U.S. Job Satisfaction Hits The Skids, Conference Board Says

Compiled ByTraci Purdum More than half of all Americans wish they could sing Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It." At least that's what the results of a recent job-satisfaction survey by The Conference Board indicate. According to the survey, less than half of all Americas say they are satisfied with their jobs -- the highest level of discontent since the survey was first conducted in 1995. Additionally, the survey revealed that the decline in job satisfaction is found among workers of all ages, across all income brackets and regions. "The level of job satisfaction has been steadily on the decline since reaching nearly 59% in 1995," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "As technology transforms the workplace -- accelerating the pace of activities, increasing expectations and productivity demands, and blurring the lines of work and play -- workers are steadily growing more unhappy with their jobs." Key findings of the survey include:

• The largest decline in overall job satisfaction -- from 60.9% in 1995 to 47.2% today -- occurred among those age 35 to 44. Among 45 to 54 year olds, the job-satisfaction level dropped from 57.3% to 46.1%.
• Promotion policies were the least satisfactory benefit of employment. Only 20% of respondents claimed they were satisfied.
• Only 20.1% of respondents claimed they were happy with their company's bonus plan.
• When it comes to education and job-training programs, only 29.3% of respondents claimed to be satisfied.

The Conference Board survey, which was conducted by NFO WorldGroup, queried 5,000 households in July 2003.