North American Workers Demonstrating a Pattern of Discontent

 Right Management’s poll of 760 U.S. employees determined that most workers continue tointend to find new employment for the fourth consecutive year. The larger majority (86 percent) of polled employees said they plan to look for new jobs next year and an additional 8 percent said they are considering a change and are networking. Just 5 percent expressed the desire to stay in their current job throughout 2013. The number of employees actively searching for jobs has risen considerably since 2009 when the number sat at a still high 60 percent.

“At a minimum, the survey findings are a sign of considerable job dissatisfaction throughout North America,” said Owen J. Sullivan, Right Management CEO and president of ManpowerGroup Specialty Brands. “The constant drumbeat of downsizing coupled with the expectation to do more with less has put an added amount of stress on workers. Ongoing economic uncertainty and volatility around job growth and job security have warranted the exploration of new positions. This kind of frustration may not be unusual, even in a strong job market. But the levels of discontent we’re now finding have to be without precedent.”

The survey is considered a way to measure general job commitment as well as a gauge for job dissatisfaction. Sullivan continued, “Now that we have a few years of consistent longitudinal data, we’re confident that our data are reliable. What we’re finding is what behavioral psychologists call ‘flight cognition,’ a wish to depart a situation, not necessarily an indicator of actual employee turnover. Nevertheless, when more than four out of five workers seem so unhappy it ought to concern top management.”