SHRM Surveys Shows Overall Employee Satisfaction Declines

The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2012 Job Satisfaction and Engagement Research Report reports that while 81 percent of U.S. employees are satisfied with their job, less than 40 percent are very satisfied, with the most impactful elements of their jobs such as job security, compensation, and relationships with upper management and immediate supervisors.

“Economic, demographic and social trends are among the factors that influence job satisfaction,” said Mark Schmit, SHRM’s vice president for research. “Satisfaction peaked in 2009 when employees were just glad to have a job. Now we are seeing it trend down some, which may be an indication that employees are starting to look at other opportunities again as the job market is starting to turn a bit more positive. Proactive employers will monitor job satisfaction and introduce change to retain top talent ahead of the trend.”

Over 70 percent of employees were satisfied with their relationships with coworkers and the number of opportunities in which to use their skills. However, less than half of employees reported be satisfied with their career development. Additionally, 71 percent of employees reported to putting forth all of their effort into their jobs and being completely focused on their work projects. Just 41 percent of respondents said that other people in their organizations volunteer for new projects. The only group to list the relationship with immediate supervisors as the most important to their engagement was older workers.