AN INFLUENTIAL study of 89,000 people in 18 countries sought to establish the key factors which influence an employee’s view of their job.

The Global Workforce Study, by professional services firm Towers Perrin, looked at what influences people to join a company, stay with that company and engage in their job.

A key finding was that the influence of a line manager was often limited, and employees looked beyond their daily working environment when assessing their satisfaction with their working life.

The report states: “In the past, efforts may well have focused too much on the local working experience, such as motivational team talks, team-building and local manager training.

“While these are not misdirected in themselves, the study reveals that people’s engagement and contribution are also heavily affected by their view of the company as a whole, an area which the immediate manager cannot fully influence. Employees’ experience of senior leadership, how their company treats its customers, its reputation as a good corporate citizen – all these have a significant impact on employee engagement.”

The report’s authors recommend that senior management must endeavour to combine their company’s ethos with what their employees are telling them.

“Individual companies must always align their workforce strategy with the distinctive challenges revealed by discrete studies of their own employees, and with their own corporate culture and business priorities,” it says.

“There are substantial business risks associated with inaction.

“However, armed with an in-depth knowledge of your workforce, and the tools and impetus to respond, there is genuine scope to turn risk into opportunity, and build a stronger, more sustainable business through the support and contribution of a highly engaged workforce.”