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EDITOR'S COLUMN: WORKPLACE STATISTICS SPEAK VOLUMES

Don PhinThe September 2012 issue of Inc. magazine offered a variety of statistics related to the workplace. Here are a few that I found interesting:
  • More than two in five small business owners or managers (43%) say that they feel more stressed now than they did a year ago. This should be a scary sign for all of us, because these folks have created the only real net job growth in the U.S. during the past few years.

  • Apparently, 77% of American workers are stressed about something at work. My question is: What's going on with that other 23%? Are they slackers? Zen Buddhists? Numb? Or have they given up? I don't know anybody trying to be successful who doesn't feel at least somewhat anxious and stressed. Stress is generally related to low salary (49%), lack of opportunities for advancement (43%), heavy workload (43%), unrealistic expectations from managers (40%), and long hours (39%). It seems as if you could pick any subject and half of us would be stressed about it.

  • Interestingly, among Americans who listed their go-to stress relievers, watching TV came in at 64% for men, and 70% for women, while exercising came in at only 44% for men and only 42% for women - one reason why we have a growing obesity epidemic.

  • Inc. 500 companies offered these employee benefits: Health insurance (92%), bonus plan (85%), retirement plan/401(k) (66%), Life insurance (49%), Disability insurance (49%), and tuition reimbursement (25%). These are "rich numbers." I wonder if this is because these companies are so fast growing and successful that they can afford such generous benefits; or does the fact that they provide benefits allow them to attract great employees, who help grow their companies quickly? Chances are that it's a little bit of both.

  • Among Inc. 500 CEOs who took a leadership quiz, 51.7% viewed themselves as creator-builders, happiest at the start of projects. Only 11.9% considered themselves to be people - movers who excelled at spotting, motivating, and nurturing talent. Think about this statistic for a minute - if the CEO is not excelling at the talent game, then who at the organization is? How can HR step into this incredible void and allow those builders-owners to expand and execute on their creative visions?

 

 
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