Salary, peer relations make workers happy

Salary and positive relationships with co-workers make employees happy, according to a survey by a consumer research and analytics firm.

Milieu Insight said that 42% of survey respondents across Southeast Asia answered that these two aspects of their job make them happy.

“It was fascinating to see that ‘relationships at work’ ranked so high as a driver of happiness, and that it ranked as high as their salary. As we approach two years of living with the effects of Covid-19, it would seem that employees are beginning to desire stronger connections with their colleagues, even if those connections have to be nurtured remotely,” said Milieu Chief Operating Officer Stephen Tracy.

Tracy said businesses should put an effort in “cultivating strong employee relationships”. To succeed in “this requires more than a subscription to collaboration tools like Zoom or Teams.” Businesses had to shift to online video-conferencing platforms for engagement and meetings due to mobility restrictions.

Their current work arrangement, such as having a flexible work schedule, also make 35% of respondents happy.

“Current work arrangements also ranked first as the leading cause of unhappiness,” the report read. “The latter highlights that not all companies have succeeded in adapting their work arrangements to a post-COVID world or that some employees are less open to work-from-home arrangements.”

Other aspects that bring happiness to professionals are growth opportunities (34%), company benefits (32%), purpose (32%), workload (27%), relationship with customers or clients (27%), appreciation from the company (25%) and company culture (22%).

Respondents from the Philippines said they were “more likely to be happier today than a year ago” – 42% of respondents agreed to this, while 23% said they were less happy than a year ago and 35% said nothing changed.

Overall, 35% in the region said they were happier, 26% said they were less happy and 39% said things were the same.

In addition, 80% of working professionals in the region said they feel a sense of belongingness in their organization while 78% agreed that their companies “give them what they need to do their job effectively.”

Survey respondents include over 6,800 working professionals from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.