Study: Most Americans Unhappy at Work. How Will You Respond?

I read a depressing Gawker article last night entitled, “Most Americans Hate their Job.” While not a novel assessment, writer Taylor Berman points to a new Gallup study which shows some startling figures:

1. 52% of respondents were “not engaged” at work, just “going through the motions”
2. 18% were “actively disengaged” (ie: intentionally harming the business somehow)
3. A mere 30% described themselves as genuinely inspired by their work

The article goes on to say how you can’t “buy” morale through fun in-office perks or employee team building activities – that people are unhappy, period.

As a leader and manager of people, how do you react to this information? Do you simply shrug your shoulders? After all, work isn’t meant to be fun – otherwise, it wouldn’t be called “work” – it’d be called “fun.” Or are you going to take a step back and ask, “why are my people so unhappy?”

I think we can all agree that happier workplaces are better workplaces – and not just from a cosmetic, touchy/feely standpoint, but in terms of productivity, efficiency and quality as well. This study doesn’t go into the reasons behind the misery of the American workforce; however you know your people, and can likely put your finger on their main gripes.

The usual suspects:

1. Inadequate compensation
2. Lack of advancement opportunity
3. Lack of development opportunity
4. Insufficient office equipment or physical space
5. Lack of key amenities
6. Team/personality issues

Some of these factors aren’t within your control – however, a great deal are. The only question: how important is it to you, the boss, in addressing?