Workload, strict supervisors emerge as principal reasons for unhappiness among employees at Ernakulam civil station

Ernakulam civil station employee happiness survey reveals key factors influencing job satisfaction and organizational efficiency.

Employees at the Ernakulam civil station are generally happy though not overwhelmingly so, found a Happiness Level Survey conducted by the district office of the Department of Economics and Statistics. On a scale of five points, the overall happiness score was registered at 3.55.

District Collector N.S.K. Umesh released the survey report in Kochi on July 19.

The survey covered all 37 offices at the civil station randomly selecting at least 20% of employees from each office, with 30% accounting for gazetted officers and 70% non-gazetted officers for ensuring a balanced representation. Communication, job security, working conditions, and physical health were among the eight indicators based on which the survey was conducted.

The department-wise analysis revealed that the Department of Factories and Boilers scored the highest in employee happiness with a score of 4.5, while the District Social Justice Office scored the lowest at 2. While examining happiness by employment category, gazetted officers and heads of offices reported the highest levels of happiness, with 66.67% and 65.22% of employees in these categories feeling happy or very happy, respectively. Non-gazetted (other staff) and non-gazetted supervisory officers reported lower happiness levels, with 51.28% and 49.98% of employees feeling happy or very happy.

Regarding work freedom, gazetted officers and heads of offices generally reported high levels of work freedom, though some felt restricted. Non-gazetted (other staff) had diverse experiences, with many rating their work freedom as average. The primary reasons for happiness among employees included cooperation among colleagues (69.96%), job security (62.55%), and recognition in society (53.09%). Passion for work and having a position matching qualifications were also significant factors.

Conversely, the major reasons for unhappiness included workload (26.34%), strict supervisory behaviour (19.34%), and lack of work freedom (17.28%). In fact, 95% of employees believe that managers hold the primary responsibility for ensuring employee happiness.

The study also identified key stressors such as lack of training (16.05%) and personal problems (14.81%). Correlation analysis showed that job satisfaction strongly correlated with mental health (0.50) and promotion opportunities (0.45), while physical health and mental health were closely linked (0.73).