CHELMSFORD, Mass., Aug. 31, 2005 - As the economy continues to show signs of improvement, new survey results found that 57 percent of employed adults do not think they are reaping the benefits in their work life. The findings of the "Working in America: The Disgruntled Workforce" survey, conducted by Harris Interactive ® and sponsored by Kronos ® Incorporated (Nasdaq: KRON), confirm that with Labor Day approaching, more than one-quarter of employed adults are dissatisfied with their current employer. Additionally, of the more than 1,000 U.S. employed adults surveyed, 46 percent responded that if the economy continues to improve they may leave their current employer.
The jobless recovery is a term of the past now that the economy is improving. "Following the official end of the recent recession in November 2001, job growth continued to trend down for another year and a half," said Randy Ilg, economist for the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Since job growth began to pick up in June 2003, nearly four million jobs have been added to payrolls in the past two years."
The workforce is ready to reap the advantages of an improved economy. The "Working in America: The Disgruntled Workforce" survey found that 77 percent of employed adults are either actively or passively looking for a new job. In fact, 39 percent of active and passive job seekers have looked for a new job while at work. And of those that have looked while at work, an overwhelming 94 percent spend up to three hours per week networking or searching online job postings.
Working longer with little reward
In the last six months, 43 percent of employed adults have experienced an increase in their workweek hours, a nine percent increase over the findings of Kronos' 2004 "Working in America" Labor Day survey . The 2005 survey also found that of those who have experienced this increase, 71 percent have increased their workweek by as much as nine hours compared to only 67 percent last year at this time.
With employees forced to take on the burden of an increased workload, many expect to be rewarded with an increase in compensation. However, while the study found that 68 percent of employed adults had their job responsibilities/work activities/workload increase over the last six months, only 45 percent of all employed adults have received a raise during that timeframe.
1 Kronos 2004 "Working in America" Labor Day survey conducted online by Harris Interactive among 1,052. Sampling error is /- 3 percentage points
"The wages of many American workers are failing to keep pace with inflation. Economists assume that the living standards of working families will generally rise in step with productivity," said Jared Bernstein, director of the living standards program at the Economic Policy Institute. "But as this recovery progresses, the gap between real wage growth and productivity just keeps widening. Our economy´s definitely improving. But it's leaving a lot of people behind."
Struggling to juggle work and family responsibilities
Another startling finding of the "Working in America: The Disgruntled Workforce" survey is that 58 percent of employed adults agreed it is more difficult balancing work/life responsibilities today than in the past. This juggling act is demanding on individuals. When asked to identify the affects work has on an individual´s personal life, the top two responses given by survey participants were that they feel overtired and overwhelmed (53 percent) and that their family and personal well-being suffers (25 percent).
Some Americans even work when on medical leave. Ten percent of survey respondents have used leave time under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). And of those respondents, 31 percent conducted work-related activities while on leave.
The Solution
It is obvious that working Americans are at their breaking point, but there is a solution. Best practice organizations are successfully solving the issue of disgruntled employees and retaining their top performers. These organizations are using innovative technology from Kronos to staff, develop, deploy, track, and reward the workforce:
Staff - enables organizations to maintain appropriate staffing levels and mix;
Develop - enables organizations to identify training needs and provides tools for performance and career development;
Deploy - ensures effective scheduling with the right people in the right place at the right time and for the right cost;
Track - measures performance and productivity and identifies areas of improvement and reward; and
Reward - ensures the organization attracts and retains top performers and those with the skills and attributes that support strategy and objectives.
Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive ® conducted the online survey in the U.S. on behalf of Kronos Incorporated between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8, 2005 among a nationwide cross-section of 1,052 full-time employed adults (aged 18 ). Figures for age, sex, race, education, income, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents´ propensity to be online. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for the various sub-samples is higher and varies. This online sample is not a probability sample.
About Harris Interactive ®
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), the 13th largest market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, NY-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll ® and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results. Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance market leadership through its U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries, HI Europe in London (www.hieurope.com), Novatris in Paris (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos Incorporated is the most trusted name in workforce management. Kronos helps organizations staff, develop, deploy, track, and reward their workforce, resulting in reduced costs, increased productivity, better decision-making, improved employee satisfaction, and alignment with organizational objectives. More than 20 million people use a Kronos solution every day. Learn more about Kronos' high-impact enterprise solutions at www.kronos.com.