Most PH professionals said to be dissatisfied with jobs

Most PH professionals said to be dissatisfied with jobs

By: Abigail L. Ho (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business, April 26, 2011, Tuesday)

As many as 80 percent of local professionals are dissatisfied with their current jobs, mainly due to inadequate compensation, benefits, and work-life balance, according to a recent online survey conducted by Accenture.

The survey of around 3,400 business executives from medium to large firms across 29 countries, including the Philippines, showed that many of the dissatisfied Filipino employees were willing to leave their current jobs and find work elsewhere. Of this total, 56 percent were female and 72 percent were male.

“Philippine employers would do well, therefore, to focus on efforts addressing these three key employee retention and engagement drivers,” Accenture said in a statement, referring to better compensation, benefits and work-life balance.

As a result of their low job satisfaction level, more than half of those polled from the Philippines said they would make career planning a priority this year. According to the survey, 60 percent of the respondents are still dissatisfied with their current career levels. Around 15 percent said they would want to hold C-level positions in the future.

To achieve this, 65 percent of the Philippine respondents said they wanted to boost their knowledge, as well as expand and develop their skills sets.

“Employers need to work with their employees to find opportunities for them to grow both on a professional and personal level,” Accenture country managing director Manolito Tayag said in a statement.

Globally, 43 percent of the women and 42 percent of the men who responded to the survey said they were dissatisfied with their current employment. Despite this, 70 percent of female and 69 percent of male respondents had no plans of leaving their present companies.

Among the reasons for their dissatisfaction were inadequate compensation (47 percent of female and 44 percent of male respondents), lack of opportunity for growth (36 percent and 32 percent), no opportunity for career advancement (33 percent and 34 percent), and feeling trapped (29 percent and 32 percent).

To overcome these dissatisfaction traps, 59 percent of the women and 57 percent of the men surveyed said they would embark on activities that would develop their knowledge and skills this year, to help them advance their careers and meet their objectives.

“Today’s professionals are not job hunting, despite expressing dissatisfaction. Instead, they are focused on their skill sets and on seeking the training, the resources, and the people that can help them achieve their goals,” said Accenture chief leadership officer Adrian Lajtha.

“Leading companies should support these efforts by listening to employees and providing them with innovative training, leadership development and clearly-defined career paths,” he added.

__________________________________________________________________________________

This quite sensitive topic that I have read extremely boggled my mind to think and be critical with the situation faced by my professional fellowmen. I have come to realize that finding a work and working for a firm is that easy to make stable. The situation on the article and some of the experiences and stories being shared to me made me see the reality of having a job. The article pronounced some reasons why Filipino professionals aren’t satisfied with their jobs. The reasons stated are the inadequate compensation, benefits and work-life balance, lack of opportunity for growth, opportunity for career advancement, and the feeling of being trapped.

With regards to the inadequate compensation and benefits that most employers give, according to the result of the survey, cannot be denied due to the fact that our country is having an economical crisis. Our country is not that rich to have a large GDP and could mean that firms can compensate as much as what their employees ask for.

The issue on the lack of opportunity for growth as one of the reasons of dissatisfaction cannot also be denied. This reason and problem is not only prevalent to our country but also to other places-- Japan, for example. The work they do that makes it as their daily routine throughout a year or more perhaps is deadening the rest of their skills besides what they religiously do. I have learned in my Sociology class that when a worker repeats his or her work again and again will numb some of the expertise of that employee that can be used hopefully to some other work. My professor also emphasized that this is really a reason why many workers resign on their job because it makes them dull, repeating the same chore over and over again, thinking that they can do more with their skills.

Everyone really opts and wants to progress on what they have currently achieved. Promotions, as what firms call the advancements are such a sweet reward to workers who work well for their employers. I think this promotion is what employees mean about career advancements. The more they are promoted, the more they are exposed to more challenging jobs and likewise boosting their self- esteem with regards to the status that they have achieved.

The feeling of being trapped is a reason of dissatisfaction that I honestly cannot comment unto unless I understand where they are being trapped. But having the chance to make an assumption to what this feeling of being trapped is, I think this is the feeling of wanting to leave a firm to set one’s life to a new world but employers are holding them to their necks and won’t allow them because such employee is a charm to the company. Many are also experiencing this kind of distress, especially the young professionals that do well on their jobs and made apple of the eye of the bosses but then decide to leave maybe because of setting anew in life.

I think the remedy to the prevailing grounds for dissatisfaction of Filipino professionals upon their work is a strong employer- employee relationship. I strongly concur to the statement uttered by Accenture country managing director Manolito Tayag with regards to how employers should work with their employees. It is such a big factor that employers reach out to their employees. In this way, they can make camaraderie and team among the company, without intimidating a person in position inferior or superior to the other.

As to what Accenture chief leadership Officer Adrian Lajtha stated about how employees opt to ask for more skills and leadership training rather than hunting jobs, I am of the same mind. I understand the side of the employees opting to stay on their company and just ask for more training than leaving and seeking for another job because job hunting is not as easy as one can think. Out of the hundreds of jobs available during a job fair, maybe not even one can suit your preference. Also, it is hard to find a job nowadays especially now that age brackets are being implemented upon application. It is somewhat unjust and unbeneficial to those who are already beyond the age bracket and wants to find a new job.

The most significant thing that I have learned on this article is the act of listening to one another. We cannot understand each other’s desire if we keep on talking and ranting out what we wish to happen if we do not listen. Listening is something important nowadays since this world is in chaos. Might as well, in the simplest way we can, we will lessen the chaos and spread the value of understanding to our land.