41. Employees are not working in their field of study
The perfect picture that graduates and employees can turn a beloved interest into a beloved career seems a distant past.
Gallup found that 51% of Americans who pursued a postsecondary education would change their degree type, institution or major.
In the US, Forbes reported that 60% of college graduates cannot find a full-time job in their chosen profession. The Washington Post said that only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major with a significant number of underemployed.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that only 44% (5.0 million) of the 11.3 million employed Australians aged 15 to 64 years had a qualification and worked in the field of their highest qualification.
In the U.K., The Independent reported that only half of all graduates are working in a field that relates to their degree after leaving university. A shocking 96% had switched careers by the time they reached the age of 24.
42. Employees are not valued at work
A study of 4,500 employees by TINYpulse discovered that a massive 79% don’t feel strongly valued for the work they put in. They also found that 66% do not see strong opportunities for growth in their current role and 26% do not believe they have the tools to succeed.
Researchers found that employee retention is tied to recognition, praise sways the perception of the work environment, appreciation improved peer-to-peer relationships, and employee-supervisor relationships relied on recognition.
Globoforce found that 55% of workers say they would leave their current jobs for an organisation that recognises its employees’ efforts and contributions. They also found that 64% of employees currently feel appreciated in their jobs.
43. Employees need to get into the right circles
“Who you know is always better than what you know” – this is true for employees who want to get into the inner circle of ‘influencers’ in workplaces to get that promotion, to get that first-hand gossip, or even to get that special project.
They need to find ‘creative ways’ to get that preference outcome over other employees. These ways may not go well with other employees, but who cares if they get what they want.
44. Employers exert pressure on employees to achieve
Employers can exert unnecessary pressure or influence on employees to achieve performance targets or meet their high expectations.
These expectations are generally implied. It may also be undocumented in job descriptions.
Employees may have no choice but to comply with these requirements and live with increased pressure until they leave the workplace. Such work pressures can cause job stress and mental health challenges.
45. Employees pretend to be busier than they are
QZ reported that 57% to 65% of people across multiple generations said they thought other people were pretending to be busier than they actually are.
There is a tendency to lie about how busy we are. It comes from our belief that being busy is equivalent to “leading a life of significance” and not wanting to be “relegated to the sidelines.”
46. Employees don’t share in productivity gains
Employers are not sharing much of the productivity gains with their employees. The gap between hourly compensation and productivity is the highest it has been since 1948.
Productivity, which measures the goods and services generated per hour worked, rose by 80.4% between 1973 and 2011 in the US, compared to a 10.7% growth in median hourly compensation, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
That is a marked shift from the trend between 1948 and 1973, when productivity and compensation grew in tandem.
Employers are also achieving their productivity gains with fewer workers. The US economic activity is now 2.5% higher than it was when the recession began in late 2007, but there are more than 3 million fewer workers on the job.
Global competition and national deregulation have unfortunately kept compensation down for employees. The decline of union power has also weakened employees’ ability to bargain with their employer for higher pay.
47. Job descriptions are not updated and outdated
Employees’ job descriptions are not updated regularly. Some are not updated at all after the initial hire.
Generally, job descriptions are updated when positions are advertised due to employee departures. Until this occurs, employees will evolve with their jobs without any updated clarity as to their performance expectations. This may go on for years.
48. Workplaces have become so competitive
Employees are constantly facing workplace competition with other employees. They get stressed out or experience mental health challenges.
Employees may be doing everything they could to hand-on to their jobs. They may even use unhelpful tactics like withholding information or support when needed.
49. Employees don’t know what their employer stands for
Gallup research shows that only 41% of US employees strongly agree that they know what their company stands for and what makes it different from its competitors.
Most of your employees probably don’t know why their employer exists.
In fact, most employees do not see how their employer’s mission matters to them personally. Only four in 10 US employees strongly agree that the mission or purpose of their company makes them feel their job is important.
50. Employees are working in meaningless jobs
According to anthropologist David Graeber, 40% of US jobs are meaningless. Often people describe their job as meaningless because they feel no pride in the work they are doing. They think that their job doesn’t add any value to society.
In UK, 37% of working British adults said that their job is not making a meaningful contribution to the world. Only half of British workers say their job is meaningful and 13% are unsure. Men (42%) are more likely to say their jobs are meaningless than women (32%).