Job Satisfaction Lowest Level in Two Decades
More than half of American workers are unsatisfied with their jobs. According to the study from The Conference Board surveying 5000 American households, only 45% of those surveyed viewed their jobs as satisfying.
This number is the lowest level of satisfaction in over two decades. Over twenty years ago, in 1987, 61.1% of those surveyed said they were satisfied with their jobs.
The youngest cohort, employees under age 25, showed the lowest level of dissatisfaction ever reported for that group.
The survey looked at four key drivers of employee engagement:
- Job Design
- Organizational Health
- Managerial Quality
- Extrinsic Rewards
In each of these four categories, satisfaction levels dropped. Additionally, for the number of employees interested in their work, satisfaction levels plummeted 18.9 percentage points from 1987 and job security fell 17.5 percentage points with 22% of employees reporting that they do not expect to be in their current job in a year.
“Challenging and meaningful work is vitally important to engaging American workers,” says John Gibbons, program director of employee engagement research and services at The Conference Board. “Widespread job dissatisfaction negatively affects employee behavior and retention, which can impact enterprise-level success.”
REFERENCES:
The Conference Board. 2010 Report: I Can’t Get No…Job Satisfaction, That Is.