Americans' job satisfaction falls to record low

[cal04]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100105/ap_on_bi_ge/us_unhappy_workers

Even Americans who are lucky enough to have work in this economy are becoming more unhappy with their jobs, according to a new survey that found only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work.

That was the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in more than 22 years of studying the issue. In 2008, 49 percent of those surveyed reported satisfaction with their jobs.

The drop in workers' happiness can be partly blamed on the worst recession since the 1930s, which made it difficult for some people to find challenging and suitable jobs. But worker dissatisfaction has been on the rise for more than two decades.

"It says something troubling about work in America. It is not about the business cycle or one grumpy generation," says Linda Barrington, managing director of human capital at the Conference Board, who helped write the report, which was released Tuesday.

Workers have grown steadily more unhappy for a variety of reasons:
• Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
• Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
• The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers' take-home pay.

[Nay]

1. The most "troubling" thing about work in America today is that most of

it truly is useless paperpushing, and I hate it when articles like this push the idea that the workers are basically at fault for not being creative enough to learn to love their work. Face it, folks, lots of work in the new America is useless and boring on its face, and workers know it. We'd love to go do something else, even housework (where progress is at least measurable), but we can't afford to have no income.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Depends on your standpoint.

When I was unemployed and without a salary or unemployment, ANY job was "interesting". Even typing medical reports for 65 cents a page (before taxes) or overnight operator at an answering service was plenty.

I think plenty of interesting things while doing "mundane" tasks.

[TexasObserver]

3. It's because big employers are more and more onerous with employees.

As employee rights have gotten trampled with greater regularity, the norm has become the job that doesn't provide full benefits, doesn't provide a living wage, and doesn't provide 40 hours of work a week. As the economy has collapsed, many workers are fulfilling jobs below their skill levels. That isn't very satisfying.

When people have increased costs to live, decreased hours, lower wages, and more difficult work conditions, they aren't happy.

[depakid]

4. Not having ample vacation time and being one illness or injury away from from BK

doesn't improve matters either- not for individuals, their organizations- nor for communities, or the nation at large.

[notesdev]

5. Cubicles not appealing? Mon dieu!

Maybe if they adopted a business model that treated office workers as something other than educated cattle, they might get somewhere.

The difficulty of opening a small business these days is probably part of the equation too. Most people are much happier running their own business.