Dissatisfied Employees Head for the door

A recent MetLife study suggests that dissatisfied employees are just waiting for the opportunity to find other jobs as the economy rebounds. Weary of the “lean and mean” and “doing more with less” corporate mantras, overworked employees are poised to bounce as the economy makes a comeback. Employers who have been lulled into a false sense of employee loyalty need to wake up, according to the study.  The recession and slow economic recovery kept some employees in their jobs, but employees have grown more dissatisfied and less loyal.

Employers, focused on the challenging business environment, have not been paying the needed attention to the emerging risk of declining employee satisfaction and loyalty, according to the study. The study suggests that one in three employees hopes to be working elsewhere in the next 12 months. The short-term gains that employers experienced in productivity over the past few years may not pay off as over-worked employees are less loyal to their employers and head for the door.

If your satisfaction and loyalty is waning and you’ll be looking for another job, consider the following:

• What do you want from your next job? Reexamine what type of job you want.  If you hated your last gig, be realistic about what you really want.  You don’t always have to like what you do, but you should be at peace with your choice.
• Be honest with yourself.  Do you need a career makeover? What areas of your skills and knowledge should be strengthened? What did you learn at your last job that will be valuable going forward?
• Do you need to obtain a degree or certification?
• What behaviors, activities and experiences will help you find the right job?
• Let people know you are looking and what type of job you’re looking for. “I need a job” may be accurate, but it helps to let people know what you’re looking for.

Need some help with your resume? Check out the Illinois Career Resource Network.  You can find resources to help you learn how to look for jobs, write résumés and cover letters, and interview well.