When many studies, such as the Shift Index, show that only one in five people is fully engaged in his or her work, it’s not hard to find people who don’t like their jobs. What is surprising is which jobs are perceived as the worst.
In a fascinating article at CNBC, Daniel Bukszpan draws on a survey of hundreds of thousands of employees conducted in 2011by CareerBliss which determined The 10 Most Hated Jobs.
For all the talk about teachers and nurses and the long hours, low pay and thankless tasks that they put up with, it may be surprising that they didn’t even make the list of the ten worst jobs.
What’s also striking is that these jobs are not low level jobs. The pain is psychological. We are in the world of Dilbert. It’s the pointlessness and lack of meaning in what they doing that is the problem. These people know that they are capable of contributing more but the hierarchical bureaucracy prevents from doing it.
The Ten Most Hated Jobs
1. Director of Information Technology
Information technology directors hold almost as much sway over the fate of some companies as a chief executive, but they reported the highest level of dissatisfaction with their jobs. Why? “Nepotism, cronyism, disrespect for workers.”
2. Director of Sales and Marketing
A director of sales and marketing plans reported the second-highest level of job dissatisfaction, “a lack of direction from upper management and an absence of room for growth”.
3. Product Manager
Product managers complained of restricted career growth, and boring clerical work even at this level.
4. Senior Web Developer
Senior web developers reported a high degree of unhappiness in their jobs, because employers are unable to communicate coherently, and lack an understanding of the technology.
5. Technical Specialist
A technical specialist reported that for all their expertise, they were treated with a palpable disrespect. Their input was not taken seriously by senior management.
6. Electronics Technician
Electronics technicians complain of having too little control, work schedule, lack of accomplishment, no real opportunity for growth, no motivation to work hard, no say in how things are done, and mutual hostility among peers.
7. Law Clerk
Clerkships are among the most highly sought-after positions in the legal profession and the job beefs up a resume. Yet law clerks still report high levels of dissatisfaction. The hours are long and grueling, and the clerk is subject to the whims of sometimes mercurial personalities.
8. Technical Support Analyst
Technical support analysts help people with their computer issues. This typically amounts to calmly communicating technical advice to panicked individuals, often over the phone, and then going on site only to find the client simply hadn’t turned the printer on. They may be required to travel at a moment’s notice, sometimes on holidays or weekends.
9. CNC Machinist
CNC machinists operate computer numerical control machines. For the uninitiated, this is a machine that operates a lathe or a mill. Now that the CNC operator has had most of the physical hazards of manufacturing replaced by a machine, there’s not a lot to do but push buttons and maintenance. Since it’s a specialized skill, the job offers no room for advancement.
10. Marketing Manager
Marketing managers often cited a lack of direction as the primary reason for job dissatisfaction.
Conclusion
What’s striking about the list is that these relatively high level people are imprisoned in hierarchical bureaucracies. They see little point in what they are doing. The organizations they work for don’t know where they are going, and as a result, neither do these people.
The even sadder part of the story is that the organizations they work for are going down the tubes. Deloitte’s Center for the Edge studies show that the life expectancy of a firm in the Fortune 500 has declined from around 75 years half a century ago to less than 15 years and is heading towards 5 years. The pointlessness that these people see in their jobs is an accurate reflection of the deteriorating condition of the firms they work for. When those doing the work are dispirited, it is inevitable that customers too will be frustrated and that the firm will not prosper.
These problems can’t be solved by job redesign or clearer career paths. Instead the organizations must undertake fundamental change to manage themselves in a radically different way with a focus on delighting the customer through continuous innovation and all the consequent changes that are needed to accomplish that. The result of doing this in firms like Amazon [AMZN], Apple[AAPL] and Salesforce.com [CRM) is happy customers, soaring profits and workers who can see meaning in their work.
Steve Denning’s most recent book is: The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace For the 21st Century (Jossey-Bass, 2010).
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