Behind the Seven Factors in the GAIS Survey

In this article you will find:

• How to understand job satisfaction
• The most important factors for job satisfaction
• A good place to start
• In depth with the individual factors

The seven factors that GAIS measures in the wellbeing survey have not been plucked out of thin air. Based on thorough desk research of Danish and international studies, the Knowledge Centre for Job Satisfaction and the Happiness Research Institute identified the factors when developing the Job Satisfaction Index.

Which factors matter for job satisfaction – that is, for us to thrive and feel motivated to go to work? The Knowledge Centre for Job Satisfaction has mapped this over more than 10 years, and that research is what GAIS is built on.

How to understand job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is about wellbeing at work -  and whether we are motivated by our work. It is an expression of a deeper satisfaction with and motivation for the work - and not just a question of having fun. Job satisfaction is concrete and can be measured. GAIS is built on the Job Satisfaction Index, which systematically and scientifically maps the seven most important factors for job satisfaction. 

This means that with GAIS, we can measure and work with job satisfaction on a solid and well-tested foundation. Read more here.

The most important factors for job satisfaction

Job satisfaction naturally looks different from person to person. Even so, research shows that seven factors in particular matter for job satisfaction - across industries, level of education, gender, age and more. This does not mean that each factor is equally important to all of us. But it does mean that, taken together, these factors capture a large part of what job satisfaction consists of.

The seven most important factors for job satisfaction in a Danish context are:

Mastery: Do I live up to the demands? 

Mastery is about the feeling of being able to handle the challenges you face. It is also about the experience that your tasks match your skills, about professional satisfaction and the feeling that you are developing your skills.

Colleagues: How are things with my colleagues? 

The relationship with your colleagues affects job satisfaction. This applies both to working together professionally and to the social side. How is the trust between colleagues, how strong is the sense of unity, and are you good at recognising each other?

Meaning: Does it matter? 

Meaning can be about the tasks being meaningful in themselves, about getting better together – or about experiencing that your own role in the workplace matters. Finally, meaning can also be found in the experience of helping to make a difference in other people's everyday lives.

Balance: Is there time for everything? 

The experience of balance and equilibrium in working life is linked to job satisfaction. This of course applies to the balance between work life and private life on a day-to-day basis. But it is also linked to whether there is balance between tasks, time and quality requirements.

Leadership: How do I feel about my manager? 

The experience of the manager/management in the workplace has a big impact on job satisfaction. If the immediate manager is skilled, present and supports employees, it creates trust – which is an important foundation for a good relationship between employee and manager. The manager's professional and social skills also play a part.

Influence: Am I being heard? 

Influence is about the experience of having a say in your own work. Whether you are heard and involved to the right extent - both in relation to the concrete tasks and in relation to the decisions that affect your tasks.

Results: Can my results be seen and felt? 

Results are about experiencing progress and seeing concrete outcomes of your work. It matters for job satisfaction that there are clear goals and sub-goals for both individual tasks and the shared effort, and that it is clear when the goals have been reached.

Watch Louise explain what job satisfaction is and the seven factors:

A good place to start

The seven factors are a really good place to start if you want to increase wellbeing in the workplace. Overall job satisfaction and the seven factors are uncovered by asking a series of questions that cover each individual element. A factor's score expresses how satisfied the respondent is with the factor as a whole. The factor's score is an average of the scores on the individual questions that make up the factor.

Read more about the knowledge base behind GAIS right here.

Read more about the calculations in the GAIS report here.  

In depth with the individual factors

GAIS also offers another type of survey, namely factor surveys, where both companies and individuals can explore a specific factor in depth.

In the same way that a GAIS survey maps the factors of job satisfaction, a factor survey lets you explore and map a single factor in depth and see which dimensions make up the factor. This gives a more detailed picture of where within the factor the focus should be.

See the dimensions and question framework for the Meaning factor survey here.

See the dimensions and question framework for the Leadership factor survey here.

See the dimensions and question framework for the Balance factor survey here.