US Workers are Stressed Out and Need Relief

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch | Sept 7, 2010

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Stressed at work? Your employer knows how you feel -- at least, some companies say they do.

Many U.S. firms have taken drastic cost-cutting steps in the economic downturn, and some of them recognize that workers' jobs have gotten harder as a result, according to a survey released Tuesday by Towers Watson, a New York-based professional-services
firm, and WorldatWork, an association of human-resource professionals.

"This study is a good reminder that employers need to reassess [the] factors, both tangible and intangible, that would make them attractive to recruits," said Ryan Johnson, vice president of publishing and community for WorldatWork, in a statement. "This is even more critical when luring top talent for leadership roles."

During the recession, 61% of U.S. companies took at least four approaches to cost cutting and cost management, compared with 44% of firms globally.

Those actions include hiring and salary freezes, layoffs, reduced bonuses and overtime restrictions. The survey of 1,176 companies in 23 countries, including 314 U.S. firms, was conducted in May and June.

Some companies acknowledge that workers are feeling squeezed. Among all employers, 61% said their cost cutting has increased employees' workloads, while 53% said cost cutting has made it harder for employees to manage their work-related stress.

Meanwhile, 50% said employee engagement has been adversely affected, and 50% said the cost cuts have made it harder for workers to maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives.

Wages are falling

Workers' pay is suffering, too. Just 35% of U.S. companies said the real, inflation-adjusted value of total "rewards" -- cash plus benefits -- for hourly workers rose from 2005 to 2010.

But looking back over the past 10 years, the result is better: 49% of firms said total rewards for hourly workers rose from 2000.

Meanwhile, 41% of U.S. companies said total compensation for managers is up over the past five years, and 56% of firms said it rose over the past 10 years.

"The real value of wages and rewards at most U.S. firms has been flat or declined," the report said. "Trends for hourly employees reflect the same underlying phenomena as those for professional/managerial employees, but hourly employees are even less likely to have experienced an increase in the real value of their total rewards."

Other research tells a story of stagnating wages for U.S. workers. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, recently reported that median weekly wages, when adjusted for inflation, fell slightly for both high school and college graduates from 2000 to 2009. See story on why you're not making more money than a decade ago.

And workers are feeling under-appreciated, other recent data indicate. Fifty-two percent of employees said their employer has done nothing to reward their achievements in the past year, and 59% said they are making the same or less than they were two years ago, according to an August survey by Glassdoor.com, a career and workplace community. See story on men lose more ground than women in pay slide.

"While employers have been focused on cost cutting and rightsizing during the
downturn, employees are often left feeling stressed, overworked and underpaid,
and a little recognition can really go a long way," said Robert Hohman,
co-founder and chief executive of Glassdoor.com, in a press release.

"Even if promotions or raises aren't possible, something as small as a 'great job' from a boss in front of the employee's peers or an extra day off will help employees feel more
appreciated and satisfied with their current employment situation," he said.

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By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch

Continued from page 1
While the vast majority of workers who have been employed over the
past year said they had achievements during this time, only 41% said their
employers celebrated some of those successes, according to Glassdoor.com. Harris Interactive conducted the online survey of 2,047 U.S. adults.

What next?

Looking forward, fewer than 25% of U.S. firms said they expect to cut jobs over the next three years, according to the Towers Watson report.

"We are starting to see companies talking about getting back to the basics," said Laurie Bienstock, North America rewards practice leader at Towers Watson. "They are starting to think once again about competitive base pay."

However, another key focus for companies, and workers, is non-cash benefits,
Bienstock said.

"There are things that are important to employees that may be more sustainable
over the long term," Bienstock said. "Some of the things that employees say are
important are things like the flexibility of their work situation, a convenient
location, a flexible schedule. These things will absolutely have an impact on
employee engagement." See story on job perks that don't cost much.

Employees are searching for job security and stability, opportunities to earn substantially more, and for development and advancement - and plenty of workers don't think those benefits are available at their current organization, according to the Towers Watson report.

"Many employers confirm that these intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are unavailable," the report said. "Wide gaps between what employees want and what they believe is attainable can lead to disenchantment with their current employer, an unwillingness to give discretionary effort on the job and retention risk."

Firms are concerned about keeping their best performers, said Lawrence Katz, a Harvard University labor economist.

"Even when there are net employment losses, there are a lot of firms hiring, and
companies are concerned about keeping their top talent," Katz said. "Firms are
going to look at their expectations of where the economy is going, and when they
see the competition expanding they will be concerned about keeping their top
talent."

Ruth Mantell is a MarketWatch reporter based in Washington.