WESTPORT, Conn., January 24, 2007 -- When it comes to the reasons that workers didn't fulfill their basic job responsibilities in 2006, 40 percent of them say they were "overloaded" and 15 percent say their "pay/rewards" weren't appropriate -- the top two responses to an online poll conducted in December by LifeCare®, Inc., provider of comprehensive specialty care services and a longtime leader in the work/life industry. The poll, answered by employees of LifeCare's 1,500 client companies and government agencies, also revealed other key barriers to employee productivity:
11 percent -- politics/personal conflicts;
5 percent -- basic job expectations were never made clear;
4 percent -- didn't have the proper tools/resources;
4 percent -- child or elder care issues;
and 21 percent selected a variety of other reasons.
The following is a side-by-side comparison of the responses to LifeCare's two productivity polls:
Looking back over the past year, what was the single biggest challenge you faced in fulfilling your job responsibilities?
2006
Responses 2004
Responses
Overloaded/didn't have the time necessary to accomplish all of my tasks 40% 22%
Pay/rewards not appropriate 15% 15%
Politics/personal conflicts 11% 16%
Basic job expectations were never made clear to me 5% 8%
Didn't have the proper tools or resources 4% 15%
Child or elder care issues 4% 7%
Other reasons (miscellaneous) 21% 17%
"The last time we conducted this poll was in 2004 and the top two responses were workload and office politics," said Peter G. Burki, LifeCare's CEO. "But workload only received 22 percent of the vote that year and politics received 16 percent. Clearly, people have gotten a lot busier in the past two years, while office politics have gotten a little better. Interestingly, the same percentage of respondents -- 15 percent -- cited pay in both polls." (Note: See the adjacent chart for a comparison of the results of the two polls.)
While workloads and pay policies are unique to specific organizations, Burki says that the other types of productivity barriers cited by respondents can be significantly reduced or even eliminated by a high quality work/life program such as LifeCare's. LifeCare offers a wide variety of seminars and educational materials to help individuals resolve personal conflicts and situations involving office politics. The company's child and adult care services save workers literally thousands of hours annually in locating reliable, affordable care, while its concierge services deliver around-the-clock assistance on everything from pet care to errand running and more.
Each month, LifeCare posts a poll on its private members' web site asking individuals to share their thoughts and opinions on the latest issues and work/life trends. Past polls have addressed topics such as family caregiving challenges, stress, healthy aging, flexible work arrangements, special needs children, and barriers to on-the-job productivity
Media contact: Michael Civiello
LifeCare, Inc.
pr1[at]lifecare.com
203-291-4170
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