Many laboratories are not happy places anymore. The recession and slow recovery have seen to that. A recent survey released by the Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. and conducted by Harris Interactive suggests that many employees are not feeling very optimistic. Indeed, data suggests that workplace productivity has declined. Some of the survey findings are:
About 38% of employed respondents employed said there had been layoffs in the past year at their primary place of employment. Perusal of trade magazines such as C&EN and Chemical Week suggest that some of these workplaces are chemical and pharmaceutical laboratories.
-Of those respondents who said that productivity had been negatively affected by layoffs:
-66% said that morale has suffered and that workers are less motivated;
-64% said that there is just too much work and not enough people left to do it;
-37% said the wrong people or departments were laid off, leaving inefficient systems and workflows; and
-36% percent said they are concerned that as the economy picks up, they won't have the right resources to meet demand.
With these perceptions so common, it is not surprising that workforce morale is an issue at many workplaces including laboratories. Still, it could be worse. While feeling overworked most survey respondents (53%) reported feeling that the right number of people were laid off at their organization. Another 32% percent said they felt too many were laid off and 7% percent said not enough were let go. My interpretation of these findings is that employee resentment is not directed primarily at their own employers or managers but at he general economic malaise widely reported in the news media.
However, the Adecco Group North America's latest American Workplace Insights Survey conducted by Harris Interactive last summer does show that employees are dissatisfied with employment conditions, primarily in three areas: compensation, career growth and retention efforts. Some of the findings are:
-66% of American workers are dissatisfied with their compensation
-78% are dissatisfied with their company's overall employee retention efforts
-76% are dissatisfied about future career growth opportunities at their company.
Working relationships are also strained. Almost half (48%) of workers say that they dissatisfied with the relationship they have with their boss. 59% say they are dissatisfied with the level of support they receive from their colleagues.
Workers are also critical of their organization's top management. More than three-quarters (77%) say they are dissatisfied with the strategy and vision of their company's leadership. Is this surprising when they learn of their own top management taking home bonuses while their own wages are frozen or lab staffs have been cut? Even of it hasn't, news of large bonuses paid at the same financial institutions that helped bring on the recession erodes faith in financial institutions.
Seeing many coworkers forced into early retirement, 68% of workers say they aren't satisfied with their company's contribution to their retirement plans.
Lab managers need to be aware of what their staff members are going through. This shouldn't be hard. After all, many managers are experiencing the same stress and uncertainty themselves. Many morale issues can't be resolved at the lab managers' level. However, managers can carry the concerns to higher level managers who can address them. Lab managers also need to communicate effectively with their staffs letting them know they are doing so.
We'll talk about what lab managers can do to help staff members through these tough times in the next blog. We'll also address some measures many managers take that often do more harm than good.
