Researchers have found that employee satisfaction is at the lowest point since they began measuring this in 1987.
Employee satisfaction in 1987 was 61%. In the most recent survey it was only 45%.
"Americans of all ages and income brackets continue to grow increasingly unhappy at work-a long-term trend that should be a red flag to employers", according to a report released today by The Conference Board.
The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, finds only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted.
Fewer Americans are satisfied with all aspects of their employment, and no age or income group is immune. In fact, the youngest cohort of employees (those currently under age 25) expresses the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded by the survey for that age group.
"The downward trend in job satisfaction could spell trouble for the overall engagement of U.S. employees and ultimately employee productivity," adds Franco."
There's a short list of reasons employees are unhappy:
* Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
* Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
* The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers' take-home pay.
The result is employees working harder and longer hours (in many cases because of layoffs around them) for less and less "real" money . . . spendable money.
Surprisingly, the authors do NOT believe that this lowest ever employee satisfaction measure is just a function of the current American economic downturn. In fact, they think it is a sign of something far more dangerous, especially as it could impact enterprise success and knowledge transfer from one generation to the next.
That's a scary thought . . . no growth or stability through expanding on an accepted foundation of past enterprise experience. The foundation will never stop being built, it may never get past its preliminary stage of being a foundation. Older workers may be less inclined to share their experience, knowledge and skills with younger employees. There could be less of a sense of teamwork with the result of a perpetual downward spiral of morale and productivity. See my earlier post "Turnover Is Going To Build" and "Are You Being Taken Advantage Of Or Taken Care Of?"
Does any of this sound familiar? Are you less than content, or are you feeling professionally challenged and excited about your prospects of growth within your existing employer? Are you satisfied with your co-workers' (including your boss) sharing of knowledge and experience? Has anyone said "Good job" to you lately? If you're not content, are you doing anything about it, either for yourself or your employer?Some employees are going to polish up their resumes, start looking for new opportunities, or get in touch with a headhunter. Premier employees are going to understand the issues involved, and do whatever they can to contribute more to their enterprise. They'll communicate . . . with their bosses and their co-workers. They'll identify the issues and try to find a solution. They won't just quit and try to find something else. They'll earn their money by performing well beyond their literal job descriptions.
In a similar way, the C-Suite or owners and bosses at every level have to understand what's happening in their organization. They have to take steps to train and retain those employees who contribute in a positive way. They need to tell employees they're doing a good job . . . when they are. They have to do everything they can to staff and pay appropriately. There needs to be a spirit of cooperation, collaboration and shared success. I'll say "Communication" again . . . it's essential.
What do you think? I'd like to hear your comments.