Expert job search advice.

Mental Health and Your Job

PEACE OUT, WORK.

8 in 10 workers are open to new opportunities according to a recent study of 1,500 workers in Jobvite’s 2018 Job Seeker Nation Study.

A similar study was done last year of 17,000 U.S. workers in 19 industries by the nonprofit group Mental Health America & the Faas Foundation. Employers, the study found, are not giving the recognition that most employees want. Forty-five percent of respondents said they “rarely or never” get the money they deserve and 44 percent believe that they are “always or often” overlooked.

The study also shows that most employees are just plain stressed out. Almost two-thirds of those who responded believe that their job is having “a significant impact on their mental and behavioral health.” This is alarming. Clearly our expectations of the workforce and the way we treat employees in the US is broken.

And it’s not just the people at the bottom who feel abused. I got an email from a COO last week who put in his resignation after years of unhappiness in a toxic culture.

WHY ARE EMPLOYEES MORE STRESSED OUT THAN EVER BEFORE?

I posted this to LinkedIn and got some noteworthy responses:

Jena Viviano, a faith and work career coach, said:

I wonder if we are living in this constant state of discontentment because of what we’re expecting our careers to be for us. I’m all for finding a fulfilling career, but I wonder if we’re putting SO MUCH pressure on the institution of work that we’re setting ourselves up for failure?

John Neary, a customer insights expert, shared a thought provoking comment:

….. I believe more people are questioning the idea of fulfillment because it’s more cultural accepting to talk about it. Past generations remained quiet regardless of whether they were happy or not. It wasn’t something openly shared. Social Media has made discussions that were never publicly shared public and created pictures/ideas of how others live to build the desire of wanting, needing, or desiring more. We all deserve respect and appreciation in the workforce because that’s just being a good person when you do that for others. I also believe people make more money but there situation in terms of satisfaction or value doesn’t change and all it afford is the ability to buy more stuff… more stuff doesn’t equal fulfillment.

Maureen McCann, trusted job search expert, shared her insight from years of working with executive job seekers:

The most common concern I hear from unsatisfied employees (on the cusp of becoming job seekers) is that the organization or the people within it either a) don’t value the employees’ contribution or b) don’t recognize their potential. In other words, the employee feels under utilized. At times I wish I had a direct line to employers so I could shout it out: “You’re losing good people because you didn’t take the time to recognize their value and worth to the organization!”

Join the conversation on LinkedIn about how the work culture can effect job satisfaction: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6465550757348327424

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@fairytailphotography?tm_source=squarespace&medium=referral

Categories:

Tags:

Written by: