[Smlr_net] Conference Board Report: Workers Less Miserable, but Hardly Happy

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.*

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*Conference Board Study: **Workers Less Miserable, but Hardly Happy* Conference Board: http://www.conference-board.org/***From the Press Release, **http://bit.ly/MxqUIm**: *

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Americans of all ages and income brackets have the highest job satisfaction levels since the beginning of The Great Recession. However, the majority continue to be unhappy at work, according to a report released today by The Conference Board.

The report, based on a Fall 2011 survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board by The Nielsen Company, finds 47.2 percent of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. Though a slight improvement from 2010 and 2009 — when the figure stood at 42.6 and 45.3 percent, respectively — job satisfaction remains below the 48.8 percent recorded in 2008. According to the report, 2005 was the last year in which a majority of Americans was happy at work (52.1%), but compared to the 1980s and '90s, widespread dissatisfaction has been entrenched since the turn of the century.

While we are seeing positive movement in the right direction, particularly as approximately 8 percent of U.S. citizens are unemployed, this trend may signal increased satisfaction with simply having a job rather than demonstrate increased engagement or happiness,” said Rebecca Ray, Ph. D., Senior Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board. “The good news is that there are bright spots here, particularly regarding the internal initiatives and actions that chief human resources officers and their teams can drive through organizations and have large impacts.”

Though the overall numbers remain negative, there are many key upward trends such as higher satisfaction with job security, wages, promotion policy, educational/job training, and bonus plan. Employees are reporting higher interest in their jobs, relationships with fellow employees, and the level of recognition and acknowledgment from supervisors. All these higher assessments reflect the over many job aspects that were rated more favorably in 2011 than in 2010.

*For the full press release: **http://bit.ly/MxqUIm* The complete report is entitled: Job Satisfaction: 2012 Edition, By Rebecca L. Ray and Thomas Rizzacasa, June 2012, Report Number: R-1495-12-RR

It is not available for free download, but is available to Rutgers affiliates through the Conference Board database. Or, contact me: dlschulman@work.rutgers.edu