The following article appeared last January in La Presse (a Montreal daily newspaper). It refers to a survey carried out in various workplaces last fall by an important American consulting firm. This information may be quite useful to us as social stewards.

- Steve Poulin (Coordinator - Québec Chaudière Appalaches Social Stewards Network)



Michèle Boisvert
January 28, 2003

An innovative study on how employees feel about their work has revealed that more than half of workers in Canada are dissatisfied with their job.

This is the result of a study released by Towers Perrin, one the world's largest management consultants, and experts in human resources.

The initial aim of the survey was to determine if recent financial scandals had shaken employee confidence in their employer.

Last September, Towers Perrin surveyed 1,000 employees working in large and medium size businesses in North America, as well as 300 senior human resources managers. The latter were asked to describe how they thought their employees viewed their current job situation.

The consultants were surprised to find that confidence in the organization was not an important factor for employees. This is not to say that the latter were apathetic or indifferent about what was going on in their workplace. Quite the contrary.

According to Bruce Near, General Director of Towers Perrin in Canada, "Employers shouldn't underestimate how strongly their employees feel about their work situation."

And their feelings are currently extremely negative - 55% of the survey respondents described their work negatively. The reasons provided were varied: workload (which was considered excessive) was the first reason for dissatisfaction, followed by a lack of confidence, not in the business' ethics, but in management competency. Fears about job or retirement security was also among the irritants noted.

Management is aware of this dissatisfaction, but fails to correctly identify its roots.

Employers overestimate the relative importance of senior management and uncertainty about the future, believing that both contribute to employee discontent, says Martine Ferland, Director of Towers Perrin's Montreal office. "On the other hand, they under-estimate how important it is for employees to feel valued in their work. Employees need to have challenges and to feel their work is appreciated."

The survey also revealed that employees have a clear idea of what an ideal job situation should be. They identify three main needs that drive performance and commitment to the job: a feeling of being able to do the work and belonging to a group; the need to improve their skills, develop their talents and obtain career advancement, and, finally, the need for recognition.

"As employees see it, there seems to be a considerable gap between their current job experience and the ideal job experience," Bruce Near points out.

"However, employees know what is needed to reduce this gap, i.e. achievable objectives. This is good news for employers."

It is in the business' best interests to have satisfied employees. The consulting firm studied overall performance for shareholders, over five years, and found a clear correlation between positive employee feelings and the business' financial performance. But while waiting for these improvements, Towers Perrin, believes that 30 to 40% of the workforce is now at risk, i.e. people who are only waiting for the economy to improve to change jobs or who, in the meantime, are doing only the minimum of what is required.

"The results of this survey should put employers on notice," believes Martin Ferland. The negativity found is so profound that an upturn in the economy wouldn't be enough to improve these feelings. If employment opportunities improved, employers could end up with somewhat of a turnover crisis.