What would you put as the #1 factor influencing employee happiness?

Depends on what your organisation can offer...

- Pay rise 

- Promotion

- Incentives

- Holiday allowances

- Rewards

- Recognition

- Training

- Different roles & responsibilities etc...

Sometimes an organisation needs to broaden it's horizon with it's employees to allow them to reach their potential and develop further and benefit the business more. 

Pay/salary

Passion

Work environment

Co-workers

Manager/boss

Growth opportunities

According to me the number factor is: Respect.

- As an employee we must treat every other employee with the same amount of respect that we expect to receive from others.

Be Contended & God fearing . Patience will give you happiness by itself if employer is behind you as your spine & work --colleagues are for you as one hand . And Management and seniors as the second hand . Your feet will move only front ways to success - what people call in this material world .

If you are an employee, who do you think should take care of you? Now, if you are being taken cared by your employer/company owner with regards to your development for productivity performance and as a person that is being respected and being valued that your opinion is heard, then one must be be happy. 

Recognition

The role of co-workers in employee happiness continues to grow along with the need for increased transparency.

Employee happiness is more dependent on co-workers than direct managers. Employee happiness is23.3% more correlated to connections with co-workers than direct supervisors. There is a very strong correlation between employee happiness and their rating of co-workers with a .92 correlation coefficient compared to a .74 correlation coefficient between employee happiness and how they rate their direct supervisor.

many time tangible (cash) rewards plays a key role in retention strategy implementation from mid mgmt to bottom level, on other hand non-cash rewards role importance can't be ignore like, flexibility b.w. shift duties, appreciation and recognition in public, birthday n work anniversary celebration, co-workers behaviors, recreational activities (e.g. weekend picnic n parties, theater and sports events), labour staff family care policy (e.g. supplementary medical support) etc