For every Organization, understanding the factors that influence employees’ personal and professional satisfaction and identifying the actions that can empower caring work environment, are more than necessary to ensure and enhance employees’  efficiency.

Employee satisfaction is a fundamental to industrial and organizational psychology, as it is related not only to employees’ mental health but also to companies’ wish for productive and satisfied human capital – dedicated to company’s mission and philosophy. Work satisfaction is one of the most important issues of concern to employees and companies, especially in such a challenging financial environment like the present.

To this direction, a modern Organization has to consider the development of Programs that will empower its working environment, offer employees comfort from their daily problems and at the same time improve relationships between employees and the organization.

Recent studies conclude on a set of basic elements that contribute to stimulating working environments, and enhance the feeling of sincere and genuine care to and from all directions (employer to employee, employee to employee, employee to Top Management, employer to community, employees to society). The achievement of such innovative initiatives requires:

¬ Commitment – Employer and employees
¬ Continuation
¬ Participation
¬ Innovation
¬ Ways to measure stimulation of caring environment
¬ Connection with business results and internal Human Capital systems

The above can be grouped and categorized in three pillars as follows:

Empathy

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Empathy is the ability of knowing and connecting with others’ thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Some of the basic “empathy” elements an Organization can focus while building on its caring work environment are:

¬        Compassion

¬        Collaboration

¬        Safety

¬        Understanding

Empowerment

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Employees’ empowerment is an efficient approach for the improvement of employees’ behavior in the work place. Proper implementation of such initiatives could lead to greater work satisfaction, reduction of employee turnover and decrease of employees’ work stress. Empowered employees are more efficient and able to find more innovative solutions for their work.

Three important elements concerning employees’ empowerment are:

¬        Clarity

¬        Support

¬        Autonomy

Development

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The term development refers to the opportunities granted to employees for the development of their personality skills. Human Capital development requires a long timeframe and aims at supporting employees in acquiring knowledge and developing capabilities that will be useful in the future.

Employees’ development also contributes to the Organization’s success as it helps the Organization obtain the human capital it needs to meet its current and future needs.