There is a distinction between Employee Satisfaction vs. Employee Engagement. According to a 2011 Job Satisfaction and Engagement Research Report by SHRM, 83 percent of U.S. employees are satisfied with their current jobs. While this may sound promising, it is misleading because satisfaction typically means your needs are met but it doesn’t mean you are inspired to go above and beyond the call of duty. A satisfied employee may punch in and out but they only desire to handle assigned duties and nothing more. Any business owner would vouch that this is not the type of employee they are looking to keep.
The better goal is to seek and develop an employee who is engaged. When an employee is engaged, they are emotionally invested in the mission of the organization and inspire to go beyond the call of duty for the organization. It becomes a two way street scenario. Towers Watson Abhishek Mittal says Employee Satisfaction is a “one-way street” (what can you do for me), whereas Employee Engagement is a “two-way street” (what can you do for me and what I can do in return).