Industry News

 Survey: One in Four Workers Reports Fulfillment in Job

Friday June 25, 2010

 Arlington, Va. June 25

Twenty-six percent of people say they find happiness and fulfillment in their job, according to a nationwide telephone survey of more than 500 employed Americans by management consultants Healthy Companies International. But for most workers, the job serves mainly to provide income to enjoy other aspects of life. Eleven percent feel the job is mostly a drain on their energy and happiness.

Sure, its heartening that as many as one in three people enjoy their work, said Stephen Parker, chief commercial officer of Healthy Companies. Nevertheless, the findings tell us a lot more could be done to improve the situation of employees, and that any improvement would benefit both them and their employer.

Parker said more companies are looking into the job satisfaction and well-being of their employees. Aside from it being the right thing to do, management also realizes that employees who see little intrinsic value in the work itself are not as productive as they might be. No one is saying we can totally transform the reality that sometimes a job is just a job, but there is huge potential even in taking small steps to engage employees further.

People spend half their waking hours at work and its a shame if they feel unconnected or indifferent to what they do, said Parker. The survey tells us the national workforce has so much unrealized promise. Many companies are obviously getting just a modest or minimal discretionary effort from their workforce.  If, on the other hand, organizations were able to lift job satisfaction by just five or ten percent it would pay off in very real terms.

Among the surveys other findings:

• The sense of fulfillment in the job tends to correlate with both income and education. Thirty-two percent of respondents with income of $75,000 or more find their job a major source of happiness, compared with just 17 percent of those earning less than $25,000. Similarly, 41 percent of those who at least completed college feel such satisfaction with their job, compared with only 20 percent of those with high school or less.

• The greatest job satisfaction was expressed by respondents in mid-career. Thirty percent of those 45-54 feel fulfilled compared with just 25 percent of those 18-34.

• Men were only somewhat more likely than women to feel fulfilled in their by 28 percent to 24 percent.

Parker said there are a variety of ways to build greater employee engagement. In some cases, leaders need to connect workers with the key roles they play in fulfilling the companys mission and in serving the higher purpose that great companies seek to achieve," he said. "Employees need to see how their own values fit with the companys. In most cases, employees should be recognized for their contribution to the wider team, encouraged to find ways to use natural talent and given the chance to collaborate more with colleagues.

The leadership of a healthy organization never takes this human dimension for granted, Parker said. There is so much untapped human energy in the workplace that we have to wonder what better would look like if just a small part of the disengaged majority began to feel greater fulfillment from their work, he said.

The nationwide telephone survey of 509 employed Americans was conducted May 19-30, 2010, by International Communications Research on behalf of Healthy Companies International.

For more info: http://www.healthycompanies.com