One-fifth of Americans say Their Workplace is Hostile or Threatening

Opening Insights

One-fifth of Americans say their workplace is hostile or threatening. The American workplace is grueling, stressful and surprisingly hostile.

Pocket Wisdom Insights (PWI) invites you to explore the following Co-Lab Blog.
This blog features parts of an insightful article featured outside of the PWI Co-Lab,
written by Paul Wiseman on August 14th, 2017, published by Associated Press.
We have republished this content in respect of the author’s vision, message and research.

Informational Insights

The in-depth study of 3,066 U.S. workers by the Rand Corp., Harvard Medical School and the University of California, Los Angeles has concluded. Lead author Nicole Maestas, associate professor of health care policy at HMS and an adjunct economist at RAND says

• "I was surprised by how pressured and hectic the workplace is."
• “I was surprised how taxing the workplace appears to be, both for less-educated and for more-educated workers.”
• “Work is taxing at the office and it’s taxing when it spills out of the workplace into people’s family lives.”

Some findings from the study, include:

• More than one in four American workers say they have too little time to do their job (the complaint was most common among white-collar workers).¹
• The intensity of work frequently spills over into personal lives, workers say with about one-half of people reporting that they perform some work in their free time in order to meet workplace demands.¹
  American workers appear to have a certain degree of autonomy on the job, most feel confident about their skill set and many do report that they receive social support while on the job.¹
• Nearly one in five workers — share a “disturbingly high”hostile or threatening environment at work, which can include sexual harassment and bullying. Workers who have to face customers endure a disproportionate share of abuse.²
• Nearly 55% of workers say they face “unpleasant and potentially hazardous” conditions.²
• Nearly 75% of workers say they spend at least a fourth of their time on the job in “intense or repetitive physical” labor.²
• Telecommuting is rare: 78%of workers say they are required to be present in their workplace during working hours.²
• Only 38% of workers say their jobs offer good prospects for advancement. And the older they get, the less optimistic they become.²
• Nearly two-thirds of workers experience some degree of mismatch between their desired and actual working conditions, with the number rising to nearly three-quarters when job benefits are taken into account. Nearly half of workers report working more than their preferred number of hours per week, while some 20 percent report working fewer than their preferred number of hours.¹
• The workplace is an important source of professional and social support, with more than one-half of American workers describing their boss as supportive and saying that they have very good friends at work.¹
• 4 out of 5 American workers report that their job provides meaning “always” or “most of the time.” Older college-educated men were most likely to report at least one dimension of meaningful work.¹

In many cases, less-educated workers endure tougher working conditions. For example, fewer than half of men without college degrees can take a break whenever they want to, compared to more than 76 percent of men with college degrees. Likewise, nearly 68 percent of men without degrees spend at least a fourth of their time moving heavy loads.

Maestas wonders whether toxic working conditions are keeping Americans out of the labor force. The percentage of Americans who are working or looking for work — 62.9 percent in July — has not returned to pre-recession levels and is well below its 2000 peak of 67.3 percent.

The unemployment rate is at a 16-year low, and many employers complain they can't fill jobs.

"There's a message for employers here," Maestas says. "Working conditions really do matter."

Not everything about American workplaces is grim. Workers enjoy considerable autonomy: more than 80 percent say they get to solve problems and try out their own ideas. Moreover, 58 percent say their bosses are supportive, and 56 percent say they have good friends at work.

The first-time survey of Americans ages 25-71 was carried out in 2015. It is similar to a long-running European survey, and researchers plan to conduct another survey next year and eventually to draw comparisons between U.S. and European working conditions.²

Sources:

• ^[1]Harvard Medical School: Burnout, American Style
• ^[2]Associated Press
• ^[3]RAND Press Room: American Workplace Is Physically and Emotionally Taxing; Most Workers Receive Support from Boss and Friends at Work

Possibilities for Consideration

Take a moment and examine…

• As you reviewed the material above, what stood out to you?
• What is the potential impact, economically and/or socially?
• What action is needed to stop or support this idea?
• You may want to consider whether you:
  • want to be aware of,
  • should become supportive of,
  • would want to be active in this topic?

Add Your Insight

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI