A new study says that global workers are unhappy with their jobs. If you’re happy with your job, congratulations…you’re among just 13 percent of the global workforce who said they are engaged at work in Gallups’s new 142-country study on the State of the Global Workplace.
To be precise, that 13 percent represents the 180 million workers worldwide who said they are psychologically committed to their jobs and likely to be making a positive contribution to their organizations. That’s up two percent from the previous study Gallup did on the subject, which is a modest improvement.
If you’re an employer, it’s a pretty depressing statistic, particularly when you look at the rest of the picture: 63 percent of global workers said they are not engaged at work and 24 percent said they are actively disengaged. So, fully 87 percent are just not that into their jobs.
The almost two-thirds who describe themselves as not engaged lack motivation and are less likely to invest discretionary effort in organizational goals or outcomes, according to Gallup. Even worse, the actively disengaged crowd is described as unhappy and unproductive at work and likely to spread negativity to co-workers. That means nearly one-quarter of all world workers - about 340 million people - think their job really, really sucks.
By region, it gets a little better in the U.S. and Canada, where 29 percent of workers aged 18 and older said they are engaged. Down under in Australia and New Zealand, 24 percent of all workers said they are fully-committed to their jobs.
Where are all of these truly unhappy workers? The highest proportion of actively disengaged workers (35 percent) can be found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of the globe and Sub-Saharan Africa (33 percent).
Gallup says the bottom line is that people spend a large part of their lives working, so the quality of their workplace experience inevitably reflects the quality of their lives. The inescapable conclusion is that those living in countries with poor economies, social and political unrest and difficult living conditions carry the weight of their lives into their jobs.
Life is much better, though, in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, yet less than one-third of workers in those countries are actively engaged at work.
Most of us are working more but enjoying it less. One way to put a little happiness back in your life is to start your own business. Check out our article “Entrepreneurial Opportunities Abroad” to see what emerging-market expert Steven Koltai has to say about starting your own business in another country.
Image Credit: Collection Mix: Subjects/Thinkstock