So, what has the American employee learned from the recession?
Here's a question . . . What's the lesson the American worker has learned from being unemployed, underemployed, or just afraid of losing his job?
The common answer I hear is, "He's learned to appreciate his job and his work."
And, like most common answers, it is wrong.
To the contrary, a recent study by Florida State University reveals that the ravages of recession has focused employees away from work and toward home and family -- their most credible relationships.
Respondents to the survey said that the hard times has helped them appreciate the "value of people," increased appreciation for their families and increased hostility toward their employers and former employers who they feel have often betrayed them and discarded them or their co-workers, i.e, "I gave my everything to my job and they never really appreciated it."
Today, more than a third of all employees are questioning the importance of work in their life picture. This is especially true among the Millennial Generation (born between the mid-1970's and the early 2000's). They have seen their parents put everything into their work and question just how much they got back. As a generation, work is of lesser status compared to other dynamics of life to include friends, family and leisure.
Next question: What's the American employer to take away from these facts?
You tell me.
The common answer I hear is, "He's learned to appreciate his job and his work."
And, like most common answers, it is wrong.
To the contrary, a recent study by Florida State University reveals that the ravages of recession has focused employees away from work and toward home and family -- their most credible relationships.
Respondents to the survey said that the hard times has helped them appreciate the "value of people," increased appreciation for their families and increased hostility toward their employers and former employers who they feel have often betrayed them and discarded them or their co-workers, i.e, "I gave my everything to my job and they never really appreciated it."
Today, more than a third of all employees are questioning the importance of work in their life picture. This is especially true among the Millennial Generation (born between the mid-1970's and the early 2000's). They have seen their parents put everything into their work and question just how much they got back. As a generation, work is of lesser status compared to other dynamics of life to include friends, family and leisure.
Next question: What's the American employer to take away from these facts?
You tell me.
posted by Jim Karger at 5:25 AM
2 Comments:
Wow. What a powerful second question, Jim. Does the American worker really have the courage to put the value of people ahead of the value of 'stuff'? TO do this, they must have courage, patience and resolve...Simplifying is a good start. Make sure their 'stuff' aligns with their new value of people...
More later...
My take matters, so here it is: Fairness has nothing to do with work. So strike that one off the wish list right now. The diversity pendulum swung way too far one way and beheaded fairness long ago; what we could use is a little more 'reversity'. Quote it. You heard it used here first.
Job satisfaction is rooted in proper expectations being set on both sides of that dynamic. Money only pegs the score, so it's a poor indicator of anything but the score . . . Money is not by itself a hedonic thing and was never designed to be that. If it was, they wouldn't use old dead guys on the billface, it would be something more appealing.
Lastly, why is job satisfaction relevant? Work itself, by definition is not leisure and should be defined as: physical, or mental exertion beyond ones state of comfort. Since that definition suits the majority of what most of us have the opportunity to get paid for, and believe work feels like, let's use it here. Therefore we must agree that unless we're sadists, work should suck!
Post a Comment
<< Home