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Overworked and Underpaid: Workers
Cite Top Barriers To Fulfilling Job Responsibilities
in LifeCare® Poll
WESTPORT, Conn., January 24, 2007 –
When it comes to the reasons that workers didn't fulfill
their basic job responsibilities in 2006, 40 percent
of them say they were “overloaded” and 15 percent say
their “pay/rewards” weren't appropriate—the top
two responses to an online poll conducted in December
by LifeCare®, Inc., provider of comprehensive
specialty care services and a longtime leader in the
work/life industry. The poll, answered by employees
of LifeCare's 1,500 client companies and government
agencies, also revealed other key barriers to employee
productivity:
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11 percent — politics/personal
conflicts;
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5 percent — basic job
expectations were never made clear;
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4 percent — didn't
have the proper tools/resources;
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4 percent — child or
elder care issues;
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and 21 percent selected
a variety of other reasons. |
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The following
is a side-by-side comparison of the responses
to LifeCare's two productivity polls:
Looking back over
the past year, what was the single biggest
challenge you faced in fulfilling your job
responsibilities?
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2006
Responses |
2004
Responses |
| Overloaded/didn't
have the time necessary to accomplish
all of my tasks |
40% |
22% |
| Pay/rewards
not appropriate |
15% |
15% |
| Politics/personal
conflicts |
11% |
16% |
| Basic
job expectations were never made
clear to me |
5% |
8% |
| Didn't
have the proper tools or resources |
4% |
15% |
| Child
or elder care |
4% |
7% |
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“The last time we conducted this poll
was in 2004 and the top two responses were workload
and office politics,” said Peter G. Burki, LifeCare's
CEO. “But workload only received 22 percent of the vote
that year and politics received 16 percent. Clearly,
people have gotten a lot busier in the past two years,
while office politics have gotten a little better. Interestingly,
the same percentage of respondents—15 percent—cited
pay in both polls.” (Note: See the adjacent chart for
a comparison of the results of the two polls.)
While workloads and pay policies are
unique to specific organizations, Burki says that the
other types of productivity barriers cited by respondents
can be significantly reduced or even eliminated by a
high quality work/life program such as LifeCare's. LifeCare
offers a wide variety of seminars and educational materials
to help individuals resolve personal conflicts and situations
involving office politics. The company's child and adult
care services save workers literally thousands of hours
annually in locating reliable, affordable care, while
its concierge services deliver around-the-clock assistance
on everything from pet care to errand running and more.
Each month, LifeCare posts a poll on
its private members' web site asking individuals to
share their thoughts and opinions on the latest issues
and work/life trends. Past polls have addressed topics
such as family caregiving challenges, stress, healthy
aging, flexible work arrangements, special needs children,
and barriers to on-the-job productivity.
Notes to Editors
Peter G. Burki is available for interview.
About LifeCare®, Inc.
LifeCare provides clients with specialty care services and customized care plans
for all aspects of their personal and professional lives, including child care
and parenting, elder care and healthy aging, education and personal growth,
financial and legal matters, and far beyond. LifeCare serves 1,500 client companies
with 4.5 million individuals within corporations, health plans, government agencies
and unions. For more information, visit www.lifecare.com.
Media contact: Michael Civiello
LifeCare, Inc.
pr1@lifecare.com
203-291-4170
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