Employers are paying lip service to employee satisfaction, says Investors in People, which runs the Government’s people management standard.
Research comparing the attitudes of 700 managers and 700 employees found that half the employees believe their managers are serious about employee satisfaction.
But in fact only 6 per cent of the senior managers questioned rate it as a principal business objective.
IIP insisted employers are missing a trick because one in four employees also said they are more productive when they are happy.
A further 13 per cent said their happiness has a direct effect on customers.
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Female managers are slightly more in tune with the people side of the business. Eight per cent cited employee satisfaction as an important business objective compared with 4 per cent of male managers.
And 58 per cent of women managers said customer satisfaction is their principal objective, compared with 36 per cent of men.
