August 24, 2007 | Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer | print this article

77% of Americans Hate Their Jobs

A recent Gallup survey concluded that 77% of Americans hate their jobs.  According to
Time, a relatively new book discusses the 3 signs of a miserable job.  I haven't read the book , but the summary provided by Time provides an interesting discussion a a few good points.  Specifically, the three signs are:

  1. Anonymity - when employees realize their manager has little interest in them a human being.

  2. Irrelevance - when employees can’t see how their job makes a difference in the lives of others.

  3. Immeasurement - the inability of employees to assess for themselves their contribution or success. Therefore, they must rely on the subjective opinions of others, usually their managers, to gauge their progress or contribution.

This sure makes sense to me.  Think about all the times you've had a job where you felt unappreciated, underutilized and subject to the whim of an anonymous decision maker regarding your career, status, bonus or raise.