People in their 30s, 40s most frustrated by work; Third consider their job meaningless
People in their thirties and forties are the most frustrated with their jobs, the Telegraaf reported based on The State of the Working Netherlands, an annual survey of over 1,100 employees by HR firm Realise. A third consider their jobs meaningless.
A quarter of employees between the ages of 30 and 45 said that their workload is regularly too heavy. They have too much work to do in too short a time. For nearly 10 percent, this is even all the time.
This group also derives little satisfaction from their jobs. A quarter say their work does not matter. A third called what they do meaningless.
“The generation that keeps companies running feels the least supported by their organization,” Realise director Marijke van Sluisveld said to the newspaper. This needs to be food for thought for employers.
She called the combination of high work pressure and frustration with managers reflected in the survey particularly problematic. “People can handle a lot of work pressure, provided it is balanced by good sources of energy and inspiring leadership. The research shows that many employees experience shortcomings in precisely those areas.”
Of all 1,100 surveyed workers, only 54 percent feel that their employers honor agreements and keep promises, and less than half believe that their managers set a good example.
About a third said that their jobs don’t contribute anything meaningful. No less than two-thirds said that they considered looking for another job in the past year.
“In a labor market that remains tight and where work changes rapidly, attracting employees is only half the challenge,” Van Sluisveld said. “Ensuring that they want to stay is at least as important.”
Of employees who did decide to find other work, most said that “the content of the work” was their main reason for switching, followed by a lack of “recognition and appreciation.” Many also switched because they were unhappy with the business processes. Only a fifth changed jobs for a higher salary.
