JOBS : JOB SEARCH RESOURCES : JOB SATISFACTION - OCT 2003

Job Satisfaction Down in New Survey

By John Agno
Reprinted: 2003-10-30

The ranks of the discontented are swelling. A new Conference Board survey, indicates that just 49% of Americans today are satisfied with their jobs--versus, 58% in 1995, the first time the survey was done. Only 20% are satisfied with their employer's promotion and bonus policies and just a third with their pay.

Job satisfaction fell most among prime-years workers aged 35- 54. And it was down sharply among workers in the $50,000-plus income group. One source of grievance seems to be the ongoing efforts of employers to squeeze more work out of reduced staffs.

When discontented, employees begin looking for new career opportunities. Today, executives move through more jobs in a decade than their fathers did in a lifetime thirty years ago. Because low-performing companies have nearly twice as much turnover among top-performing employees as high-performing companies, keeping and recruiting top-performers is important in uncertain times.

---Sources: BusinessWeek, October 6, 2003 and Watson Wyatt Worldwide 2002 research report, "Strategic Rewards: Managing Through Uncertain Times."


To keep top-performers, leaders must bridge from the company's business case to the employees' "what's in it for me?". For background on why this is not your father's economy, go to: http://home.att.net/~coachthee/Archives/joblessrecovery.html

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