Sustaining Business Newsletter

Are Your Employees Happy?
By Janet Livingston

According to a recent survey conducted by the Conference Board, the answer is probably not.  It seems that only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work.  Moreover, this is the lowest level ever recorded in the more than 22 years that the group has been studying the issue.  According to Linda Barrington, managing director of human capital at the Conference Board, who helped write the report, "It says something troubling about work in America.  It is not about the business cycle or one grumpy generation."  Satisfaction levels have dropped over the past twenty years, not just because of the recent recession. 

Perhaps to understand why employees are unhappy, we need to look deeper within the study.  One explanation may be that only 51 percent find their jobs interesting, down from nearly 70 percent in 1987.  As companies have made the decision to not fill vacancies, but rather to require more from their remaining employees, workers began to feel overworked.  Couple this with that fact that average household incomes adjusted for inflation have shrank in the new millennium and average employee contribution for single-coverage medical care benefits rose from $48 to $76 per month from 1999 to 2006.  Finally, the data shows that a growing number of employees are dissatisfied with their boss.  One respondent noted that "Bosses need to come down to the employee level more and see what actually goes on, versus what their paperwork tells them is happening."    

With more than half of workers dissatisfied with their current situation, that could spell trouble for many organizations.  Economists predict that if this trend is not reversed, it could stifle innovation and hurt America's competitiveness and productivity even further.  When the economy improves, we are likely to see the labor market shift back to a "sellers' market" and many employees will begin actively seeking employment with organizations that are more stimulating and have a happier workforce.  At Hendrickson Business Advisors, we believe that those organizations that take care of their employees now may have an advantage when the economy improves. 

We hope that you will make an investment in your employees sooner rather than later.  Find out for yourself what satisfactions levels are for your organization and then do something about it now.  If you are interested in learning more or exploring the benefits of employee satisfaction and loyalty further, we can guide you.  Please let us know if we can be of assistance.