There was a recent Gallup poll about how Americans feel their jobs and how happy they are with them.
71% of Americans are not engaged in their work. In other words, they are emotionally disconnected from their jobs. This means they are also more likely to be more unproductive when they are at work.
That’s a total switch from 1987 when the same percentage of people were happy with their jobs. That’s when the Conference Board Research Group started calculating the data.
These days fewer people find their jobs interesting and are therefore less likely to be creative or innovative at work. Many find that there is no sense of teamwork anymore, and that there is more competition among co-workers. That will kind of suck the fun out of the room when you’re always looking over your shoulder to see who’s going to get the axe and who will get the promotion, if anyone.
Also, the fact that more people are being laid off means that the bulk of their work is divided among the ones left standing and that means longer hours. People who still have a job are now worried that they will lose it, and that they won’t be able to find another one.
Overall, studies have shown that entrepreneurs are happier than employees even when they make far less money and work far more hours. Entrepreneurs don’t have to worry about being fired, though they do have other things to worry about, like making sure they have enough work every month to pay the bills. When they don’t work, they don’t get paid. And health insurance is a big expense for the self employed. But they do have more freedom than someone stuck in a cubicle all day.
The non profit organization The National Federation of Independent Business that tracks start ups found that people are happier when they are working a job that they enjoy. That could be an entrepreneur or it could be an employee. There are plusses and minuses with each one. But doing something you enjoy will give you the motivation to work harder and will give you more overall satisfaction in general.
Guest Writer – Julie Austin
Julie Austin is an award-winning author, inventor, and multiple business owner. Her patented product, swiggies, wrist water bottles, have been a NASDAQ product of the year semi finalist and are currently sold in 24 countries. She’s appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX News, along with dozens of TV shows, magazines and radio shows around the world. She’s a “go-to” media expert in the fields of innovation & creativity, and is featured in the books “Patently Female” and “Girls Think of Everything”.