While life on Langstrasse was pulsating outside, an inspiring calm returned to Jazzhaus Zurich on 15 May 2025 - perfect for leaving the often hectic working day behind for a moment. The HR Cosmos Idea Space created a space for dialogue, inspiration and new perspectives. Around 70 HR professionals focussed on the question of what really makes employees happy - and why this is becoming a strategic success factor.
From Spanners to the Question of Meaning
Esmir Davorovic, Co-Head of Strategies at HR Campus, opened the event with a personal look back at his professional beginnings as a polymechanic. Back then, nobody talked about employee satisfaction - people were happy to take a short smoke break. Today, he sees things fundamentally differently: employee satisfaction is not a luxury, but a responsibility that every company must bear.
Keynote: The Sense and Nonsense of Work
Anja Feierabend, Senior Researcher at the University of Lucerne and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of HR ConScience, presented the results of the Swiss HR Barometer 2024 with the current focus topic "The meaning and nonsense of work". Overall, the results show that Switzerland is a rather satisfied country. And yet there are clear areas of tension:
- Employees' expectations are often higher than what companies actually offer - especially when it comes to fair pay, loyalty and meaningfulness.
- Meaning in work is becoming increasingly important, especially for younger generations. Those who don't recognise it are more susceptible to exhaustion and burnout.
- Boredom at work is on the rise: More and more people are experiencing underchallenge - the proportion has risen from 12% (2014) to 23% (2024).
- At the same time, values are changing: family, leisure and personal time are becoming more important. Work is becoming slightly less important - depending on the phase of life and environment.
- Social embedding is one of the main reasons why we work. However, hybrid models, digital tools and virtual meetings are making social cohesion more difficult. The feeling of alienation increases - and where there is a lack of closeness and connection, meaningfulness also begins to falter.
Conclusion: Meaningful work starts with expectation management. Those who openly and honestly clarify what is expected of each other create trust. Employers should set clear expectations, strengthen relationships and make the meaningfulness of work visible.
Barcamp Sessions: The Highlights
The following six self-selected topics were discussed in small groups:
- Dependencies between satisfaction and services
- Generation management
- Career activism
- Competition vs. people
- Compatibility of family & SME
- Humanity in management
You can find the detailed session summaries at www.hr-cosmos.ch .
Representative Survey "Employee Satisfaction 2025": The Most Important Findings
Finally, Anja Buser, Co-Head of Strategies at HR Campus, presented the key findings of the study commissioned by HR Campus. About 1,500 employees from Switzerland took part.
- The majority of respondents are rather satisfied. However, only one in three is perfectly happy.
- 63% of dissatisfied employees are planning to change jobs, compared to just 8% of satisfied employees.
- Dissatisfaction is particularly evident in the areas of career & development, co-determination and salary.
- Only 50% feel sufficiently supported when it comes to stress and time management.
- The three strongest drivers of satisfaction are: meaningful tasks, mental and physical well-being and recognition and Appreciation.
- Proximity has an effect: the direct superior enjoys the greatest trust in the company compared to the company management and HR.
- Transparency strengthens trust - decisions must be justified and explained.
- Digitalisation, on the other hand, can have a clearly positive effect on satisfaction and health - if it is used sensibly, for example by showing individual learning paths.
Conclusion: Listening, investing wisely, communicating transparently - that makes all the difference.
Want to know more about the latest study? You can find all the findings here: Employee satisfaction in Switzerland 2025 - study results
Impressions of the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025
Creating Space for Satisfaction: Insights from the HR Cosmos Idea Space 2025