After the Honeymoon Phase: How Job Satisfaction Evolves

Once we've recruited the best talent for our organization, it's vital to ensure not only that they get off to a good start, but also that they maintain job satisfaction in the long term. Data shows that job satisfaction is lowest among employees with 1-3 years of seniority - a period that unfortunately often leads to increased turnover. Get tips on how to retain your new talent after the honeymoon phase is over.

What is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover, also known as churn rate, is a key term in HR. It refers to the percentage of employees who leave an organization within a given period of time.

There are several reasons why organizations should invest resources in keeping turnover low. Resignations have financial, social, and cultural implications.

Data also shows that resignations are contagious: when an employee resigns, there is an 11% chance that another employee in the same team will resign within the next 30 days.

The risk of further resignations in the team X number of days after an employee resigns

Job Satisfaction and Turnover: Two Linked Factors

When we look at our data from years of work on employee experience, we see a clear trend: job satisfaction and employee turnover are two interrelated factors.

The lower the job satisfaction, the higher the turnover, and among employees who score 40 out of 100 on job satisfaction, the turnover rate is as high as 30%:

The link between turnover and job satisfaction

When is Job Satisfaction Lowest - and the Risk of Turnover Highest?

Job satisfaction fluctuates over time, and given the clear link to turnover, it's important for an organization to keep an eye on how job satisfaction fluctuates. When are your employees most likely to feel disengaged and vulnerable?

In general, data shows that employees with 1-3 years of service are at high risk of experiencing low job satisfaction and therefore at increased risk of leaving the organization:

The link between seniority and job satisfaction

It is during this period, when the employee is on the other side of the honeymoon phase but still relatively new, that you need to pay special attention.

How do you Ensure Job Satisfaction After the Honeymoon Phase?

Maintaining job satisfaction requires a focused effort. It's about understanding your employees and identifying what matters to their well-being. Understanding can be achieved in a number of ways. Here are two examples of tools you can use:

• Exit interviews: If your organization conducts exit interviews, you can gain new insights by analyzing the data collected through the interviews. You can combine the insights with quantitative data from surveys to get a more complete picture.

• Well-being surveys: If your organization conducts regular well-being surveys, you can track the evolution of new employee responses over time and try to identify patterns in the results.

The examples are taken from two organizations' concrete initiatives to maintain job satisfaction. You can find out more about the two cases in our webinar:

Learn More in our Webinar: "Why Chase New Talent if they're Gone in a Year?"

Get more than theory. Our webinar with Ennova leadership consultant Vibeke Follmann will give you more concrete knowledge on how to work towards maintaining job satisfaction.

The webinar is based on the current labor market situation in 2023 (in Denmark and Europe), and you'll gain valuable insights into the current recruitment situation and advice on how to create a workplace where employees thrive and want to stay - all based on a solid foundation from Ennova's large database.

Watch the webinar here.

Read more about our engagement survey setup.