A new survey of employees has found that the vast majority of staff want to work for a company with a "family feel" that is "held together by loyalty and tradition".
These are the findings of the latest Employee Outlook 2015 survey published by the CIPD in partnership with Halogen Software.
Businesses of all sizes, says the CIPD, need to be aware of a possible "mismatch" between how employees currently see the culture of their workplace and the type of culture that they would prefer to work in.
When asked to describe the kind of firm they currently work for, nearly 50% of employees surveyed said it is "a formalised and structured place to work, where procedures govern what people do and hold people together".
Just 26% of employees describe their current organisation as having a "family feel". However, when asked what their preferred working environment would be, 55% said they would prefer to work in a firm "with a family feel, held together by loyalty and tradition".
The CIPD's survey found that employee engagement is at a three year high, having risen from 35% in 2013 and 38% in 2014 to 39% this year. Job satisfaction has not changed since the CIPD's last survey in Autumn 2014, averaging +47 (net satisfaction score).
However, employees at micro-businesses report the highest levels of job satisfaction at +75 and in small businesses it stands at +42, a slight increase on last year (+41).
Further findings on employee attitudes include:
- 64% of employees are very satisfied or satisfied with their relationship with their line manager;
- Employees said fairness (32%) and being open and honest (29%) were the most important qualities in a manager;
- 62% say they have achieved a work-life balance (compared to 59% in 2014);
- The number of people saying they experience excessive pressure at work has gone down to 38% from 40%.
Jessica Cooper, CIPD research adviser, said: "Now is the time for businesses to engage with their talent to understand how they can reinforce and evolve their organisational culture. And the direction of travel is clear: employees want to work somewhere with a 'family feel', where they can really feel like they are part of something. Culture is one of the few things that can define a business and if organisations can get it right, it will give them a competitive edge and a strong foundation for business growth."