Summer has drawn to a close. The beaches are deserted, offices are bustling and queues at Pret A Manger are extending as both America and Europe resume occupational activities.
Across board, workplaces are filled with the usual after-holiday sighs following the shock of re-establishing digital connections after lengthy periods of relaxation, unrestricted sleep schedules, and general absence.
I, unfortunately, did not manage to take a break in August, but that has given me time to ponder an often ignored reality about employment: people tend to enjoy their jobs more than they admit.
This fact, however, remains obscured especially now when the perception of work is under severe attack. Despite a minor relief from ‘The Great Resignation’ induced by the pandemic, whispers of toxic work environments, overbearing bosses, and burnout are far from quelled. Reports of employees performing the bare minimum at work, rights to disengage, the transition to a four-day work week, and the Quit-Tok videos that feature younger employees audaciously discarding their jobs in real-time, are still prevalent.
The notion that work, especially in corporate settings, is distressing is not novel. This sentiment has been around since the 1980s with the birth of the Dilbert comics, and further popularised by TV shows like ‘The Office’ in 2001, or ‘Hello Laziness’, an early guide to quitting quietly authored by French economist Corinne Maier in 2004.
This discussion was later propelled by the US anthropologist, David Graeber, who penned a global hit essay on “bullshit jobs” in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The essay later inspired a book on the topic. The disruption to working conditions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has perhaps exacerbated the innate belief that work is the primary source of dissatisfaction for most people.
But what if this belief is flawed? What if work is not as universally detested as we claim it to be? This widespread belief could be damaging for both employees and business owners.
Scott Schieman, a Canadian sociology professor, has gone beyond sensational headlines to delve into how employees truly perceive their jobs. Gathering data from 42,000 North American workers since 2019, Schieman’s research has yielded some remarkable results.
Late last year, his findings demonstrated that a significant 79% of American workers say they are either somewhat or very satisfied with their employment. However, only 49% believe majority of their compatriots share this sentiment, highlighting a conspicuous discrepancy between individual experiences and perceived societal norms. This gap further expands when investigating the perceived level of stress at work.
Approximately one-third of workers believe their jobs frequently or constantly cause stress. Unsurprisingly this isn’t viewed favourably. Still, an overwhelming 69% think that this is a common sentiment among most American workers, raising alarms when the majority report experiencing work-related stress only on occasion or almost never.
Parallel perception differences can be seen when dealing with feelings of being under-compensated and perceiving poor relations between managers and staff. It seems that people tend to view themselves as fortunate exceptions to the rule. When presented with data that contradicts this belief, they lean towards disbelief, with many asserting that ‘the data is being manipulated’, as Schieman expressed.
These findings corroborate existing data which indicates reasonably high employment satisfaction rates in the States. They also mirror findings from Schieman’s research conducted in Canada, a country dubbed a ‘worker’s haven’ in comparison to the US.
Indeed, there’s no denying that some workplaces are plagued with toxicity, and the stress associated with work is a tangible issue. Some superiors, similar to Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, are genuinely tyrannical.
However, assuming that most workplaces are hostile environments isn’t an appropriate stance. Research conducted by Schieman and his colleagues reveals that when people consider the majority of workers to be unhappy, their personal commitment to their job and their employer tends to diminish.
This may not bode well for any of us, reflecting the disparity between genuine circumstances and public perceptions on matters like immigration, economy, and conscientiousness towards climate change, which isn’t conducive to progress. Nevertheless, if you’ve recently returned from a beach holiday and are now back to your office routine, it’s worth being cognizant of the fact that your professional endeavours likely generate a sense of satisfaction for both yourself and others. © The Financial Times Limited 2024