Job satisfaction elusive, but American workers need to hang on

Job Satisfaction Plummets

Job satisfaction is a rarity among American workers, a third of whom are wishing to quit their jobs but prevented from doing so simply because jobs are harder to come by in this down economy.

In a survey by the human resource group Mercer of 2,400 workers, as much as 32 percent reported that they are "seriously considering" resigning their current positions. That is up 9 percentage points six years ago.

A further 21 percent reported no job satisfaction and holds their employers in low regard but don't want to quit, the survey showed.

Just 60 percent of workers view their benefits as either good or very good, down from 76 percent in 2005. As for base pay, just 53 percent said they were satisfied, down from 58 percent.

Those who want to leave their current work are highest among aged 24 and under with 44 percent saying they want to quit. Among workers aged 25 to 34, 40 percent want to leave their organizations.

While job satisfaction is short among U.S. workers, they are prevented to look for other jobs by their limited ability to relocate. Older workers are saddled by mortgages and plummeting housing prices and they are less likely to seek out newer jobs that can provide job satisfaction.

On the other hand, younger ones who are less likely to own homes may be more mobile and aggressive to hunt for other opportunities that can give them job satisfaction. A separate study by SBR Consulting showed that 70 percent of employees 21 to 30 years old foresee switching jobs as the economy recovers.

Posted by James Fried on Friday June 24 2011, 11:57 PM EDT. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0