Unhappy on the job? You're not alone

Are you unhappy on the job? You’re part of a growing trend, according to a survey from the Conference Board. 

The percentage of workers satisfied with their jobs has dropped to 45 percent in 2009, from 61 percent in 1987, the first year the Manhattan business-research group conducted the study. 

“While one in 10 Americans is now unemployed, their working compatriots of all ages and incomes continue to grow increasingly unhappy,” says Lynn Franco, director of the group’s consumer research center. 

 The downward trend isn’t solely a result of the recession, she says.

“Through both economic boom and bust during the past two decades, our job- satisfaction numbers have shown a consistent downward trend,” Franco says.

The declines could spell trouble for intergenerational workplace dynamics because, says Linda Barrington, the group’s managing director of human capital, they “can directly impact the quality of multi-generational knowledge transfer — which is increasingly critical to effective workplace functioning.” 

>>> Click here for more on the survey.