Though U.S. unemployment is in the 10 percent range and we continue to hear people are “just happy to be employed,” a new survey from The Conference Board finds that only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. Even greater numbers of those under 25 are unhappy with their employment.
Here is an excerpt from the On Deadline column/blog at USA Today.
Only 45% of American are satisfied with their work, the lowest level ever recorded in 22 years of surveys, the Associated Press reports.
The figure is down from 49% in 2008, says the Conference Board research group, which conducts the survey.
Workers under 25 expressed the most dissatisfaction — about 64% of them saying they are unhappy in their jobs.
That is a pretty large number of young American workers starting their careers in a negative way. One of the key findings was that most workers don’t find their job interesting.
Doing something interesting — creating something new, solving a problem that is important to a group of people, and working in an industry one is passionate about — is a key driver for talented people.
For some of the talented, this wave of unhappiness in the U.S. workplace will lead them to form new firms or become self-employed. This should lead to greater innovation and societal wealth.
Moreover, smart existing organizations will continue to improve what they offer to talent. Even in the depths of a recession, talent must be satisfied with fair compensation, a stimulating environment and challenging work. This dissatisfaction trend, The Conference Board points out, has been growing for decades.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
The problem is that starting a new business in a downturn is hard. Throw in the fact that a lot of people are without healthcare and it’s even harder. There may be more entrepreneurship, but it will be by default in many cases.
What I do see more of is people making longer-term plans for entrepreneurship however. Not for immediate escape, but as 1,2,3, or 5 year plans. What you want to watch is what happens in 3-5 years . . .
January 7th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Fang, thanks for those insights. You are correct, entrepreneurship by necessity is clearly going to happen, but historically, some of the strongest firms are created during downturns. Large firms sometimes ignore, smaller growing niches during these periods. Entrepreneurship by necessity or choice can lead to great returns coming out of downturns. If the entrepreneur is smart, motivated, and focused on a real market, then opportunities are limitless.
You are spot on about people learning their lessons during this period and ‘planning’ for their break from the workplace. Writing a business plan is a solid first step as it forces would be entrepreneurs to answer questions about customers, products, financial needs, distribution, marketing, and a host of other.
Downturns offer all of us an opportunity to reassess ourselves, our firms, the market place, the employment contract, etc…
January 8th, 2010 at 8:07 am
In theory, I would like to believe entrepreneurship would increase. However, the OECD report on Global Entrepreneurship 2009 suggests otherwise:
“While business exits are a normal part of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem, this study shows a concurrent increase in exits and decrease in formation throughout OECD countries as a whole. This should send a giant red flag to policymakers around the globe to pull out all the stops to encourage and support business startups so we can create new jobs and sustain a worldwide economic recovery.”
http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/oecd-report-on-entrepreneurship-reveals-clear-glimpses-of-economic-impact-on-2009-firm-starts-and-exits.aspx
January 8th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Hey David, and all, it seems like the universities could become the breeding ground for a surge in student entrepreneurism, especially if the younger demographic is so discouraged with work post-graduation. Let policymakers support student start-ups and existing student-run businesses. Flyer Enterprises (http://www.flyerenterprises.com/) is one example of a successful student-run operation at the University of Dayton. It is beginning to extend its operations beyond campus for a greater public presence. What it they received an infusion of capital to support a widespread expansion plan?
My thought above emerges from the post I wrote yesterday, so will plug here: http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2010/01/07/campus-builds-capacity-to-absorb-its-own-innovation/
January 8th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Thanks for the info and link sm2. Appreciate the study. There is little I can see in terms of solid entrepreneurship focused policy coming out.
Rates are artificially low and most small businesses don’t want to borrow. Most of the stimulus spending hasn’t been used yet and we are inching our way back to positive economic growth and profits (jobs have not turned corner yet). Involved policy might even screw things up right now. Job losses are slowing and we see lots of overtime hours and increasing inventory — there are some positive signs.
I recently read in WSJ that angel investments were in in the last quarter, but $ per investment are down (lower valuations). Hopefully the 2009 report is from 2008 data and therefore represents the depth of the recession. Though down 30%, angel funding was $9.1 billion in 2009. Thats a lot of funding for ‘high return’ businesses.
Thanks for link. I look forward to reading it and sharing with others.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
[...] Creative Class: Will Job Dissatisfaction Lead to More Entrepreneurship? [...]
January 8th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Sean – thanks for the introduction to Flyer Enterprises. I will be sure to profile them. A few years back I profiled an UD social entrepreneur (Lori Hanna).
http://campusentrepreneurship.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/solar-pwrd-medical-sterilizers-u-of-dayton/
Looks like UD has entrepreneurship structures entrenched in the curriculum for their community.
I think most of the funding in cases like UD comes from wealthy donors/graduates/local banks. Sad, but true. But from what we see, there is real value to the community through the entrepreneurial eco-system that UD has put together.
Here is the site — great stuff..
http://sbaweb.udayton.edu/ENT/
January 10th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Campus- when has “solid” entrepreneurship policy ever come out of fed or even state policymakers? Sorry for the snark, but typically this type of “policy” is a guise for lower taxes/deregulation.
January 10th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I have been very disapointed in hearing that in Belgium (where I live) 2009 was a very bad year for entrepreneurship. The amount of new ventures was way under the average…
I think that most of European countries camp with the same unsatisfying results…
Even if unhappy, people tend today to keep their job and secure their wages. at least, that’s how I perceive it.
January 12th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Laurent, SM2 put it clearly. The tendency is for all countries to have lower levels of entrepreneurship. That is, small business owners (usually with few or none employees, though) tend to close. And the ones with good ideas, wait for better times to launch their projects. Also the decrease of entrepreneurs has been observed in male and female. I wonder though, what is the behavior of INTRApreneurial rates.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
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January 28th, 2010 at 8:57 am
I was glad to see the Conference Board reporting the dissatisfaction of workers today. It is real. If we ever decouple health insurance from corporations then there will be a mass exodus of employees unless and until the corporations create workplaces where employees thrive. I know far too many people who have to stay in terribly unfulfilling jobs because their families need the healthcare it affords.
If we reform healthcare where all can have access to affordable insurance, then you will see a revolution in the workplace. Healthcare reform has far more impact on jobs than most people understand.
May 24th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I recently wrote a blog post on this very topic. I posed the question that possibly a decrease in job satisfaction occurs when an increase in self awareness occurs. People start demanding more from their jobs and the role that they play in their lives. The self awareness needs to develop further for people to realize that they are responsible for their own happiness and cannot look to their company they work for to provide this for them. For more details see the rest of my blog post http://www.kevinderman.com/?page_id=38