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.
Well, Americans had over a decade of real wage losses and down-sizing/right-sizing NAFTA/GATT destruction of jobs in the US. There is also the fact that most families must have two incomes to live, which means that their kids are raised by strangers at Day Care, at great expense to boot. Of course most people are unhappy.
Working longer hours for less pay and benefits, doing more with less, and taking on more and more tasks and still living in constant fear of a layoff is going to take a toll. Add to that injury the insult of watching senior executives get bonuses for running companies into bankruptcy at the same time that all of that was occuring and it’s a wonder that we didn’t have a repeat of the “going Postal” syndrome.
I am very happy in my job/profession and grateful to God that I have this opportunity. But, I can absolutely see why so many are unhappy. Before my current position, I was in a similar situation.