Dive Brief:
- Employees are mostly happy with their jobs, a survey by The Conference Board found. But in a note to organization leaders, growth opportunities are what employees care about most, yet in this area, employees are least satisfied.
- "Workers place the biggest premium on a job’s potential for future growth, but at the moment, 60% of U.S. workers feel dissatisfied with this component,” said Robin Erickson, the researcher at The Conference Board who oversaw the survey.
- Overall, 54% of employees are satisfied with their job, which is a 3% increase from last year, and one of the largest yearly increases tracked by the survey. It marks the eighth consecutive year of annual gains in satisfaction.
Dive Insight:
Among the findings, satisfaction with wages jumped 9.8% among millennials – those aged 35 and under. Employees in their peak earning years – between ages 33 and 54 – remain most satisfied.
Employees say they're most pleased with their commute to work, followed by the people they work with, interest in their work, the physical environment, job security and their supervisor.
They're least satisfied with their bonus plan, the company promotion policy, performance review process, educational programs, recognition and communication channels.
Gad Levanon, chief economist at The Conference Board, said dissatisfaction with growth opportunities can tempt employees to look for opportunities elsewhere.
“In today’s strong jobs market, people are quitting their positions at the fastest pace in over two decades,” he said. “It’s one of the many signs that illustrate improved opportunities for workers. They have more leverage when it comes to increasing their paychecks and finding jobs that better align with their interests and skills.”
The findings track a number of surveys released recently that show a high percentage of employees don't plan to stay at their jobs long-term because of the lure of opportunity elsewhere.
The Conference Board recommended organization leaders enhance their employees' opportunities by increasing the transparency of their communication channels, create or enhance recognition programs and review how well their performance reviews are working, among other things.
