Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Generalizable relationships large enough to have substantial practical value were found between unit-level employee satisfaction-engagement and business-unit outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover, and accidents.

Abstract

Based on 7,939 business units in 36 companies, this study used meta-analysis to examine the relationship at the business-unit level between employee satisfaction-engagement and the business-unit outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover, and accidents. Generalizable relationships large enough to have substantial practical value were found between unit-level employee satisfaction-engagement and these business-unit outcomes. One implication is that changes in management practices that increase employee satisfaction may increase business-unit outcomes, including profit.