A new survey of 2,500 U.S. workers finds that overall job satisfaction is on the decline - from 69 percent in January 2001 to 61 percent in February 2002.
Over half of workers state that they continue to work under a great deal of stress. Four out of 10 workers are dissatisfied with pay, and almost one-fourth of workers are dissatisfied with the experience that they are getting through their jobs.
"Job satisfaction has been steadily declining since 2001," says Barry Lawrence, a senior career advisor with CareerBuilder, which conducted the study. "Workers are growing weary as they absorb more negative corporate news and they are forced to take on additional responsibilities as companies downsize. Also, many workers are settling for second choices in career opportunities."
Stress, job dissatisfaction and other workplace factors can contribute to depression, which is a bigger problem in the workplace than most people imagine. According to "Depression: The Unseen Safety Risk," an article authored by Todd Nighswonger and scheduled for the April issue of Occupational Hazards magazine, between 15 million and 20 million adult Americans, or as much as 10 percent of the adult population, experience a depressive illness each year. At any time, one employee in 20 has depression, and depression results in more than 200 million lost workdays and costs the U.S. economy $43.7 billion annually.
The CareerBuilder Job Search 2002 was conducted Jan. 30 through Feb. 5. A total of 2,550 workers participated in the survey.
by Sandy Smith ([email protected])