This Week's Herman Trend Alert Protecting Perks in a Downturn

The Herman Trend Alert December 28, 2005 Quality and Quantity of Work As we approach the start of a new year, people around the world are making resolutions, setting goals for higher achievement. Traditionally, many promises we make, to ourselves and others, are forgotten as January 1 fades into memory. An interesting study was conducted by Sirota Intelligence in the United Kingdom. Researchers surveyed 203,000 workers, a relatively large population group. The poll found that the most satisfied, perhaps unsurprisingly, said they had just the right amount of work. The least satisfied were those with too little, followed by those with too much work. What does this mean? Jeffrey Salzman, chief executive of Sirota Intelligence, said findings showed most workers did not want just to "get by" in their jobs. "Most people come to work enthusiastic and want to make a real contribution. Those who feel they have too little to do – and possibly feel unappreciated by their employers – have lower levels of overall satisfaction and a waning sense of enthusiasm." When people feel underworked, they also tend to feel undervalued and their job insecurity increases, making them just as vulnerable for employee turnover as the hard-working employees who feel over-burdened, perhaps carrying the loads of others. There is obviously a cost to overworking employees. Now this study confirms that there can be a serious cost to underworking people as well. Today’s workers want to be productive—for job security and for the sense of making a difference for their employers and their employers’ customers. People do not want to be underworked, so employers need to balance their workers expectations more carefully with company expectations. What came out from this study is a movement away from mediocrity. People that have the right amount of work to do were happiest, even though that workload may be less that they actually could carry. The least satisfied actually wanted more work; they did not want to feel mediocre, ineffective, or less than valuable to their employer and the world. We have sensed this trend before (see http://www.hermangroup.com/store/misc_all.html#1), and how we have documentation. Tomorrow’s employees will want to do more, and feel appreciated for their contributions © Copyright 1998-2008 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." CHALLENGED BY HEALTHCARE EMPLOYEE RETENTION? Many healthcare HR professionals have told us their need for retaining skilled workers has not decreased. Join us in New Orleans and learn the low- and no-cost solutions to this workforce crisis. Help your healthcare organization recruit and retain the talent it must have to thrive. Recertification credit from HRCI. Next Healthcare Employee Retention Specialist(TM) Program: January 28-29 in New Orleans. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 or visit www.employeeretentionspecialist.com. SEE JOYCE GIVING YOU SOLUTIONS FOR THESE CHALLENGING TIMES Follow this special link (open ONLY 11/19 to 11/26) and see Joyce interviewed on Profitability Channel's Biz Buzz. Her topic: "Surviving and Thriving in Tough Economic Times". Or you may view Joyce's two previous shows or any of the other 280 programs on the Channel. Then consider taking the sponsor's very special "economic stimulus" offer: Save over $500 off the regular cost of membership by paying $299 up front, then get a total of $500 in rebate coupons to spend on food or fuel over the next 20 months. Yes, this is NOT a typo. You actually pay $300 and get back $500. The only catch is that you get back the $500, $25 at a time. Be sure to put in the promotional code of esp12 at the bottom. For more information, visit www.ProfitabilityChannel.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what's really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-648-1918 or read more at: www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. To read this Herman Trend Alert on the web: http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_9-24-2008.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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