Survey: Salary Is Top Cause of Dissatisfaction for U.S. Employees

Salary is by far the leading cause of employee dissatisfaction among U.S. workers, cited by 47 percent of respondents in a recent survey. Other leading causes of dissatisfaction include workload (24 percent), lack of opportunities for advancement (21 percent) and the employee's manager or supervisor (21 percent).

Understanding and responding to these leading "dissatisfiers" is important, as nearly half of all U.S. employees surveyed have considered leaving their current jobs and 21 percent had applied for another job in the prior six months, according to research by MarketTools Inc., a provider of HR tools and services.

The survey of U.S. adults age 21 and older who are employed full-time was conducted in February 2011.

Employee Feedback Unsolicited

The study found that nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of surveyed employees’ companies do not have a formal program to regularly solicit employee feedback (or respondents weren’t aware of such a company program).

Of those companies that do solicit feedback from employees, more than 60 percent solicit feedback quarterly or less often.

“A strong correlation exists between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, a company’s revenue and profitability,” commented Justin Schuster, vice president of enterprise products at MarketTools. ​