Employees Feel Unappreciated

More than a quarter (26%) of employees polled said they were not satisfied with the way they were managed and 17% felt their employer undervalued them. Not surprising then was that almost a third (32%) said they would likely not spend the rest of their career with their present company, according to a Maritz poll.

Even though the majority (72%) believe their company knows they are doing a good job, a third (33%) do not feel they are given feedback on how their work contributes to the success of the organization. “Employees want to know they are doing a good job, but they are not hearing that from employers,” said Rodger Stotz , a vice president at Maritz Incentives.

In fact, the poll found 21% of the respondents disagree and 13% strongly disagree with the statement “I am consistently recognized for my work performance in ways that are important to me.” These numbers come in surprisingly close to the 12% of employees that strongly agree with the statement, while 28% agree, raising the alarm for Stotz.

“Employees are clearly feeling disconnected and dissatisfied by the way their employer recognizes their accomplishments,” said Stotz. “Employers who understand these triggers and start to retain employees now will be ahead of the game once the economy improves.”

The online survey was conducted July 24-30 2003 and featured responses from 1,002 randomly selected adult participants in an e-mail panel from throughout the United States. The survey focused on attitudes and issues related to reward, recognition, incentives, and retention and recruitment in the workplace. More information is available at www.maritzpoll.com .