economy of the US, and the level of job satisfaction for workers
The article focuses on the economy of the US, and the level of job satisfaction for workers. From the survey conducted on 5,000 households by the Conference Board Survey, it was established that only about 45% of workers in America were satisfied in their jobs. According to the article, a 45% level of job satisfaction in America is the lowest level that has been recorded in the last 22 years. In 2008, only 49% of those who were surveyed reported to be satisfied in their jobs. The article shows that the huge decline in job satisfaction among American workers can partly be blamed for the worst recession that was experienced since the 1930s, which made it hard for most people to find suitable jobs. It has been indicated that the dissatisfaction has grown steadily for the last two decades because only a few workers consider their jobs as interesting, workers income has not been able to keep up with America’s inflation, and the increased cost of health insurance that takes a huge part of workers’ pay.
According to the article, economists indicate that if the trend of job dissatisfaction is not addressed, it is likely to affect the American economy. In my understanding of dissatisfied workers, they are less productive, which may affect the rate of innovation, competitiveness, and productivity of American firms, thus stifling the entire economy of America. The bad part of the survey is that about 60% of workers who indicated that they are dissatisfied with their job are the young working population with 25 years. In my opinion, this can be dangerous to the American economy because the young population drives the economy of the US through innovation. I believe that the recession has struck this population due to low wages and a lack of opportunities for career growth.
The concept from the article that was studied in our class is the idea of job satisfaction. In our class, job satisfaction was described as the extent to which employees feel self-motivated, contented, and satisfied with their job. We realized that job satisfaction happens when workers feel they have stability in their jobs and have a comfortable life and work balance. In our class, we established that from the perspective of employees, job satisfaction is realized when the gross salary is good, there is job stability, have a steady growth in their career, get job rewards, promotion, and recognitions. From the perspective of the employer, the job satisfaction of employees is crucial to get the best from them. In the class, we realized that when employees are satisfied, the employer will control attrition, which will increase productivity and innovation in the company.