement and enthusiasm in their work compared to employees in other parts of the world.

EMPLOYEES IN SOUTH AFRICA SHOW HIGH ENGAGEMENT

Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report shows that SA employees are among the happiest in the world. This report is the world’s largest ongoing study of the employee experience. The firm publishes the findings annually. Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm, examine how employees feel about their jobs and their lives, to assess organisational resilience and performance.

The global average for employee engagement is 23%. The latest data shows that South Africa’s employee engagement is around 29%.

South Africa is classified as a ‘high labour rights’ country, meaning that labour regulation has a largely positive impact on workers’ lives and work experiences, particularly their levels of engagement and well-being, according to Business Tech.

HOW DO COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM HIGH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

For any business or company, high employee engagement is an advantage. It improves productivity, staff retention, customer service, and innovation. These ‘outcomes’ of high employee engagement, in turn, create a positive work environment, which consequently leads to better customer relations. Additionally, it leads to lower staff turnover (as staff members are happy in their jobs), saving the business costs.

It is also an indicator of job satisfaction and overall happiness levels of staff members.

FEWER SA EMPLOYEES ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR JOBS

All in all, the rate of disengaged employees in South Africa has decreased in the past few years. Disengaged employees are those who are dissatisfied with their current job and actively seeking new employment. The current rate of 11.7% is below the worldwide average of 15% and the regional average of 17%.

What’s more, 15% reportedly experience daily anger in the workplace, and 20% experience daily sadness at work. This is a 2% decrease from the previous year.

SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE STILL ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR OTHER JOBS

Even though the above data paints a positive picture, around 56% of South African employees are actively looking for new jobs. Stress seems to be the main reason for this. Stress directly impacts people’s mental well-being. The report shows that globally 41% of employees reported experiencing a significant amount of stress in their work.

“In the last 10 years, the number of people expressing stress, sadness, anxiety, anger or worry has been on the rise, reaching its highest levels since the Gallup surveys began.”

Gallup CEO, Jon Clifton

Most often employees who experience stress in their jobs are those working for companies with poor management practices. Stress can damage an employee’s health and business performance.