Americans' Job Satisfaction Falls to Record Low

MisterHipster said:
We learn that people are unhappy with their current work, and that we need more & better work for our citizens.
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People will never, ever be happy. If we gave everyone more and better work they'd be happy for a few months. Then they'd adapt to the new norm and start bitching again.

Happiness is relative. These stats will never change.
 
Mostly love my job. Get paid to do my hobby for a living. :D
 
CharonPDX said:
Yup, that's exactly it. I'm in Oregon (the state that had the highest unemployment rate for quite a while until just a couple months ago,) in the Portland area, in the tech sector. The tech sector in Portland probably has a significantly higher unemployment rate than the rest of the economy here. I know a manager at one tech company that opened a position, and had 400 resumes within one hour. And it wasn't even that good a position.
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I also live in Oregon, and we are rabid with unemployment. Especially in the farming communities, and this is why I want Oregon to utilize hemp & all it's uses to help restore good work in the State. Some farming communities have unemployment as high as 40% I saw on 60-minutes (insert level of belief here, I believe it though since I live it). Definitely need to figure out how to create good work, and I look to hemp with it's over 25,000 industrial uses. It won't save the State by itself, but it can come close.

People that are forced to keep their jobs because they must support their families, their situation makes me cry. That is so upsetting.... Can you imagine living like that? Let's do something so that we don't have to suffer so much! (Here is a good site to learn a bit about hemp: http://students.ou.edu/W/Elicia.A.Wallach-1/hempcopy1.htm)
 
Taco said:
People will never, ever be happy. If we gave everyone more and better work they'd be happy for a few months. Then they'd adapt to the new norm and start bitching again.

Happiness is relative. These stats will never change.
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Obviously you are not happy at all in your life, your manner of typing eludes to someone in despair. But, I won't spend anymore time on that potential truth. I believe people, as a whole, have lived in happier times. We can be way more happy than we are, and I bet if we took this poll many years ago, it would show different results, with more people being satisfied.

Saying people will never be happy again is so wrong. If we gave people good work, they would be happy as long as they could do what they wanted after work in their homes. That is just the way it goes with people that want to work, and most people want to do some type of work rather than be lazy.
 
I'm happier than most ;). I'm also a realist(disappointed idealist to some) to your unwavering idealism.

You sound an awful lot like Swayze in Donnie Darko. Does fear drive me to act so cynically? ;)
 
i don't do hardly much at my job (because there's not much to do) but i wish i had a better one.
 
I would make a valid comment her, but why on earth is this on hard ocp, good news but hardly technology news.
 
Why is this news comments should equal insta banned. Internet wide. No exceptions.
 
brian770 said:
actualy it is black and white, if you realy hate your job but there are no other jobs, then you will stay. i realy ,realy hate my job! i fight the urge to flatten my boss every day. but i have 5 kids and a wife to support. living in Kentucky where i do (second highest unemployment rate in state) there are NO jobs to replace mine. i have NO choice but to stay where i am at.
I envy your position.
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I'm sure there are conditions in which anyone would walk out of a job even if there is nothing else available -- it happens every day. It may not be likely to happen, but people are satisfied enough to hang on to the job enough to keep doing it. Maybe the pressure to provide for their family is the only motivation, and in there exists at least a sliver of satisfaction. I may hate this job, but I'll do anything to support my family, therefore I wont walk out, and therefore exists some degree of satisfaction.
 
Taco said:
I'm happier than most ;). I'm also a realist(disappointed idealist to some) to your unwavering idealism.

You sound an awful lot like Swayze in Donnie Darko. Does fear drive me to act so cynically? ;)
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Actually, realism is relative as well. So, no, I don't believe you are talking about reality at all. lol - Wanna hash that one out? Could be a while. >.<
 
I'm glad I have a job and I'm glad it's this specific job: Double win. :D
 
I'm a realist as defined in the dictionary, not in a philosophical sense (in which I'd agree with you, but that's another topic altogether).
 
To me, job satisfaction is waking up in the morning and looking forward to what the day might bring at work. If you aren't looking forward to it, then you aren't satisfied. Satisfied and happy are not synonyms.

The fact of the matter is that the economy sucks and there aren't enough jobs to go around, much less enough to pair people in fields/positions where they would be happy. Furthermore, because the economy sucks, companies are taking advantage of that and forcing people to do more with less by suspending raises, benefits, working more hours (salary, not hourly), etc. Combine all of this together and you have a lot of unhappy people. The bottom line is that it's an employers market and not an employees market. Most people don't have the ability to control the situation that they're in, and employers are using that to their advantage. Simple as that.
 
My job sucks, but at least it's stable and pays the bills.

I freely admit that I don't go look for another one because I have no ambition and I am too lazy to do so. Looking for work is hard work! I'd rather just stay home and play computer games every night.
 
Love my job and the people I work with. I find it rewarding and satisfying. I took a huge paycut to come to this job and I haven't regretted it since.
 
gravityparade said:
It may not be likely to happen, but people are satisfied enough to hang on to the job enough to keep doing it. Maybe the pressure to provide for their family is the only motivation, and in there exists at least a sliver of satisfaction. I may hate this job, but I'll do anything to support my family, therefore I wont walk out, and therefore exists some degree of satisfaction.
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A job providing some "degree of satisfaction" is not the same as being satisfying as a whole.

Perhaps it satisfies one's basic needs to provide food and shelter; however people have a whole slew of other desires which may be totally unfilled, and therefore as a whole a job can be unsatisfying.
 
MisterHipster said:
Saying people will never be happy again is so wrong. If we gave people good work, they would be happy as long as they could do what they wanted after work in their homes. That is just the way it goes with people that want to work, and most people want to do some type of work rather than be lazy.
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i agree with this. the 50's proved it (despite all the other problems with that era). i wouldnt say most people want to work though.... were like nigerians, if we can get out of work WE DO!:D ok, not nigerians... we did build this country from scratch in a lot less time then anyone has had.
 
jimmyb said:
A job providing some "degree of satisfaction" is not the same as being satisfying as a whole.

Perhaps it satisfies one's basic needs to provide food and shelter; however people have a whole slew of other desires which may be totally unfilled, and therefore as a whole a job can be unsatisfying.
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I agree with you. That's why I originally stated that it's not black and white. I think a survey representing this in a "yes or no" format is going to give very skewed results.
 
You’d think people would be happy just to have a job in this economy but I guess that isn’t the case.
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Self-centered greedy spoiled brat Americans with false senses of entitlement with gratitude? Surely you jest...

I'm surprised it was as high as it was.

P.S. I'm an American so don't go off on me lol
 
ir0nw0lf said:
LOL, I don't think there is enough Lysol on the planet to cover up all that uber suckupage! :eek: But seriously, you do have it pretty swanky doing what you do. Same for Kyle and the other staff here.
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Suckupage? Who do I have to suck up to?


I have to make sure you guys are happy and keep coming back. In that regard, I suck up to you...

How do I do that? By making sure you enjoy the news, have something to talk about / discuss, get a laugh or two and keep a steady flow of good content coming throughout the day.

Over the last ten years, we've gotten pretty good at it. :D

So "YES" we all enjoy our jobs here and we are definitely grateful to be doing what we love with a bunch of people really like hanging out with (you guys).
 
Of course the majority of American's hate their jobs. That's because most of them work in low paying/minimum wage jobs. I've never heard anyone actually enjoy working at a McDonalds or Walmart. Actually I've heard Wal Mart employee horror stories. They write you up for the littlest things. Who cares about the benefits, I'd rather be treated fairly and get minimum benefits than be treated like shit and get health care or what not. Then again, some people have different tolerance levels.
 
The Gonz said:
Perhaps because people are being forced to take any work available this is skewing the results.
Of course this also highlights the mentality of people in our society. I wouldn't expect them to sing all the way to McDonalds but having a job and money in your pocket is surely better than being unemployed or homeless. No?
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Sadly, not to some people. They'd prefer mooching off unemployment over taking a job they feel is below them. Frankly, no job in the US is below anyone who lives here.

Me, I love my job because I have it, and it's not part of the restaurant industry like my prior jobs were for 10+ years through school+3 years.

Does my job drive me nuts sometimes? Yes. Who's doesn't really? I've been trying to find that 9-5 $75k a year job playing Xbox all day, but it seems that other people are always more qualified for it.
 
I really hope that the fast food employees, where I've eaten, never complain about their job. I get fucked nearly every time I go through the drive through window. I feel like if they can't even put the right stuff in a bag and hand it out the window, they have no room to complain about their job sucking.
 
I think the part of the problem is that management often is taking advantage of the fact that "you should be happy you have a job" to put the screws to the employees. These things have been happening to my friends:

1. Doing significant over time is now absolutely expected period or it reflects poorly on the employee. Really sucks because they push it on the salaried employees and are dead set against it with hourly.

2. Bonuses or raises even though the company has been doing good. Unless you are a Wall Street banker/investor minimal (less than inflation) raises and no bonuses.

3. Changing up benefits to a cheaper provider. Worse HMO options and really crappy or not PPO options. Hell for me this is a scary propositions as I recently had heart surgery. The bill was $212,000.00 with my PPO option it had a $2000.00 co-pay cap. A buddy of mine with his changed up insurance realized the PPO plan was 15% no cap for his deductable. Scared the crap out of him when he checked his policy after my whole ordeal. He's gone to the HMO plan and is still waiting for his cardiologist referal ( 2 months and counting)

4. Promotions, if ya can get them - More responsiblity, more stress and no pay raises.

These sort of things do not make people feel statisfied with their work.
 
Steve said:
Suckupage? Who do I have to suck up to?


I have to make sure you guys are happy and keep coming back. In that regard, I suck up to you...

How do I do that? By making sure you enjoy the news, have something to talk about / discuss, get a laugh or two and keep a steady flow of good content coming throughout the day.

Over the last ten years, we've gotten pretty good at it. :D

So "YES" we all enjoy our jobs here and we are definitely grateful to be doing what we love with a bunch of people really like hanging out with (you guys).
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You know I am bustin' your chops bro. :p Someone needs to give ya a big teddy-bear hug LOL.
 
I will raise my hand in guilt with the "grass is greener" theory. From the first day of boot camp to the last day of my eas in the Marine Corps I HATED my life. We would be drenched up to our knees in mud for days/weeks in the field DREAMING of a desk job. The only thing that got you through was your buddies and knowing that there was an entire platoon of you doing the same thing. Now that I have the desk job, I sort of yearn for the rain and mud! Truly though, I landed on my feet fairly well for a guy with an infantry background. I just have more respect for the active duty guys who stick it out for 20+ years. Talk about more work and less pay for a lloonggg time. But that is the life they choose!
 
*SPAT!!! PATT!! SPLAT!!!*

That's the sound of my brains exploding all over my desk at work. Happy...
 
Taco said:
Why is this news comments should equal insta banned. Internet wide. No exceptions.
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Trust me, it is hard to keep the finger off the "ban button" but what would a day in the forums be like without someone crying "why is this news?" There's always one in every crowd. :D

ProfessorKaos64 said:
I would make a valid comment her, but why on earth is this on hard ocp, good news but hardly technology news.
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a.) Most people here have a job. (story directly relates to them)

b.) It is my job to decide what we put on the site...and I like my job. (story directly relates to me)

c.) My other job is banning people...I don't like to do it, but I do when necessary (story directly relates to YOU)


:D


ir0nw0lf said:
You know I am bustin' your chops bro. :p Someone needs to give ya a big teddy-bear hug LOL.
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I know bro, I love ya man ;)
 
I'm also in Oregon, but I'm one of those people for whom the economic downturn was mostly transparent; I was actually able to transfer internally here from California at the end of '08, when everything was really going to hell. My job is necessary as long as we keep the customers we already have; it's just gaining new customers that's a struggle these days. I'm happy to have a job, but I don't find my work fulfilling.
 
Kenworth said:
I will raise my hand in guilt with the "grass is greener" theory. From the first day of boot camp to the last day of my eas in the Marine Corps I HATED my life. We would be drenched up to our knees in mud for days/weeks in the field DREAMING of a desk job. The only thing that got you through was your buddies and knowing that there was an entire platoon of you doing the same thing. Now that I have the desk job, I sort of yearn for the rain and mud! Truly though, I landed on my feet fairly well for a guy with an infantry background. I just have more respect for the active duty guys who stick it out for 20+ years. Talk about more work and less pay for a lloonggg time. But that is the life they choose!
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As one of the people who had a desk job from day, uhm, 30:
I could see the recruits outside my window, and every single day the rest of my year I was genuinely happy it wasn't me. The grass on my side was definitely sweeter and crunchier than on theirs. ;)

This was obviously not the USMC, though. I was conscripted for a year in the Norwegian army, among (but not part of) the King's Guards. Decidedly slacker on both sides of the window, though the Guards did at least work hard for their $18/day. (At some point, we noticed the drill team were lining up their empty bottles sorted by type and then expiration date, rotated the same way, and with the flappy strip of plastic on the screw cap neatly cut off. Ordnung muss sein.)
 
As much as I hate the company I work for and their excessive penny-pinching (no raise, no bonus, and no Christmas party, despite an INCREASE in sales over '08), I'm quite happy that I have a relatively secure job and one that has a regular 40 hour schedule (8 to 5). I'll move on from this job as soon I earn my MBA in a couple of years, but for now, it'll have to do in order to pay the bills.
 
Count me in the "happy to have a secure job but at least a little upset that the executives are making $400k+ for working 1.5 days a week" category.
 
The job market favors the employer right now. Corporations are able to get away with breaking laws and regulations and no one will complain for fear of losing the job and ending up on the streets.

I took a temp job over the holidays, one of the joyful little experiences was when all us temps were gathered up to be chewed out in-mass to never say "I know" and other equally stupid items. Should we do so expect to have our check by 12 the next day because there are a lot of people who want that job right now.

Pay and benefits are going down working cognitions are getting worse and when people get upset they are told good luck finding another job. Thats why job satisfaction sucks right now.
 
They forgot to mention that people whining about anything has increased five fold since 1987.
Really don't recall that much whinging during my entire 18 years of work history as it has been in the last couple of years.
I learned to shut my mouth and wait or move on, if I wasn't happy with my job and it payed off.
 
Happy to have a job: Yes

Happy to be doing the job I have now: It has its ups and downs. The ups are nice. The downs are why I'm saving up for a copy of Office so I can start redoing my resume and getting myself ready to find something better, if not a secondary position.
 
The hours at my job have been servility cut for everyone. I do like my job, but I gotta keep searching need to pay more bills...
 
The Gonz said:
Perhaps because people are being forced to take any work available this is skewing the results.
Of course this also highlights the mentality of people in our society. I wouldn't expect them to sing all the way to McDonalds but having a job and money in your pocket is surely better than being unemployed or homeless. No?
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Actually I'd much rather be unemployed. I'm younger so working for $7/hr at McD is not really anything I'd be interested in. I'd rather have 0 money and spend my time learning even outside of school.. reading books on bonds or Atlas Shrugged or surfing the net looking at news and other info that sparks my interest. I built a good computer this summer while i had a job so I have all of the entertainment and source of info that I need.

For me my time is much more valuable to me as it is - free - than to have to give it up for $7/hr...
 
And for those of you who claim: you're younger you don't have bills to pay yet! I don't have very many bills to pay because I've not spent my money on recurring things or depreciating things, or service based things. I drive a 96 dodge avenger that's a big piece of crap.. and I love it because it costs next to nothing to drive and service. If you make $200k a year and buy an escalade more power to you, but if you make $70k a year like many more people do, and you're driving an escalade I will be smiling at you and laughing at you and in no way shape or form jealous of your lifestyle or your choices.
 
People hate their jobs for obvious reasons these days. My job for instance gives a 2% salary increase annually, this is not enough to even cover for inflation. So every year no matter what without a promotion I'll be poorer. Doesn't matter how hard I work or if the guy next to me is doing barely anything, we both get 2%.

Being middle management I get a meager bonus, once again 2%. While the higher ups take 10% or 15% bonuses.

Things like this are why there is no middle class anymore and why the rich get richer. If people want to be happy at their jobs corporate America needs to get a bit more even and stop screwing over the little guy.
 
topslop1 said:
For me my time is much more valuable to me as it is - free - than to have to give it up for $7/hr...
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This attitude won't get you far in life.

Things like this are why all our jobs are going to China. You think working for minimum wage is demeaning and demand a higher paying job even though you have no experience or qualifications. Culture of entitlement :rolleyes:
 
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