With the economic environment as tough as it currently is, many businesses are foregoing their regular employee satisfaction surveys. While costs (as small as they are for this type of basic research) may be a contributing factor, many business owners may think it unnecessary since high unemployment rates mean workers are happy just to be employed.
However, according to a recent report by The Conference Board (a non-profit global business organization supported by business executives that holds conferences, convenes executives and conducts business management research) “Fewer than half of U.S. workers are satisfied with their jobs, the lowest level since record-keeping began 22 years ago… Even though one in 10 Americans is out of a job, those who are employed are increasingly dissatisfied…[That] could spell trouble for the overall engagement of U.S. employees and ultimately employee productivity…”
As business executives eye what will certainly be a prolonged recovery of the economy, they need to understand how the changes in operations necessitated by the economic downturn affect their employees and productivity and how to prioritize reversals of some of those measures as the economy improves. They also should have benchmarks to use for comparisons to make sure that they are improving. That is why a well-designed and implemented employee survey now, near the bottom of the economic crisis, is so important and valuable.