We explain what satisfaction is in the personal, work and economic spheres. Also, what is customer satisfaction.
What is satisfaction?
Satisfaction can be understood as the fulfillment of a desire or the resolution of a need in such a way that peace and tranquility is produced. People feel satisfied, therefore, when they manage to fulfill a desire or reach a goal set in advance, thus achieving a state of well-being.
The exact meaning of what is necessary to achieve satisfaction, therefore, may vary depending on the case and the person. This word comes from Latin satisfactioncomposed of the voices satis (“enough” or “enough”) and facere (“do”), so it can be understood as “do what is necessary” or “do enough.” For example, satisfying hunger means eating enough to no longer feel it.
As we said, satisfaction is associated with a certain state of well-being or fulfillment but should not be confused with joy or happiness. Similarly, dissatisfaction, that is, the lack or lack of something that is required or desired usually produces feelings of sadness, anger or unhappiness.
The factors that determine satisfaction can be objective or subjective, abstract or concrete. In any case, the fulfillment they bring is usually temporary or ephemeral: once new needs arise, dissatisfaction will occur again.
Personal satisfaction
personal satisfaction It is the impression of general well-being that a person feels about his or her life of herself or her needs. It is a psychological state that depends on both essential factors (that guarantee objective health and well-being) and secondary factors (linked to the emotional, psychological and existential).
Thus, according to Maslow's Pyramid, the satisfaction of fundamental needs is much more pressing and urgent than the satisfaction of needs more linked to personal fulfillment and self-esteem. In that sense, the satisfaction It is acquired as an individual has his urgent needs resolved and can, therefore, try to resolve the secondary ones.
Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction It is the degree of satisfaction that a person feels with respect to his or her job that is, how fulfilled you feel with what you do, where you do it, who you do it for and what you receive in return. The motivation of workers and therefore their performance largely depends on job satisfaction, since A satisfied worker is much more productive than a dissatisfied one.
Job satisfaction depends on a combination of physical and psychosocial factors, such as the following:
- Salary and rewards that is, the remuneration that the worker receives for his work, and which is not limited only to the payment of a salary, but to other types of benefits such as paid vacations, medical leave, etc.
- Occupational hygiene and safety that is, the degree of risk to which they are exposed when doing the work and the level of concern of their employers regarding the damage that they could eventually suffer. In this regard, it is important to have work insurance, protective equipment, medical insurance, etc.
- Management style and work culture that is, what type of leadership the bosses exercise and how the work structure is socially configured. Working under a tyrannical and police regime will naturally breed discontent, while a more relaxed, more communicative and attentive environment will undoubtedly generate more satisfaction.
- Participation and empowerment of workers that is, how much they are taken into account when organizing work, making important decisions or even directing the destiny of the company. The greater the participation, the greater the commitment on the part of the workers and therefore the greater their job satisfaction.
Satisfaction in economics
In economic sciences, the word “satisfaction” is used with a very specific meaning: is a synonym for consumption. Satisfaction of economic needs is at the base of all productive activity: when we generate goods from the raw materials we take from nature, we do so because someone will want those goods and with them they will satisfy some natural, social or cultural need.
For example, those who grow and sell food aim to satisfy their customers' hunger, while those who construct buildings aim to satisfy their customers' need for shelter. This satisfaction is what is really bought with the money we pay for those goods and services.
One of the great dilemmas of economics, however, is the need to satisfy an infinite amount of needs or demands, through a finite set of resources to offer.
Customer satisfaction
In marketing doctrine, the term “customer satisfaction” is used to measure the degree of consumer compliance at the end of a commercial relationship. That is, to evaluate how happy you are with the way you invested your money.
Obtaining satisfied customers is today an imperative for any business, since these customers usually buy again and recommend the business to their friends; while dissatisfied customers do not return or recommend the business to anyone. That is why customer satisfaction It is considered a key indicator for conducting business.
Customer satisfaction, however, depends on different factors that are often attempted to be measured or captured through surveys and questionnaires. Some of them may be:
- The price-product relationship That is, how satisfied the customer is, now that they have received the requested good or service, with the cost agreed upon from the beginning of the transaction.
- The attention provided by the seller that is, how friendly, informative and attentive the seller was throughout the transaction. Unfriendly, rude or careless salespeople do not usually keep their customers for long, since they want to be treated well.
- The quality of the good received that is, how satisfied the customer is with the way their need was satisfied, and how much what they received resembles what was initially promised. This is important to know if the customer feels scammed, or if he or she believes they got a good deal.
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References
- “Satisfaction” on Wikipedia.
- “Customer satisfaction” on Wikipedia.
- “Job satisfaction” on Wikipedia.
- “Satisfaction” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Radication of the word Satisfaction” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
