SHRM had employees use a 4-point scale to indicate what’s “very unimportant” (that’s a 1) or “very important” (that’s a 4).
The percentages below indicate how many people gave the item a 4, meaning “very important.”
The 601 full- or part-time employees were randomly selected from the U.S. telephone population.
| Job security | 63% |
| Benefits | 60% |
| Compensation/Pay | 57% |
| Opportunity to use skills/abilities | 55% |
| Feeling safe in the work environment | 54% |
| Relationship with the immediate supervisor | 52% |
| Management recognition of employee job performance | 52% |
| Communication between employees and senior management | 51% |
| The work itself | 50% |
| Autonomy and independence | 47% |
| Flexibility to balance life and work issues | 46% |
| Meaningfulness of job | 45% |
| Overall corporate culture | 45% |
| Relationships with co-workers | 42% |
| Contribution of work to organization’s business goals | 39% |
| Job-specific training | 35% |
| Variety of work | 34% |
| Career advancement opportunities | 32% |
| Organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility | 31% |
| Organization’s commitment to professional development | 30% |
| Paid training and tuition reimbursement programs | 29% |
| Career development opportunities | 22% |
| Organization’s commitment to a “green” workplace | 17% |