Dive Brief:

• More than half (51%) of workers said they are satisfied with their current jobs, but gave their employers' development opportunities a poor grade in a Labor Day report from The Conference Board. In addition to a lack of or poorly designed development opportunities, respondents rated the least satisfying aspects of their jobs as workload, educational/job training programs, performance review process and promotion policy.
• Survey results showed that employees' greatest satisfaction came from a job's relational and social aspects. Employees gave high marks to their coworkers, followed by their commutes, interest in the work, supervisors and workplaces' physical environments.
• The study found that job satisfaction is improving in lower-income households faster than their higher-income counterparts. This is happening, the Conference Board asserts, because of a contracting labor market. The Conference Board said it expects the labor market to tighten further, giving workers an even greater advantage and challenging employers to work harder to satisfy employees.  

Dive Insight:

As this survey found, research shows a lack of development opportunities is a major source of employee dissatisfaction. A 24/7 Wall Street survey showed that companies lacking a positive culture, employee-employer trust and development opportunities make the worst employers. Furthermore, employees aren't opposed to leaving their current employer for better career advancement opportunities elsewhere.

Reports have also shown that, as the labor market continues to tighten, employees will see more rewards. Specifically, a WorldatWork study said, the largest increase in total rewards over the next three years will be in career development and flexible work schedules. This may incentivize organizations to create development initiatives and support work flexibility to keep up with the competition.

To ensure that employees have opportunities to grow in their careers, HR leaders can create a culture of development, in which employers can focus on preparing employees for the future of work through training and education, mentoring, sponsorships, upskilling.