The above comment might be considered a somewhat narrow definition of job satisfaction. But the conversation opened up, and more comments followed. Many tried to work deliberately to create well-being and job satisfaction, but it was difficult. Some did a little, others more, but there wasn’t always a strong understanding, focus, commitment, or time in organizations to seriously work on creating well-being. And where exactly should one even start?
I pondered this, and similar episodes, and thought that there is an immense potential to help organizations really tackle the work of understanding and improving job satisfaction. So how could we create a platform that unites and helps leaders, employees, and external parties to develop job satisfaction together?
There are great human benefits in increasing awareness and knowledge about how we all thrive in our jobs. There are major benefits for workplaces in having motivated and engaged employees who thrive and therefore contribute to the company’s goals. And there are significant societal benefits when the entire society’s competitiveness increases as creativity and productivity go hand in hand with well-being and job satisfaction.
A goldmine of knowledge
After helping to start Krifa’s (Danish labor union) Job Satisfaction Knowledge Centre and being involved in the development of the Job Satisfaction Index from the beginning, it became increasingly clear to me that we held something very valuable in our hands.
With the Job Satisfaction Index, which the Job Satisfaction Knowledge Centre developed in close collaboration with the Happniess Research Institute and Kantar Gallup, we had created one of the most comprehensive mappings of job satisfaction. In our extensive data material and analyses, we could see not only the current state but also what creates the most job satisfaction and the connections between well-being and a number of factors.
For example, we could see which parts of working life were linked to trust in management. We could see what pressured employees in medium-sized companies compared to small ones. We had identified how different types of meaning needed to be present for work to be considered meaningful. And much, much more.
And thus a thought emerged: Since we now know so much about what broadly creates job satisfaction among employees, why not take that knowledge and data and bring it into play for every company and employee? And thus, the idea of GAIS was born.
An online platform that creates job satisfaction
I concretized and developed the concept for GAIS over the following months and arranged a meeting with Krifa’s leadership to pitch GAIS. In short, the story went:
“With the Job Satisfaction Index, we have a wealth of knowledge and data about job satisfaction. With the Index, we have not only mapped job satisfaction but created a concrete model and language to work with it. We can take all that knowledge, method, data, and experience and create an online platform where companies and individuals can measure their job satisfaction and receive tailored, concrete inspiration and tools to improve it. And it should be accessible to everyone.”
The support came promptly, and thus GAIS was launched – to raise and spread job satisfaction in society and workplaces in cooperation with others.
Democratizing well-being development
With a strong team around GAIS and involvement of a number of carefully selected skilled people with key expertise, we began serious development of GAIS in 2016. The first version saw the light of day in 2017 and development continues at full speed.
We have plenty of concrete plans and ideas to make GAIS even better. GAIS is meant to be a valuable tool for companies that want to take a step beyond classic employee satisfaction surveys and well-being measurements. Therefore, throughout the process, we have continuously involved companies and teams to test and shape GAIS so that it fits their everyday life and becomes a useful and valuable platform for developing job satisfaction. And therefore it is essential for us to continually involve partners, researchers, experts, and consultants in both the development and dissemination of GAIS.
With GAIS, we democratize well-being work. We want to provide a platform that helps ordinary people and workplaces understand and change job satisfaction. We want to create a movement by facilitating organizations, leaders, and employees to create more job satisfaction.
Facts about GAIS
- With GAIS, you can maintain focus on well-being and establish rhythms with different types of surveys and frequencies.
- You receive data and insights that you can act on.
- The entire organization becomes engaged in well-being efforts. Employees get their own personal report and recommendations to take action on their own work motivation.
- Over 900 companies use GAIS. Listen to and read their stories right here.
