Numbers Suggest Job Security Improving for US Workers, but Work-Life Balance is Difficult to Achieve

New research from ISR, a leading international employee research and consulting firm, shows that US companies are perceived as being responsible for an increasingly poor work-life balance for employees, putting their workers at risk of burnout, even while a stronger economy enables greater corporate growth levels.



These perceptions are supported by ISR survey findings from 2002 through 2005 which reveal a significant decrease in the percentage of employees reporting that they are able to balance their work and personal demands. ISR surveys more than 200,000 U.S. employees each year.

ìUS companies are sending a mixed message to their workers,î said Dr. Gary Berger, Executive Director, ISR. ìDespite the improving economy, many workers are seeing this fact reflected in their own job security, in the feedback they get from their employers and in their paychecks. It is a recipe for employee burnout.î

Specifically, the percentage of employees who report that their work demands do not seriously interfere with their private lives has dropped from a high of 67 percent in 2002 to 56 percent today. Conversely, 34 percent of employees surveyed this year reported that the demands of their jobs seriously interfere with their private lives, up 10 percent from 2002.

Among industrialized economies, the U.S. ranks as one of the highest in average annual hours worked per person, a rank that has remained virtually unchanged since 1990, according to statistics from the International Labor Organization at the United Nations.

Job security improves, but workers putting in more hours

But the improving U.S. economy has given employees an increased sense of job security, according to ISR survey data. Sixty-eight percent of employees surveyed this year said that they could be sure of having a job with their companies as long as they perform well, an eight percent increase versus 2003. This pattern suggests that as the economy has grown steadily over the last few years, employees have become more secure in their jobs.

Despite the improved U.S. economy, job growth has been slow, contributing to the burden of employees who carry a growing load of work in an expanding economy. U.S. employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that companies are gradually increasing the pace of new hires, as total U.S. employment exceeded 142 million in July for the first time while the number of long-term unemployed has gradually declined from three million in October 2004 to 2.4 million in July 2005.

The Employment Policy Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit policy and research foundation, still qualifies long-term unemployment levels as ëelevatedí though, according to its July Employment Snapshot report.

The percentage of employees feeling their pay is in line with the times rose steadily to 40 percent in 2004, but is down eight percent this year to just 32 percent. Similarly, the percentage of employees feeling their pay is matched to performance is down three percent this year to only 31 percent. The findings are supported by the latest Employment Cost Index data, which shows that compensation rates are only keeping pace with inflation rates in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ìEmployees are sensing an imbalance between the demands of the job encroaching on their private lives, and the rewards they can expect from their increasing workloads,î said Dr. Berger.

What is the solution for companies facing increasing demands upon the workforce? ISR data shows that employees may find confidence in good decision-making from their managers.

For the year, 56 percent of employees report confidence that their companies are recruiting the right people for their future needs, an eight percent increase versus 2002. Similarly, looking towards the future, 51 percent of employees surveyed report that their companies are developing people to their full potential, a six percent increase from 2002.

And recent employee satisfaction studies by ISR linking workplace culture to key business outcomes found managers that sufficiently staff their departments to handle the workload, avoid excessive workload and distribute work fairly, allow flexibility in scheduling, and are considerate of employeesí lives outside the workplace will yield more satisfied customers, lower rates of absenteeism and safety incidents, and increased revenue.

ìThese findings prove that most workers place great value in their employersí ability to enable a healthy work-life balance,î said Dr. Patrick Kulesa, Global Research Director at ISR, ìThese studies also show that companies that are unwilling to balance their own market growth goals with employee needs do not enjoy the regular and prolonged success of companies that do emphasize work-life balance.î