Steve R. - thanks for your insight. Your firts bullet lines up with what I see - companies do not proactively teach people management. If a manager is doing poorly, he might be sent to “How To Deal with Conflict” classes or “Motivating People.”

That hardly addresses the core issue.

On Sunday I was getting ready to do something with my that we had planned all day. I pulled out the driveway and my cellphone rang. We had a software implementation drew many employees into a weekend of support. Luckily I escaped most of it with the exception of the hour I spent on the cellphone while my son waited semi-patiently. Business intrudes into our personal lives far too much anymore.

Thanks for your comments!

I think that what fascinates me the most is that there is so much dissatisfaction (lots of surveys reflecting that) yet there is no observable, serious backlash. I guess we have to ask ourselves:

a. How deep is the dissatisfaction? Apparently there isn’t enough pain to “rise up” in some meaningful way.
b. What is the % of dissatisfaction compared with similar surveys 5, 10, 20 years ago?
c. How was dissatisfaction defined? That is, what are the specific job elements and related expectations vis a vis the dissatisfaction?

You get the idea. There are a lot more questions that could be asked.

You’ve got your finger on the pulse: poor management, stress, frustration.

Let’s assume that those three things are, in fact, causing the problem. Here are my recent experiences:

1. Poor management. Over the past 5-10 years, there’s been less managerial attention paid to the people side and more management of tasks and projects. Likewise, I’ve watched an enormous drop in supervisory and management training.
2. Stress. Many organizations expect people to be accessible 7 days a week. No longer is the weekend break a given. People are carrying their business cell phones to the mall and the kids’ sporting events. Even if it doesn’t ring, the possibility interferes with total mental relaxation.
3. Frustration. Don’t know.

Raises are not keeping up with inflation, and employees are putting more of their income into health insurance, co pays, etc. While there is a business reason for this, discretionary income is dropping as a result. At the same time, top level executives at many of the same companies are receiving very, very large salaries; still getting bonuses; and the income gap between top and bottom is increasing.

Looking forward to checking back in to see what your memory conjures up!