Recession Fatigue

"What positive effects has the recession had on your job? Seventy-seven percent of workers said that the recession has had at least one positive effect on their jobs. Top effects:

New projects-53%

More responsibility-52%

More challenging work-52%

More interactions with management-44%"

Note:Multiple responses allowed
Source:Accountemps poll of 457 workers 18 and older as shown in USA TODAY

So it takes a recession to get managers to interact more with their employees####?!

Employee Recognition

Ninety (90) percent of US companies have formal recognition programs. And in spite of the recession, 9 out of 10 of them will keep these programs in place during 2009. The cost of not recognizing your employees can be quite high. One example of this is turnover. A recent survey revealed that if employees are not shown appreciation on a regular basis, 81 percent will seriously consider looking for another job, compared to only 25 percent of employees who are complimented on a consistent basis.*

*(Source for statistical information: Recent article in the Blue Ridge Business Journal)

Employee Recognition

Recession or no recession, if employees believe that they are not being treated fairly, they will be unhappy with their current employer. The top (3) reasons cited by employees who were looking for other jobs were 1) not being paid enough 2) lack of career development opportunities 3) insufficient recognition.*

*(Source for statistics: recent article in the Blue Ridge Business Journal)

Employee Recognition

The economy will turn around-we just don't know when that will happen. So....in the meantime, how do your current employees feel about working for your company? A recent survey stated that over 50% of workers under 35 have "neutral" loyalty to their current employer. Even with the national unemployment rate close to 9%, a recent salary.com survey found that 65 percent of employees were looking for other jobs.* Huh?! What kind of sense does that make?!.....

*(Statistics come from recent article in Blue Ridge Business Journal).

Employee Recognition

According to the US Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the next several years employers in the United States will face significant shortages in positions that require college-level training. As an example, information technology talent shortfalls are predicted to be as high as 20 percent by 2010. *

Based on our current economic situation, these statistics are hard to believe...or are they? Stay tuned.

*Source: Article in Blue Ridge Business Journal