| Dallas
Business Journal
Overworked and feeling unappreciated in the workplace?
Chances are you're not alone. More than half of North Americans
have negative feelings about their work, according to a just-released
study by global human-resources consultant Towers Perrin and its
research partner, Gang & Gang in Salem, Mass. A third have intensely
negative feelings.
Areas contributing to the malaise are excessive workloads,
concerns about management's ability to lead the company forward,
anxieties about the future relating to incomes and retirements,
lack of challenges, frustrations and insufficient levels of recognition.
Negative emotions have troubling implications for
employers, particularly regarding retention, said Susan Haslett,
a principal in the Dallas office of Stamford, Conn.-based Towers
Perrin. The Internet survey included 1,100 employees working for
mid-to-large-size companies.
"Without strong positive ties to work or the
work experience, employees have little incentive to go the distance
or deliver consistently top performance," Haslett said.
"Employers must consider these findings as a
wake-up call and a challenge that management must address,"
she said. "Organizations may feel real risk when the economy
improves and top talent begins looking for greener pastures."
Towers Perrin study found that 28% of those with intensely
negative feelings are actively looking for a job or are poised to
leave when a new opportunity arises. By contrast, only 6% of those
with positive feelings about their jobs are considering leaving.
"Even in a bad economy people will still move
on and employers need to keep that in mind," Haslett said.
Employees questioned in the Towers Perrin survey said
a good work experience included feeling confident, competent and
in control of their work experience as well as rewards and recognition
from superiors.
Ian McClure, regional president of career management
company Bernard Haldane Associates, said he's seen similar dissatisfaction
among his clients regardless of whether they are in finance, real
estate or technology. However, the majority of the firm's clients
are unemployed and looking for work.
"Even so, they are carefully researching their
next moves," McClure said. "No one wants to dread going
to work."
Still, they are finding their ideal jobs elusive.
Only 811 people out of 17,363 U.S. workers polled
recently by Bernard Haldane reported working in their dream job.
McClure said those looking for a change should take personality
tests to determine their affinities, join groups and organizations
that revolve around those interests and consider taking salary cuts
to enter into new fields.
That's what Bill Smith is doing after recently leaving
his business-development post with a well-known service company
after his original employer was acquired and the new bosses quickly
began making changes. The company, which at one time had 65 employees,
now has three after several employees chose to quit and others were
laid off.
"You never knew where you really stood because
of all the changes," Smith said. "Often, you were spending
more time doing administrative work than being out there with the
clients."
Smith now is planning to start his own indoor-air-quality
company.
For their part, employers appear to know employees
are unhappy. But they misjudge some of the causes, overestimating
how employees feel about management and the future, according to
another Towers Perrin study which surveyed roughly 300 senior human-resource
executives.
Conversely, employers underestimated the importance
of instilling confidence in their employees and the need for professional
development opportunities, challenging work and recognition.
"If a company doesn't understand the reasons
for employee negativity, it may invest in some of the wrong programs
or fail to foster the kind of work environment that builds strong
positive emotion," Haslett said.
"In reality, creating a positive work environment
is well within reach and is largely about reshaping the work experience
into something meaningful and personally satisfying for employees."
©2002 TABIC. All rights reserved.
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