Work Satisfaction Among American Workers |
Posted: April 12, 2018 |
If you are frustrated at work, dissatisfied with your career and ready to seek out new employment options, you're not alone. Over the past few years, for the first time in history a majority of American workers report that they don't want to come to work in the morning. The Conference Board, a non-profit research group that's based in New York, issued their latest report as part of a longitudinal study that researches Americans' feelings about their jobs. The study began in 1987 when 61.1% of American workers expressed satisfaction with their work situation. The study has shown that that the number of American workers who feel fulfilled and happy in their job situation is decreasing, though as of late, an increasing number of job holders are reporting more satisfaction. Yearly Measurements Since 1987, the Conference Board has conducted its job satisfaction survey every year. In 1987, the first year of the study 61.1% of workers said they liked their jobs. Over time that number plummeted to an all-time low of 42.6% of satisfied job holders in 2010. The percentage of satisfied workers is again increasing but it's still under the 50% mark, meaning that over half of American workers are unhappy in their job situations. The poll surveys workers about how they feel about various parts of their work experience. The study looks at confidence in job security, wages, vacation policies, promotion policies, sick leave, retirement benefits and health care benefits. In all of these areas, workers were happier in 1987 than they are now. Only in the areas of physical environment and quality of equipment did workers note that they were more satisfied in their present work environment. There were small gains in those categories, with 56.4% reporting satisfaction with their physical environment today as opposed to 54.6% in 1987 and 55.2% who like their equipment today as opposed to 54.7% in 1987. This is due, the report's authors speculate, to the increase in telecommuting options which give more people the chance to work from home today than at any time in the past. For employers, these insights are leading them to respond by rethinking and improving workspaces and equipment. Worries In the categories of job security and health care benefits, workers’ satisfaction fell the most. In both those fields there was an 11 point drop since 1987. Employees are concerned about trends that include downsizing, benefit reductions and right-to-work laws that give employees the right to fire a worker at any time, for any reason. These changes in the workplace mean that employees see their prospects for long-term work, with good benefits, with the same employer, eroding. In addition, workers are frustrated with ever-higher payroll deductions and health plan deductibles. Men and Women Finally the report provides interesting data which compares women’s and men's satisfaction at work. 47.8% of men say that they are happy in their jobs. That compares to 46.3% of women who say that they're satisfied with their work environment. Some sociologists observe that this may be due to women's frustration over the glass ceiling which, they perceive, limits them in regard to their promotions and compensations. 21.4% of women say that they’re satisfied with their promotion prospects versus 26.1% of men. 38.3% of men are satisfied with their wages versus 34.3% of women. Satisfaction Gains The Conference report also examines satisfaction gains. The results highlight the gap in satisfaction between workers at the bottom of the income scale and those with good incomes. Workers who take home more than $125,000 reported the highest levels of work satisfaction. Conversely, only 24.4% of employees who were earning under $15,000 were satisfied. Among medium-range wage-earners, 44.4% of those making between $50,000 and $75,000 indicated they were satisfied with their income. When asked what makes them happiest at work, 59% of the survey respondents said that they were happy when they found their work interesting while 60.6% said that they were happy when they were surrounded by good co-workers. Worries Workers are most worried about layoffs. The economy has seen an increase in hiring lately but according to the Conference study, only 46.6% of employees say they are satisfied with their job security. That’s a significant decrease from the 59.4% who said that they felt that they had job security in 1987. Summary Analysts say that employers should take note of these findings if they want to maintain a loyal and competent work force. Some suggestions include:
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