Who’s Job is Job Satisfaction?
Posted by admin - 11/01/10 at 09:01 amThe Conference Board reports that 2010 is still a month young and already it’s set a new record. Almost half of all Americans (45%) report that they are dissatisfied with their jobs. That’s the highest the figure has been since the question was first asked, way back in 1987.
What’s behind this malaise?
Certainly, it would be easy to point a finger at employers. They’ve made huge cuts in the workforce and then piled work on the survivors. They’ve paid their top executives obscene amounts of money and lavish perks and argued against adding a measly couple of dimes to the minimum wage. And, of course, you could go on and on.
I think, however, there’s another equally as important cause of job dissatisfaction that you don’t hear much about. Ask any recruiter to identify their single greatest problem, and most will say the number of unqualified people who apply for their openings.
Now, I understand that in this difficult economy, people are desperate; they’ll take any job they can get. But, here’s the simple truth: if you wan to be dissatisfied with your job, apply for one where you aren’t qualified to do the work.
I’m writing a book called The Career Activist Republic. It describes the rise of a new kind of worker in America. This worker demands all of their rights of citizenship in the workplace as well as in the rest of our society. But in order to claim those rights, these career activists also accept the responsibilities that come along with them.
How does that relate to job dissatisfaction?
If you believe you have a right to the pursuit of Happiness at work—and I believe you do—then you also have the responsibility to put yourself in a role where you have the skills and knowledge and the cultural alignment to achieve it. Or to put it another way, if you’ve been wasting your time applying for jobs where you aren’t qualified, invest the time, instead, looking for and landing jobs where you are. You are much more likely to be hired and infinitely more likely to be satisfied with the job.
Thanks for reading,
Peter
January 11th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
It’s an interesting point you make about the applicants ability to handle the work they are applying for. I’m all for eliminating excuses for employers to treat employees badly.
I’m curious BTW, what you meant by the term “cultural alignment”.
January 12th, 2010 at 9:23 am
You hit the nail on the head Peter – people who are not quite up to the job they hold, are always uncomfortable. It’s not a satisfying path and eventually leads to real pain.
– Eric
January 14th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
DC-
Thanks for your comment. I agree—there is no excuse for employers treating employees badly. That said, I also think there are a lot of people who don’t accept responsibility for their own career. Best evidence is the amount of time those in transition are willing to invest in their job search. The latest research indicates it’s barely four hours per day. And that’s in the worst recession since the 19030’s!
By cultural alignment, I meant a person’s fit with the values and mission of the organization. You can be qualified for a job and still miserable if you don’t fit int.
All the Best,
Peter
January 14th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
The fact that unqualified people are applying is a temporary thing. If 45% of Americans say they’re dissatisfied with their jobs, there’s something much deeper going on. I suggest adding a question to the survey along the following lines … “If you could start again, would you choose a different career”? I have a feeling approximately 50% would answer yes. That’s your problem. For more career advice visit us at http://www.mytalentplace.co.uk/blog
January 29th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Hi Dr. G-
Thanks for your post.
I’ve been surveying recruiters since 1966–see the Online Poll on our site, it’s one of the longest running longitudinal surveys of job seeker and recruiter behaviors and preferences on the Web–and I can tell you that applications by unqualified applicants is definitely not a temporary thing. It’s been going for at least 10 years.
And no wonder, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the decade between 1999 and 2009 produced virtually no new jobs. There was a net gain of just 121,000 positions over the period, barely enough to employ the crowd at one Michigan football game.
As to people starting a different career, you are absolutely right. I’ve seen two surveys which indicate that upwards of nine-out-of-ten people (both surveys reported 88% of their respondents) daydream at work about quitting their job to do something else.
So, the real question is … why don’t they? Why don’t they invest the time and effort to find out what they would rather do and start looking for jobs where they can do it? Why don’t they spend as much time shopping for a career—where they will spend one-third of their day—as they do shopping for a new smart phone?
Best Regards,
Peter
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:52 am
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April 16th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
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April 19th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
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