How do you feel about your work, your career, and the direction in which your life is heading? Does thinking about it make you satisfied and happy, perhaps spark some ideas and remind you of things you'd like to accomplish, or is it something you'd rather not think about?
A survey conducted by Harris interactive last year shows that 55 percent of all Americans are unhappy with their jobs. Only 20 percent feel passionate about their jobs, and a mere 15 percent feel energized by what they do.
Why?
It's not a rhetorical question. It's an important question with important answers that affect our health, our creativity, and our ability to stay competitive in an ever-changing global business environment. When what we are doing is uninteresting, unpleasant, or extremely stressful, creativity, productivity, and happiness all suffer.
Those numbers suggest that many of us are spending a large portion of our lives doing things we don't enjoy, or in environments which feel oppressive to us, and that we often feel drained by what we do. Obviously, there are practical limitations to how closely we can follow our dreams -- mundane matters still have to be taken care of, and even when we're excited about the work itself, we may dislike the routine matters that come with it, such as invoicing, record-keeping and so on. But how can so many of us be not just unenthusiastic but actively stressed by what we do.
The numbers don't lie. The National Institude for Occupational Health and Safety, Centers for Disease Control reports survey results which confirm the occupational malaise. Forty percent of workers reported that their jobs were very or extremely stressful, with 25 percent viewing their jobs as the top stressor in their lives. Twenty-nine percent felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work. And 26 percent said that were "often or very often burned out or stressed by their work." A full 75 percent of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than was experienced by the previous generation.
It's worth investigating the causes behind that stress and burnout, which is often closely related to work culture and departmental communications issues. Rather than employees going on a hunt for just the right workplace environment, or employers having to deal with excessive turnover costs, all involved can benefit from the expertise of an executive/management coach. Individual workers can get a better sense of their own driving interests, their working styles, and many other factors that affect "fit" and satisfaction -- which in turn affect health, productivity and success.
Employers, too, benefit greatly from a deeper understanding of just what motivates and rewards their most important people.
Stressed? Losing good people? Call a coach!
