Gallup Poll: Job unhappiness at an all-time high

A recent Gallup poll has shown that the number of employees who are unhappy at their work has reached an all time high. The poll pointed to a myriad of factors which caused discontentment.

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 showed that 60% of employees feel indifferent at work, while 19% went as far as saying that their job is depressing.

Several expressions in the poll noting indifference include, “Living for the weekend,” “watching the clock tick,” “work is just a paycheck.”

When looking at workers in the United States specifically, 50% of workers stated that they encounter stressful situations on a daily basis, 41% said they feel worried most days, 22% described themselves as sad, and 18% stated that they are angry.

During the Covid restrictions put in place by the government, employers took this time to focus on the principal of a “work-life balance,” including more opportunities to work from home, easier access to holidays, and shorter work weeks. Despite these efforts, worker disengagement and unhappiness has not only persisted, but the poll numbers also shows it has increased.

The most consistent explanation for frustration in the workplace is “unfair treatment at work.” Gallup’s poll shows that employees feel their opinions aren’t valued, they are mis-treated by co-workers, their salary, bonuses and commission are inconsistent across the board and they also feel that company insurance policies are inadequate. 

Gallup’s poll also showed that 70% of the variance in workforce engagement is down to the effectiveness or a strong supervisor or leader

“The role of the manager is really important in well-being,” Jim Harter, chief scientist of office administration and wellbeing at Gallup, told CNBC. “Their first job is to make sure the work-related things are right — people know what their role is, they get recognized when they do good work, they feel cared about at work and have a chance to develop in the future, they can see where they’re headed in the organization. If you can get those sorts of things right, you start building trust. And when you have trust, you can open the door for having broader discussions around wellbeing.”