3 Out Of 5 Employees Unhappy With Their Jobs: Timesjobs Study

Job dissatisfaction is not new and all professionals go through such phase many times in their career span. However, what the TimesJobs survey reveals is the enormity of the situation with a significant majority showing dissatisfaction with their current jobs. But why do so many people dislike their jobs? TimesJobs' study revealed many startling facts and the most interesting was - 'people cause other people to dislike their jobs'.

"A certain amount of job dissatisfaction is acceptable in any organization, and may even prove beneficial as a motivating factor for employees to change, fix and improve both their own role and the organization’s processes to enhance performance and productivity. But this must be spotted early and the employee mentored so that he or she can find their true calling. However, large scale ennui as revealed in our survey is a cause for concern, that organizations need to address with comprehensive communication and employee engagement strategies." Says Nilanjan Roy, Head of Strategy, Times Business Solutions.

Mid-level male employees most dissatisfied

Nearly 60% of the 700 working professionals surveyed by TimesJobs, state they hate their jobs.

The experience level-wise analysis showed more job dissatisfaction at the middle level compared to other levels. Nearly 70% mid-level professionals say they hated their jobs as against 60% junior level employees feel the same. Senior employees, in contrast, seem to like their jobs a majority (52%) of them saying they loved their job.

Male employees were more displeased with their current job compared to their female counterparts. Almost 70% male employees said they hate their jobs while 54% female employees said so, disclosed the TimesJobs survey.

ITeS tops the sectors of discontent

An industry-wise analysis reveals that the ITeS and BPO sector employees were most dissatisfied with their jobs, with 70% of employees in this sector claiming they don't love what they do; this is followed by employees from 58% of BFSI sector employees who dislike their jobs. Representative employees from the IT and Telecom sectors had a divided opinion with 50% saying they loved their job and another 50% saying they don't.

'Other people' are the main reason for displeasure

For nearly 50% surveyed employees the key reason for their job dissatisfaction was 'the people factor', which included their bosses and co-workers. Of the employees who blame ‘the people’ at their organization for their dislike towards their current job, nearly 60% say they have a bad boss and 30% say they have annoying co-workers while 10% say they have disengaged teams.

A demographic analysis showed both male and female employees are equally dissatisfied with 'the people factor'.

45% male and 40% female employees blamed dissatisfaction with job because of 'the people' they work with

40% male and 30% female employees said fault lies with 'the job/role' at hand

15% male and 30% female employees blamed 'the logistics' element of the job

Other reasons for discontentment

Nearly 30% surveyed professionals attributed their discontent to 'the job itself', which includes dissatisfaction with their current role, profile and position. Of these 30% professionals, 50% said they do not feel passionate about their current role, 25% say that the job description is not the same as communicated during hiring, 15% say they don't see a clear career growth path and 10% feel their work is not challenging enough.

The remaining 20% employees blame their job dissatisfaction on ‘the logistics element’ which includes factors like the commute time, work schedules and work environment. Among these, 40% sat there is no flexibility at work, 30% complain of poor work-life balance, 20% criticize the long working hours and 10% are troubled because of the long commute time.