SHRM Job Satisfaction Series: Job Security Survey. Research SHRM

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1 Job Satisfaction Series: Job Security Survey SHRM

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3 Job Satisfaction Series: Job Security Survey Evren Esen Survey Program Coordinator SHRM June 2003

4 This report is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SHRM. All content is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a guaranteed outcome. The Society for Human Resource Management cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any liability resulting from the use or misuse of any such information Society for Human Resource Management. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Society for Human Resource Management, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA. For more information, please contact: SHRM Department 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA Phone: Fax: Web:

5 Job Satisfaction Series: Job Security Survey Contents About This Report iv About the Author iv Introduction to the Job Satisfaction Series v Introduction to the Job Security Survey vi Methodology viii Key Findings ix Survey Results Analysis by Organization Size Analysis by Industry Analysis by Employee Gender Analysis by Employee Age Conclusions Demographics Demographics of Responding HR Professionals Demographics of Responding Employees SHRM Survey Reports

6 About This Report The objective of the Job Satisfaction Series is to identify and understand factors that are important to overall employee job satisfaction from the perspectives of both employees and HR professionals. This knowledge can help HR professionals better relate to and appreciate employee needs for development of programs and policies designated to influence employee satisfaction. In September 2002, SHRM conducted the first part in this series, the Job Satisfaction Poll, to determine which aspects or factors contribute to the overall job satisfaction of employees (this report can be downloaded free of charge at The Job Satisfaction Poll was the first of a series of surveys that fall under the Job Satisfaction Series. Sixteen aspects of job satisfaction thought to influence perceptions of overall job satisfaction such as job security, career advancement opportunities, communication between employees and management, benefits, compensation/pay, and others were explored from the perspectives of both HR professionals and employees. Three of the top five aspects named by employees were also identified in the top five list for HR professionals, although the order of importance varied. Job security was identified as the aspect most important to employees in overall job satisfaction and it ranked fourth for HR professionals. It was therefore decided that the second poll for the Job Satisfaction Series would focus on job security. About the Author Evren Esen is the Survey Program Coordinator for the Society for Human Resource Management. Her responsibilities include designing, conducting and analyzing polls on HR-related topics, and assisting in larger survey projects. iv

7 Introduction to the Job Satisfaction Series Even in a relatively weak economy, the retention and recruitment of qualified and skilled employees is the foundation of any business, small or large. typically indicates that employees who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to stay with their current employers. Keeping a cadre of happy and motivated employees, however, may become even more elusive as the expectations of employees shift. These shifting expectations stem from demographic trends, such as more women entering the workforce, the retirement of baby boomers, caring for elderly parents, and the entrance of Generation Y into the workforce, to more general changes in society such as increased stress levels as employees attempt to juggle work and their ever-increasing nontraditional lives. As life becomes more stressful, employees become more stressed. Therefore, the factors long thought to satisfy employees may be changing and may be different depending on the gender and age of the employee. HR professionals are the organizational link to the human capital embodied by employees. They are often in the prime position of developing policies and workplace standards that are crucial to the satisfaction employees feel with their jobs. Therefore, as organizations prepare for a changing workforce it is imperative that HR professionals are aware of what employees say contributes to their motivation and satisfaction. This report compares the responses of HR professionals and employees in an effort to understand the similarities and differences between these two vantage points. In order to make meaningful comparisons, it is important to consider the employees represented in this study. HR professionals were asked to report on employees in their organizations, i.e., the entire workforce including both exempt and nonexempt workers. With this in mind, it is accurate to say that the profile of employees from the HR respondent perspective tends to be a more generalized and inclusive category. This difference may to some degree influence the results discussed in this report. Nonetheless, the results are important for understanding issues of job satisfaction in the workplace. v

8 Introduction to the Job Security Survey Job security is an inherently vital part of an employee s perception of job satisfaction. Without first feeling stable in one s job, it is difficult to imagine other factors contributing strongly to overall job satisfaction. Job security is even more relevant in today s economy where jobs are being slashed and hiring has slowed due to the weak economy. Although employees have always sought stability in their jobs, job-hopping and high turnover rates, a common phenomenon of the late 1990s, are almost nonexistent today. With jobs harder and harder to come by, employees may be more likely to seek security and stability in their present jobs. In addition, their measuring stick for job satisfaction may no longer be stock options, compensation and good corporate communication, but a consistent level of job security and the observable efforts that an organization makes to maintain it. Table A, taken from the Job Satisfaction Poll, shows how job security rated in terms of what employees and HR professionals considered very important to overall employee job satisfaction. As can be seen, 65% of employees rated job security as very important and 59% of HR professionals indicated so. This placed job security in the number one slot for employees and fourth for HR professionals. In this report we will further analyze these initial differences between employees and HR professionals in relation to job security to see if they persist. The Job Security Survey covers the following topics: Employee satisfaction with the level of job security provided by their organizations; The level of concern employees have regarding their job security over the next 12 months; Table A Top Five Very Important Aspects of Job Satisfaction Employees HR Professionals 1. Job security 65% 1. Communication between employees and management 77% 2. Benefits 64% 2. Recognition by management 62% 3. Communication between employees and management 62% 3. Relationship with immediate supervisor 61% 4. Employee flexibility to balance life and work issues 62% 4. Job security 59% 5. Compensation/pay 59% 5. Compensation/pay 54% Source: 2002 SHRM /USATODAY.com Job Satisfaction Poll vi

9 The factors that contribute to and lessen the sense of security employees have in their jobs; and Overall employee job satisfaction. Overall employee job satisfaction from the Job Satisfaction Poll and the Job Security Survey are compared for differences along with analysis comparing certain variables to relevant questions in the survey. In addition to an overall comparison of HR and employee respondents, an analysis by industry and organization size for both groups is examined to determine if responses vary in relation to these variables. Employee responses are also looked at by two additional variables gender and age. Differences based upon these characteristics are explored and provided toward the end of this report. vii

10 Methodology The survey instruments were developed by the SHRM Survey Program. An internal committee of SHRM staff with HR expertise and an external committee of volunteer leaders and experts in the HR field also provided valuable insight and recommendations for the instruments. For comparison purposes, both employees and HR professionals received similar questions in the surveys. The HR professional sample was randomly selected from SHRM s membership database, which includes approximately 170,000 members. Only members who had not recently participated (approximately the last six months) in a SHRM survey were included in the sampling frame. Members who are students, consultants, academics, located internationally and who have no address on file were excluded from the sampling frame. In February 2003, an that included a link to the SHRM Job Security online survey was sent to 2,500 randomly selected SHRM members. Of these, 2,099 s were successfully delivered to respondents, and 607 HR professionals responded, yielding a response rate of 29%. The survey was fielded for a period of two weeks, and two reminders were sent to sample members in an effort to increase response rates. A similar survey was sent to 762 randomly selected employees by the survey research organization, Knowledge Networks, whose panel recruitment methodology uses a list-assisted Random Digit Dialing technique on the sample frame which consists of the entire U.S. telephone population. A response rate of 100% was achieved. All respondents were employed, either full-time or part-time. Knowledge Networks fielded the employee portion of the survey for approximately seven days. viii

11 Key Findings The perceptions of HR professionals and employees differed in their assessment of employee satisfaction with job security, employee level of concern about job security for 2003, factors that provide and lessen the sense of employee job security, and overall employee satisfaction. As a general trend, employees responded more positively than HR professionals. Employees reported greater satisfaction with the current level of job security provided by their organizations. Employees also indicated less concern about their job security over the next 12 months than HR professionals. In terms of overall job satisfaction, again employees reported greater levels of satisfaction than HR professionals predicted. Employee respondents stated that the factors that provided them with the greatest sense of security in their jobs were their own abilities and skills, the importance of their jobs (or roles) to the organization s success, and their length of service (tenure or seniority) at the organization. In contrast, HR professionals felt that the most pertinent factors providing employees with a sense of job security were the importance of employee jobs (or roles) to the organization s success, the organization s good financial standing, and open lines of communication between employees and management. The top three factors that lessen the sense of job security felt by employees were: not being unionized (under a collective bargaining agreement), closed lines of communication between employees and management, and not being contracted employees. From the perspective of HR professionals, the following factors were thought to lessen the sense of job security felt by employees: the organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months, closed lines of communication between employees and management, and employees feeling that their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to the organization s overall success. Comparisons were made between the Job Security Survey (February 2003) and Job Satisfaction Poll (September 2002) in terms of overall employee job satisfaction. Employees reported greater overall satisfaction with their jobs in the Job Security Survey. Analysis also showed that from the perspectives of both HR professionals and employees, the more satisfied employees were with their jobs overall the more satisfied they were with the job security provided by their organizations. An analysis by organization size showed that HR professionals from small compared to large organizations perceive that employees feel more secure about their jobs and are less concerned about their job security over the next year. Additional results by organization size, industry, employee gender and age are also discussed in the report. ix

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13 Survey Results For the purposes of this poll, job security was defined for respondents in the survey instructions as the sense of stability and financial security that comes from being employed. Throughout this report, conventional statistical methods were used to determine if observed differences were dependable. Therefore, in most cases only results that proved to be dependable are included, unless otherwise noted. Chart 1 shows the perceptions of both HR and employee respondents about employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their current level of job security. Three-quarters (75%) of employees indicated they were satisfied with their current level of job security (44% very satisfied and 31% somewhat satisfied ) compared to 66% of HR professionals (20% very satisfied and 46% somewhat satisfied ). Twenty-six percent of HR respondents indicated that employees are Chart 1 Employee Satisfaction With Current Level of Job Security Provided by Organization HR Professionals (Number of Respondents=606) Mean=2.47 SD=1.19 Employees (Number of Respondents=761) Mean=1.98 SD= % 40% 44% 46% 30% 31% 20% 20% 20% 10% 0% 8% 12% 9% 6% 4% Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied nor Dissatisfied Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Very Dissatisfied Note: SD=Standard Deviation; Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 1

14 not satisfied ( somewhat dissatisfied and very dissatisfied ) with their current level of job security, which is twice as much as employees themselves at 13%. A scale of 1 to 5 was employed for this question with 1 representing very satisfied and 5 representing very dissatisfied. A mean score of 1.98 was obtained for employees and 2.47 for HR professionals. The difference in these means indicates that employees are more optimistic than HR professionals perceive them to be regarding their current level of job security. 1 Are employees concerned about their job security over the next 12 months? Employees appear to be less concerned overall by this prospect compared to HR professionals. Fifty-nine percent of HR respondents indicated that employees in their organizations are concerned about their job security, although about one-half (47%) indicated being somewhat concerned while 12% were very concerned. Interestingly, employees themselves were more hopeful about their job security in 2003 with only 34% overall indicating concern (10% very concerned and 24% somewhat concerned ). Half as many employees compared to HR professionals indicated being somewhat concerned (24% versus 47%, respectively) and one-half (50%) of employees indicated little or no concern (25% not too concerned and 25% not at all concerned ) about their job security for the next 12 months. It is quite clear that employee concern about job security is less than what HR professionals believe it to be. These data are depicted in Chart 2. A scale of 1 to 5 was employed for this question with 1 representing very concerned and 5 representing not at all concerned. A mean score of 2.66 Chart 2 Level of Concern Employees Have Regarding Job Security Over Next 12 Months 50% HR Professionals (Number of Respondents=605) Mean=2.66 SD=1.16 Employees (Number of Respondents=760) Mean=3.31 SD= % 40% 30% 24% 26% 25% 25% 20% 18% 10% 12% 10% 9% 6% 0% Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Neither Concerned nor Not too Concerned Unconcerned Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Not at all Concerned Note: SD=Standard Deviation; Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with representing Very Concerned and 5 representing Not at all Concerned. 2

15 was obtained for HR professionals and 3.31 for employees. The difference in these means shows that employees, more than HR professionals perceive, are more optimistic that their jobs are secure over the next year. 1 Many factors may contribute to how employees feel about their overall job security. Personal attributes such as the abilities and skills employees possess and the number of years they have worked at an organization can play an important role. These factors may help employees feel more or less secure about their jobs depending on where they perceive themselves falling along the spectrum. Also important, however, are factors external to employees and the organization. Employees cannot control these factors, yet they may contribute to a sense of instability and insecurity about their jobs and the state of the company at which they are working. Charts 3 and 4 look at factors that give employees a sense of security and factors that lessen their sense of security in their jobs, respectively, from the perspective of both HR professionals and employees. As can be seen from Chart 3, the top three factors which provide employees with the greatest sense of security are: 1) their abilities and skills (58%); 2) the importance of their jobs (or roles) to the organization s overall success (41%); and 3) their length of service (tenure or seniority) (34%). According to the perceptions of HR professionals, the top three factors that give employees in their organizations security in their jobs are: 1) the importance of their jobs (or roles) to the organization s overall success (63%); 2) the organization being in good financial standing (50%); and 3) the open lines of communication between employees and management as well as the efforts they have observed by management to avoid layoffs at their organizations (both at 43%). Chart 3 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs HR Professionals (Number of Respondents=607) Employees (Number of Respondents=762) Their abilities and skills The importance of their jobs (or roles) to your organization s overall success 40% 41% 58% 63% Their length of service (tenure or seniority) 34% 34% The organization is in good financial standing The organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 29% 29% 34% 50% The open lines of communication between employees and management The organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition The efforts they have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization They are unionized employees (under a collective bargaining agreement) 20% 23% 22% 33% 43% 43% 11% 11% They are contracted employees 3% 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 3

16 It is noteworthy that employees value certain factors more than HR professionals predicted, and that all of these factors can be categorized as personal attributes things that employees feel are directly within their control. First and foremost, it appears that employees rely upon their own skill and abilities to make them feel secure in their jobs, whereas only 40% of HR professionals indicated that this was important to employees, which is 28 percentage points less than what employees themselves indicated. One factor showed up both in the employee and HR professional top three lists the importance of the employee s job (or role) to the organization. While employees rated this second on their list, it was the number one factor stated by HR professionals. Again, the difference between the two groups is quite noticeable (63% for HR professionals and 41% for employees). Length of service (tenure or seniority) came in third for employees and sixth for HR respondents although the percentage of respondents selecting this factor was the same (34%). It appears that the main differences for employees and HR professionals in addressing issues that provide a sense of job security for employees are influenced by factors situated in close proximity to their respective place in the organization. For employees this means personal factors and for HR professionals it means organizational factors. HR professionals appear to put more weight on factors that relate to the whole of the organization that are more objective and measurable than the subjective view of individual employees. Chart 4 describes what respondents indicated as lessening the sense of job security felt by employees. It is interesting to note that again the factors selected by employees and HR professionals vary Chart 4 What Lessons the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs HR Professionals (Number of Respondents=607) Employees (Number of Respondents=762) They are not unionized employees (not under a collective bargaining agreement) Closed lines of communication between employees and management They are not contracted employees 8% 10% 14% 13% 16% 33% The organization is not in good financial standing 12% 22% The organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 12% 40% Their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) They feel that their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to your organization's overall success The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 11% 11% 11% 10% 17% 28% Their abilities and skills 6% 7% The organization has recently 5% been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 16% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 4

17 based on their different paradigms. This time, however, employees focused less on personal attributes and shifted to more external factors they have little or no control over. The top three factors that lessened the sense of job security felt by employees were: 1) they are not unionized employees (not under a collective bargaining agreement) (16%); 2) closed lines of communication between employees and management (14%); and 3) they are not contracted employees (13%). From these results it appears that the lack of security that employees feel leans toward not having tangible or legal recourses to keep their jobs secure (unionized or bound by a contract). For employees, the factors that lessen their sense of job security are characterized by low percentages in general and tend to fall within the same range. It may be that employees are not as concerned with factors that they have little control over and choose to focus on what they can have more influence on their abilities and skills and their role (or making themselves a role) in the organization. Employees seem to be somewhat impervious to factors that HR professionals believe have an influence on their sense of job security. HR professionals Chart 5 Overall Satisfaction of Employees With Current Job HR Professionals (Number of Respondents=605) Mean=2.13 SD=.86 Employees (Number of Respondents=761) Mean=1.90 SD= % 60% 63% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 20% 18% 11% 10% 9% 9% 7% 0% Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied nor Dissatisfied Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. 1% 3% Very Dissatisfied Note: SD=Standard Deviation; Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 5

18 rated the top three factors that lessen employee job security in the following way: 1) the organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (40%); 2) closed lines of communication between employees and management (33%); and 3) employees feel their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to the organization s overall success (28%). While HR professionals perceive layoffs as having a strong impact on lessening employee job security, only 12% of employees indicated so (a difference of 28%). It may be that employees are relying on their personal attributes and feel confident that although there may have been layoffs at their organization it does not necessarily impact their individual jobs. Although HR professionals and employees agree that closed lines of communications between employees and management are likely to lessen employee feelings about their job security, the difference between them (33% for HR professionals and 14% for employees) shows that the degree of importance varies considerably. In addition, HR professionals indicated more so than employees that employees perceive their jobs (or roles) as lacking in importance to the organization s overall success as a reason for lessening employee job security (28% for HR professionals and 11% for employees). It appears, however, that employees do not feel this way and perceive their roles as important to the organization. Chart 5 depicts employee job satisfaction from the perspective of employee and HR respondents. Both groups of respondents indicated employee job satisfaction and dissatisfaction with almost the same overall percentages. Eighty percent of employees and 81% of HR professionals reported that employees Chart 6 60% Overall Employee Job Satisfaction Comparison of Employee Respondents From Job Security Survey and Job Satisfaction Poll Employees in Job Security Survey--February 2003 (Number of Respondents=761) Mean=1.90 SD=1.07 Employees in Job Satisfaction Poll--September 2002 (Number of Respondents=604) Mean=2.09 SD= % 45% 47% 40% 35% 30% 30% 20% 10% 11% 12% 7% 8% 3% 3% 0% Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied nor Dissatisfied Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Very Dissatisfied Note: SD=Standard Deviation; Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 6

19 are satisfied with their jobs while 10% of both employee and HR respondents indicated that employees are not satisfied. A difference between the two groups emerges, however, when we look at the percentages of satisfied and dissatisfied. Employees are more likely to state that they are very satisfied (45%) with their jobs compared to HR professionals who perceived only 18% of employees in their organizations as very satisfied. HR professionals, on the other hand, are more likely to believe that employees are somewhat satisfied at 63% compared to less than one-half as many employees (35%) who reported so. A scale of 1 to 5 was employed for this question with 1 representing very satisfied and 5 representing very dissatisfied. A mean score of 1.90 was obtained for employees and 2.13 for HR professionals. The difference in these means shows that Chart 7 Overall Employee Job Satisfaction Comparison of HR Respondents From Job Security Survey and Job Satisfaction Poll HR Professionals in Job Security Survey--February 2003 (Number of Respondents=605) Mean=2.13 SD=.86 HR Professionals in Job Satisfaction Poll--September 2002 (Number of Respondents=460) Mean=2.19 SD=.67 80% 70% 71% 60% 63% 50% 40% 30% 20% 18% 15% 10% 8% 9% 9% 6% 0% Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied nor Dissatisfied Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. 1% 0% Very Dissatisfied Note: SD=Standard Deviation; Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 7

20 employees are more satisfied overall with their jobs than HR professionals believe. 1 Has overall employee job satisfaction changed during the five-month period when respondents were first asked this question in the Job Satisfaction Poll (September 2002) and then again in the Job Security Survey (February 2003)? Chart 6 depicts this data for employee respondents and Chart 7 for HR respondents. Employee responses regarding overall employee job satisfaction are similar for the Job Security Survey (February 2003) and Job Satisfaction Poll (September 2002). Eighty percent of Job Security Survey employees indicate being satisfied, 45% of which are very satisfied and 35% somewhat satisfied. Seventy-seven percent of Job Satisfaction Poll employees (30% indicating very satisfied and 47% somewhat satisfied ) reported satisfaction. The main difference is in the very satisfied category, where there is a 15% increase from the Job Satisfaction Poll to the Job Security Survey. These data are described in Chart 6. A mean score of 1.90 was achieved for employees in the Job Security Survey and 2.09 for employees in the Job Satisfaction Poll. The difference in these means shows that employee respondents from the Job Security Survey report being more satisfied overall with their jobs than Job Satisfaction Poll respondents answering this question five months earlier. 1 It may be that little improvement in the economy over the past five months has encouraged employees to be less critical of their current jobs thus increasing their opinions of satisfaction from somewhat satisfied to very satisfied. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues for employees in the next poll of the Job Satisfaction Series. Similar to employee responses to overall employee job satisfaction, HR respondents did not differ remarkably in their responses to the Job Security Survey (February 2003) and Job Satisfaction Poll (September 2002). Eighty-one percent of Job Security Survey HR professionals reported perceiving employees as satisfied with their current jobs, with 18% very satisfied and 63% somewhat satisfied. More than three-quarters (79%) of Job Satisfaction Poll HR professionals reported satisfaction (8% very satisfied and 71% somewhat satisfied ). The percentage of HR respondents perceiving employees as very satisfied increased 10% from the Job Satisfaction Poll to the Job Security Survey. Differences were also reported between the two polls in the percentage of HR professionals who believe employees are dissatisfied with their jobs (10% for Job Security respondents and 6% for Job Satisfaction respondents). A mean score of 2.13 was achieved for HR respondents in the Job Security Survey and 2.19 for the Job Satisfaction Poll. 2 These data are shown in Chart 7. Further analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between overall employee job satisfaction and employee satisfaction with the current level of job security provided by organizations. 3 For HR professionals, the correlation between these two variables was high. Among HR professionals who indicated that their employees were satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with their jobs overall, 75% also indicated that they were satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with the current level of job security provided by their organizations. For employee respondents the correlation between overall job satisfaction and current level of job security was also high. Among employees who indicated that they were satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with their jobs overall, 86% also indicated that they were satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with the current level of job security provided by their organizations. 8

21 Analysis by Organization Size This section analyzes the responses of HR professionals and employees in terms of organization size. Organizations are grouped into three categories: small (0-99 employees), medium ( employees), and large (500 and over employees). Only results that show dependable differences by organization size based on appropriate statistical tests are included and discussed in this section. Table 1 depicts how HR professionals perceived employee satisfaction with the current level of job security provided by their organizations. HR professionals in small organizations (74%) believe employees in their organizations are more satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with their level of job security compared to HR professionals in large organizations (61%). This trend carries over to employee dissatisfaction ( somewhat dissatisfied and very dissatisfied ) with job security as well. HR professionals from small organizations report less employee dissatisfaction (21%) compared to large organizations (30%). A mean score of 2.25 was obtained for small organizations and 2.60 for large organizations. The difference in these means shows that HR professionals from small organizations believe that employees are more satisfied with their job security than HR professionals in large organizations. 1 It may be that HR professionals from small organizations believe their employees feel more secure based on the idea that employees in small organizations may feel more connected and have more personal interaction with one another compared to organizations that are large. How do HR professionals perceive the level of concern felt by employees about their job security for the next 12 months? Do opinions of HR respondents Table 1 Employee Satisfaction With Current Level of Job Security According to HR Professionals by Organization Size Number of Standard Somewhat Neither Satisfied Somewhat Very Respondents Mean Deviation Very Satisfied Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Small (0-99) % 49% 6% 17% 4% Medium ( ) % 48% 8% 17% 5% Large (500 and over) % 45% 9% 22% 8% Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. Note: Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 9

22 Table 2 Employee Concern About Job Security for Next 12 Months According to HR Professionals by Organization Size Number of Standard Very Somewhat Neither Concerned Not too Not at all Respondents Mean Deviation Concerned Concerned nor Unconcerned Concerned Concerned Small (0-99) % 39% 13% 28% 10% Medium ( ) % 40% 10% 33% 4% Large (500 and over) % 53% 7% 23% 5% Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. Note: Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Concerned and 5 representing Not at all Concerned. Table 3 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs According to HR Professionals by Organization Size Small (0-99) Medium ( ) Large (500 and Over) (n=108) (n=158) (n=341) The efforts they have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 33% 42% 46% The importance of their jobs (or roles) to your organization s overall success 72% 66% 59% The open lines of communication between employees and management 35% 44% 45% They are contracted employees 4% 3% 3% They are unionized employees (under a collective bargaining agreement) 3% 11% 14% Their abilities and skills 54% 39% 36% Their length of service (tenure or seniority) 34% 33% 35% The organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 48% 36% 29% The organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 35% 34% 31% The organization is in good financial standing 46% 54% 50% Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. 10

23 vary by organization size? As shown in Table 2, it appears that HR professionals in large organizations perceive that employees are concerned ( very concerned and somewhat concerned ) (66%) more so than small organizations (49%). Correspondingly, more than one-fourth (28%) of HR respondents in large organizations perceive employees to be not concerned ( not too concerned and not at all concerned ) compared to respondents in small organizations in which 38% indicated as such. A mean score of 2.89 was obtained for small organizations and 2.54 for large organizations. The difference in these means shows that HR professionals from large organizations believe that employees are more concerned that their jobs may not stay secure in These results show that HR professionals from small organizations perceive their employees as feeling more shielded against losses in job security perhaps based on greater interaction and more personal relationships that often characterize small organizations. Table 3 illustrates the factors that HR professionals believe provide employees at their organization with a sense of security in their jobs. The following differences are dependable 4 : HR professionals from small organizations indicating the importance of employee jobs (or roles) to their organization s overall success (72%) as a factor providing a sense of job security to employees compared to large organizations (59%); Table 4 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs According to Employees by Organization Size Small (0-99) Medium ( ) Large (500 and Over) (n=323) (n=119) (n=320) The efforts you have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 15% 24% 23% The importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 39% 46% 42% The open lines of communication between employees and management 25% 21% 21% You are a contracted employee 10% 6% 5% You are a unionized employee (under a collective bargaining agreement) 4% 13% 18% Your abilities and skills 57% 61% 58% Your length of service (tenure or seniority) 28% 39% 40% Your organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 27% 31% 30% Your organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 21% 22% 23% The organization is in good financial standing 27% 29% 31% Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. 11

24 HR professionals from medium and large organizations indicating employees being unionized (under a collective bargaining agreement) (11% and 14%, respectively) as a factor providing a sense of job security to employees compared to small organizations (3%); HR professionals from small organizations indicating employee abilities and skills (54%) as a factor providing a sense of job security to employees compared to medium and large organizations (39% and 36%, respectively); and HR professionals from small organizations indicating the organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (48%) as a factor providing a sense of job security to employees compared to large organizations (29%). As a general pattern, it appears that HR professionals from small organizations perceive their employees as feeling more secure about their job security than those in large organizations. For example, HR professionals indicated that their employees sense of security is based on the importance of employee jobs in contributing to the organization s overall success and the skills and abilities that employees possess. This is understandable in that the smaller the organization, the more directly each individual and his/her skills contribute to the whole organization. Also, small organizations have not had as many layoffs as large organizations in the past 12 months according to HR professionals, which impacts on how secure employees feel in their jobs. Table 5 What Lessens the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs According to HR Professionals by Organization Size Small (0-99) Medium ( ) Large (500 and Over) (n=108) (n=158) (n=341) The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 11% 16% 20% They feel that their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to your organization s overall success 23% 30% 28% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 34% 27% 35% They are not contracted employees 9% 7% 8% They are not unionized employees (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 8% 8% 11% Their abilities and skills 6% 6% 7% Their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 4% 10% 13% The organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 25% 34% 47% The organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 6% 12% 20% The organization is not in good financial standing 31% 20% 21% Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. 12

25 Table 4 illustrates factors that employee respondents believe provide them with a sense of security in their jobs. The following differences are dependable 3 : Employees from large organizations indicating the efforts they have observed by management to avoid layoffs at their organization (23%) as a factor providing them with a sense of job security compared to small organizations (15%); Employees from medium and large organizations indicating being unionized (under a collective bargaining agreement) (13% and 18%, respectively) as a factor providing them with a sense of job security compared to small organizations (4%); and Employees from large organizations indicating length of service (tenure or seniority) (40%) as a factor providing them with a sense of job security compared to small organizations (28%). Employees from large organizations appear to feel more secure than those in small organizations based on factors related to management s efforts to avoid layoffs, being unionized, and their length of service (tenure or seniority). Table 5 shows factors that HR professionals believe lessen the sense of job security felt by employees at their organizations. The following differences are dependable 4 : HR professionals from large organizations indicating employee length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) (13%) as a factor lessening the sense of job security felt by employees compared to small organizations (4%); Table 6 What Lessens the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs According to Employees by Organization Size Small (0-99) Medium ( ) Large (500 and Over) (n=323) (n=119) (n=320) The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 7% 16% 11% The perceived lack of importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 9% 10% 13% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 12% 19% 15% You are not a contracted employee 13% 12% 12% You are not a unionized employee (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 15% 18% 16% Your abilities and skills 9% 5% 4% Your length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 8% 17% 11% Your organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 8% 16% 15% Your organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 3% 3% 7% Your organization is not in good financial standing 11% 13% 13% Note: Sample sizes of the size categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the size question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by size that answered this question using the provided response options. 13

26 HR professionals from large organizations indicating that the organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (47%) as a factor lessening the sense of job security felt by employees compared to small and medium organizations (25% and 34%, respectively); and HR professionals from large organizations indicating that the organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition (20%) as a factor lessening the sense of job security felt by employees compared to small organizations (6%). HR professionals from large organizations appear to be concerned that layoffs in the past 12 months and recent involvement in (or plans for involvement in) a merger/and or acquisition make employees feel more vulnerable about their job security. HR respondents from large organizations also feel that employees with less tenure and seniority might feel especially defenseless in an organizational climate were layoffs are occurring. Table 6 depicts the factors that employee respondents believe lessen their sense of security in their current jobs. The following differences are dependable 4 : Employees from medium organizations indicating the lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at their organization (16%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to small organizations (7%); Employees from medium organizations indicating their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) (17%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to small organizations (8%); Employees from large organizations indicating their organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (15%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to small organizations (8%); and Employees from large organizations indicating their organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition (7%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to small organizations (3%). As a general pattern, it appears that employees in medium and large organizations perceived factors that lessened their job security differently than those in small organizations. Employees in medium organizations indicated that the lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs and their lack of tenure or seniority make them feel less secure about their jobs compared to employees in small organizations. In addition, employees in large organizations reported that actual layoffs in their organizations in the past 12 months and their organizations recent mergers and/or acquisitions (or plans to be involved in one) led to a decreased sense of job security compared to employees in small organizations. This corresponds to the responses of HR professionals in Table 5 who indicated layoffs and mergers/acquisitions as lessening employee job security. 14

27 Analysis by Industry This section discusses HR professional and employee responses by industry. The following industries, which had at least 20 respondents, are included in this analysis for HR respondents: finance, government (includes federal, state and local entities), health, high tech, insurance, manufacturing (durable goods), manufacturing (nondurable goods), services (nonprofit), services (profit), telecommunications, and wholesale/retail trade. For employee respondents, the analysis includes the Table 7 Employee Satisfaction With Current Level of Job Security According to HR Professionals by Industry Number of Standard Somewhat Neither Satisfied Somewhat Very Respondents Mean Deviation Very Satisfied Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Finance % 30% 12% 21% 0% Government % 59% 0% 3% 3% Health % 48% 4% 25% 4% High tech % 35% 19% 26% 6% Insurance % 40% 10% 25% 15% Manufacturing (durable goods) % 49% 4% 25% 9% Manufacturing (nondurable goods) % 43% 11% 27% 5% Services (nonprofit) % 57% 0% 17% 3% Services (profit) % 47% 11% 19% 6% Telecommunications % 43% 9% 35% 9% Wholesale/retail trade % 39% 7% 4% 11% Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Note: Sample sizes of the industry categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the industry question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by industry that answered this question using the provided response options. Note: Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 15

28 following industries: construction & mining/oil & gas, educational services, government (includes federal, state and local entities), health, manufacturing (nondurable goods), services (profit), transportation, and wholesale/retail trade. Although respondents from other industries participated in the study, it was felt that industries with fewer than 20 respondents would yield inconclusive or questionable results. Only results that showed dependable differences by industry based on appropriate statistical tests are included and discussed in this section. Table 7 illustrates employee satisfaction with their current level of job security from the perspective of HR respondents by industry. The only dependable difference for this question by industry was observed between the government and telecommunications industries. HR professionals in government perceive that employees are satisfied ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) (93%) more so than the telecommunications HR respondents, 47% of which indicated satisfaction. Along the same lines, only 6% of government HR respondents perceived employees as being dissatisfied with the current level of job security provided by their organizations, while 44% of telecommunications HR respondents indicated so. A mean score of 1.81 was obtained for government and 3.00 for telecommunications. The difference in these means shows that HR professionals from government industries believe that employees are more satisfied with their job security than respondents from the telecommunications industry. 1 Table 8 illustrates the factors that HR respondents believe provide employees with a sense of security in their jobs by industry. Table 8 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs According to HR Professionals by Industry The efforts they have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 42% 63% 33% 39% 30% 56% 55% 50% 28% 43% 29% The importance of their jobs (or roles) to your organization s overall success 64% 47% 77% 71% 70% 58% 52% 60% 64% 70% 71% The open lines of communication between employees and management 39% 25% 40% 45% 45% 59% 39% 40% 36% 52% 54% They are contracted employees 3% 3% 2% 10% 0% 1% 0% 3% 6% 0% 0% They are unionized employees (under a collective bargaining agreement) 0% 25% 8% 3% 0% 20% 14% 3% 8% 4% 7% Their abilities and skills 36% 28% 46% 55% 50% 35% 27% 33% 43% 39% 46% Their length of service (tenure or seniority) 18% 47% 29% 19% 40% 43% 45% 27% 28% 26% 29% The organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 42% 59% 44% 19% 10% 33% 32% 33% 28% 4% 50% The organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 48% 19% 33% 16% 25% 26% 36% 40% 30% 26% 43% The organization is in good financial standing 67% 34% 50% 42% 55% 58% 57% 37% 53% 52% 61% 1-Finance (n=33) 2-Government (n=32) 3-Health (n=52) 4-High Tech (n=31) 5-Insurance (n=20) 6-Manufacturing (durable goods) (n=80) 7-Manufacturing (nondurable goods) (n=44) 8-Services (nonprofit) (n=30) 9-Services (profit) (n=53) 10-Telecommunications (n=23) 11-Wholesale/retail trade (n=28) Note: Sample sizes of the industry categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the industry question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by industry that answered this question using the provided response options. 16

29 The following difference is dependable 4 : HR professionals from government indicating that their organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (59%) as a factor providing a sense of job security to employees compared to insurance and telecommunications (10% and 4%, respectively) and health and wholesale/retail trade (44% and 50%, respectively) compared to telecommunications (4%). It appears that government, health and wholesale/retail trade HR respondents perceive employees as comforted by the fact that their organizations have not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months compared to the insurance and telecommunications industries which have been subjected to more layoffs. Table 9 depicts the factors that provide employees with a sense of job security by industry. The following differences are dependable 4 : Employees from educational services indicating being a unionized employee (under a collective bargaining agreement) (24%) as a factor providing them with a sense of job security compared to manufacturing (nondurable goods) and services (profit) (2% and 3%, respectively) and government (38%) compared to construction & mining/oil & gas, manufacturing (nondurable goods), services (profit) and wholesale/retail trade (7%, 2%, 3% and 3%, respectively) and transportation (24%) compared to services (profit) (3%); Employees from government indicating length of service (tenure or seniority) (73%) compared to construction & mining/oil & gas, health, Table 9 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs According to Employees by Industry The efforts you have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 17% 18% 27% 22% 15% 24% 8% 32% The importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 39% 45% 54% 51% 42% 45% 24% 48% The open lines of communication between employees and management 30% 20% 11% 22% 29% 36% 24% 23% You are a contracted employee 7% 22% 3% 11% 4% 8% 12% 0% You are a unionized employee (under a collective bargaining agreement) 7% 24% 38% 8% 2% 3% 24% 3% Your abilities and skills 70% 51% 76% 59% 63% 54% 48% 58% Your length of service (tenure or seniority) 39% 45% 73% 27% 33% 31% 28% 39% Your organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 24% 24% 41% 41% 31% 30% 24% 23% Your organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 30% 15% 30% 35% 19% 23% 20% 32% Your organization is in good financial standing 35% 15% 14% 27% 38% 33% 20% 48% 1-Construction & Mining/Oil & Gas (n=54) 2-Educational Services (n=55) 3-Government (n=37) 4-Health (n=37) 5-Manufacturing (nondurable goods) (n=48) 6-Services (profit) (n=80) 7-Transportation (n=25) 8-Wholesale/retail trade (n=31) Note: Sample sizes of the industry categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the industry question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by industry that answered this question using the provided response options. 17

30 manufacturing (nondurable goods), services (profit), and transportation (39%, 27%, 33%, 31% and 28%, respectively); and Employees from wholesale/retail trade indicating the organization is in good financial standing (48%) compared to educational services and government (15% and 14%, respectively). It appears that employees from educational services and government feel that being part of a union or under a collective bargaining agreement gives them a greater sense of job security compared to many other industries. Government employees also feel that their length of service (tenure and seniority) serves as a buffer and provides them with a greater sense of security. Their organizations enjoying good financial standing provides wholesale/retail trade employees with a sense of job security while those employees in education and government indicate otherwise. It is interesting to note that government employees feel secure based on their unionized status and tenure although they do not have much faith in the financial standing of government industries. Table 10 shows the factors that HR professionals believe lessen the sense of job security felt by employees in their organizations by industry. The following difference is dependable 4 : HR professionals from insurance and telecommunications indicating the organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months (75% and 70%, respectively) as a factor lessening the sense of job security felt by employees compared to government (19%). Table 10 What Lessens the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs According to HR Professionals by Industry The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 12% 9% 12% 29% 45% 15% 18% 17% 19% 26% 14% They feel that their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to your organization s overall success 9% 34% 23% 16% 30% 28% 23% 40% 32% 26% 21% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 27% 41% 27% 29% 45% 24% 32% 40% 42% 35% 36% They are not contracted employees 6% 0% 4% 13% 15% 8% 5% 13% 6% 4% 4% They are not unionized employees (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 9% 13% 6% 19% 15% 11% 2% 7% 11% 4% 7% Their abilities and skills 3% 6% 6% 6% 10% 8% 9% 0% 11% 4% 4% Their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 3% 19% 4% 13% 25% 15% 11% 17% 9% 13% 7% The organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 36% 19% 37% 58% 75% 51% 34% 30% 42% 70% 32% The organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 15% 0% 17% 39% 30% 18% 14% 3% 19% 17% 14% The organization is not in good financial standing 15% 28% 25% 29% 15% 21% 20% 30% 21% 17% 29% 1-Finance (n=33) 2-Government (n=32) 3-Health (n=52) 4-High Tech (n=31) 5-Insurance (n=20) 6-Manufacturing (durable goods) (n=80) 7-Manufacturing (nondurable goods) (n=44) 8-Services (nonprofit) (n=30) 9-Services (profit) (n=53) 10-Telecommunications (n=23) 11-Wholesale/retail trade (n=28) Note: Sample sizes of the industry categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the industry question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by industry that answered this question using the provided response options. 18

31 This result relates to Table 8 in that 59% of the government HR respondents indicated that their industry not experiencing layoffs in the past 12 months helped employees feel secure about their jobs. Table 11 depicts the factors that employee respondents believe lessen their current sense of job security. The following difference is dependable 4 : Employees from government indicating their organization is not in good financial standing (41%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to construction & mining/oil & gas and manufacturing (nondurable goods) (both at 6%). This result corresponds to government employee responses in Table 9 in that a smaller percentage of employees in this industry compared to others reported feeling that their jobs were secure due to the good financial standing of the government. Table 11 What Lessens the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs According to Employees by Industry The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 6% 5% 3% 8% 8% 9% 16% 10% The perceived lack of importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 6% 15% 16% 19% 8% 9% 12% 6% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 4% 15% 16% 14% 19% 11% 24% 16% You are not a contracted employee 9% 7% 5% 11% 25% 14% 8% 19% You are not a unionized employee (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 11% 11% 11% 16% 29% 15% 0% 16% Your abilities and skills 6% 2% 0% 3% 8% 5% 0% 6% Your length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 9% 5% 8% 19% 10% 11% 8% 6% Your organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 17% 9% 14% 8% 6% 11% 12% 13% Your organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 0% 2% 3% 5% 4% 6% 0% 6% Your organization is not in good financial standing 6% 15% 41% 16% 6% 15% 20% 16% 1-Construction & Mining/Oil & Gas (n=54) 2-Educational Services (n=55) 3-Government (n=37) 4-Health (n=37) 5-Manufacturing (nondurable goods) (n=48) 6-Services (profit) (n=80) 7-Transportation (n=25) 8-Wholesale/retail trade (n=31) Note: Sample sizes of the industry categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the industry question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by industry that answered this question using the provided response options. 19

32 Analysis by Employee Gender This section describes differences based on employee gender in relation to job security. Only results that showed dependable differences by gender based on appropriate statistical tests are included and discussed in this section. Table 12 depicts the factors that employee respondents believe lessen their sense of security in their current jobs by gender. The following difference is dependable 4 : Male employees indicating the lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at their organization (12%) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to female employees (7%). Table 12 What Lessens the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs by Employee Gender Male (n=432) Female (n=330) The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 12% 7% They feel that their jobs (or roles) are perceived as lacking in importance to your organization s overall success 11% 10% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 14% 15% They are not contracted employees 11% 15% They are not unionized employees (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 14% 18% Their abilities and skills 7% 6% Their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 12% 8% The organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 13% 11% The organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 5% 4% The organization is not in good financial standing 11% 14% Note: Sample sizes of the gender categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the gender question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by gender that answered this question using the provided response options. 20

33 Analysis by Employee Age How does age influence employee perceptions of their job security? For the purposes of this study, employee age was divided into three categories: 35 and under, 36-55, and 56 and above. Only results that showed dependable differences by age based on appropriate statistical tests are included and discussed in this section. Table 13 depicts the factors that provide employees with a sense of security in their jobs by age. The following differences are dependable 4 : Employees 35 and under indicating the importance of their jobs (or roles) to their organization s overall success (48%) as a factor providing them with a sense of job security compared to employees 56 and above (32%); and Employees and 56 and above indicating their length of service (tenure or seniority) (36% and 41%, respectively) as a factor providing them Table 13 What Gives Employees a Sense of Security in Current Jobs by Employee Age 35 and Under 36 to and Above (n=172) (n=417) (n=155) The efforts you have observed by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 17% 21% 19% The importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 48% 41% 32% The open lines of communication between employees and management 26% 21% 25% You are a contracted employee 7% 8% 5% You are a unionized employee (under a collective bargaining agreement) 9% 14% 8% Your abilities and skills 59% 57% 58% Your length of service (tenure or seniority) 25% 36% 41% Your organization has not experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 29% 28% 32% Your organization has not recently been (and does not plan to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 22% 23% 20% Your organization is in good financial standing 31% 29% 26% Note: Sample sizes of the age categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the age question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by age that answered this question using the provided response options. 21

34 with a sense of job security compared to younger employees 35 and under (25%). Employees 35 and under believe that the importance of their jobs (or roles) keeps their jobs more secure than those employees 56 and above. This is interesting in that older employees generally have more years of combined experience, yet they do not feel that their roles in the organization makes their jobs as secure. It may be that employees 56 and above do not feel that their contribution to the organization s success is perceived as being valuable enough to keep their jobs intact. However, employees Table 14 What Lessons the Sense of Security Employees Have in Current Jobs by Employee Age 35 and Under 36 to and Above (n=172) (n=417) (n=155) The lack of observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs at your organization 10% 10% 8% The perceived lack of importance of your job (or role) to your organization s overall success 8% 11% 14% Closed lines of communication between employees and management 16% 14% 12% You are not a contracted employee 15% 11% 12% You are not a unionized employee (not under a collective bargaining agreement) 16% 15% 17% Your abilities and skills 6% 7% 6% Your length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) 16% 11% 4% Your organization has experienced layoffs in the past 12 months 13% 12% 11% Your organization has recently been (or plans to be) involved in a merger and/or acquisition 6% 4% 5% Your organization is not in good financial standing 12% 14% 7% Note: Sample sizes of the age categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the age question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by age that answered this question using the provided response options. Table 15 Overall Employee Job Satisfaction by Employee Age Number of Standard Somewhat Neither Satisfied Somewhat Very Respondents Mean Deviation Very Satisfied Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied 35 and under % 38% 14% 8% 2% 36 to % 35% 10% 7% 4% 56 and above % 30% 7% 5% 2% Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Note: Sample sizes of the age categories are based on the actual number of respondents answering the age question; however, the percentages shown are based on the actual number of respondents by age that answered this question using the provided response options. Note: Mean scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing Very Satisfied and 5 representing Very Dissatisfied. 22

35 56 and above, along with those 36-55, believe that their length of service (tenure or seniority) provides them with a buffer zone compared to the youngest group of employees (35 and under). It may be that the youngest group has not put as many years into the organization due to their age and perhaps due to a generational perspective that lends itself to change jobs more frequently than the other age groups. Table 14 depicts the factors that employee respondents believe lessen their sense of security in their current jobs by age. The following difference is dependable 4 : Employees 35 and under and indicating their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) (16% and 11%, respectively) as a factor lessening their sense of job security compared to those employees 56 and above (4%). Although, regardless of age, the percentage of employees indicating that their length of service (lack of tenure or seniority) lessens their sense of job security is quite low overall, it is clear that employees 56 and above do not feel that this is an important factor decreasing their job security. Table 15 depicts employee job satisfaction in terms of employee age. It appears that age does matter when looked at in terms of current employee job satisfaction. Employees 56 and above are most satisfied (86%) ( very satisfied and somewhat satisfied ) with their jobs compared to employees 35 and under (76%) and (78%). Correspondingly, only 7% of the 56 and above employees indicated dissatisfaction with their jobs ( somewhat dissatisfied and very dissatisfied ) while 10% of employees 35 and under and 11% of employees stated so. A mean score of 1.66 was obtained for employees 56 and above and 1.98 and 1.95 for those 35 and under and 36-55, respectively. The differences in these means show that employees 56 and above are more satisfied with their jobs than younger employees. 1 23

36 Conclusions The first survey in the Job Satisfaction Series showed that job security was the factor most important to employees. The results from the Job Security Survey show that employees appear to be satisfied with their job security and much of that satisfaction may be derived from their own personal attributes their skills and abilities, how they contribute to the organization s overall success, and the number of years they have worked at that organization. It is interesting that employees, more than HR professionals predicted, felt satisfied with their job security, confident that their jobs will remain secure over the next year, and satisfied with their current jobs. Three-quarters (75%) of employees indicated satisfaction with their job security and 80% stated that they were satisfied with the jobs overall. About one-half of these respondents indicated they were very satisfied with both measures job security and job satisfaction. These results are more optimistic than what HR professionals perceived about employees in their organizations. It may be that employees believe in themselves more than HR professionals realize. The top reasons employees gave for feeling secure in their jobs are largely within the employees own personal locus of control. This may or may not be accurate considering that job security is often impacted by external factors such as the financial standing of the company, mergers and acquisitions, and organizational restructuring. HR professionals, on the other hand, believe that although employees put stock in the importance of their job to the organization s success when assessing their job security, that open lines of communication and observed efforts by management to avoid layoffs also contribute to employees sense of security. While the efforts on behalf of the organization to communicate effectively and salvage employee jobs surely impact employee perceptions of job security, it may be that ultimately employees focus first on their own standing and importance to the organization. What implications do these results have for HR professionals? It may be that employees are more resilient than HR professionals believe and the resiliency comes from the employees themselves. This may have indications in the ways that HR professionals can help employees feel more secure and satisfied with their jobs. Although tough economic times dictate limited ways to reach out to employees through promotions, salary increases, perks, bonuses, etc., it may be that providing continuous opportunities for employees to grow and learn encourages job satisfaction and positive feelings about their job security. This could take the form of in-house training and workshops, educational assistance programs, mentoring and career succession planning. Analysis by employee age produced interesting results indicating that older employees (36 and above) feel that their length of service contributes to their feelings of job security while those 35 and under rely upon the importance of their role to the organization s success to provide that security. 24

37 Younger employees could be made to feel more secure by providing opportunities to advance their skills thereby increasing their perceived importance to the organization. Older employees may look for a sense of security in their jobs by searching for signs that their role in the organization is valued. HR professionals might support these employees by encouraging management to recognize their contributions and the worth of their cumulative experiences to the organization. Clearly, employees are satisfied with the level of job security that they currently enjoy. They also appear confident that their jobs will remain secure over the next year and indicate high levels of job satisfaction. External environmental conditions at the present time such as a lack of alternative job opportunities may have a significant impact in why employees report high job satisfaction. Employees no doubt value the security of their existing job opportunity, bearing in mind that it may take awhile to find the next opportunity. Employees may also prefer not to make a change right now and become the new employee with no tenure, i.e., the employee with the least seniority in the organization in the event a layoff becomes inevitable. As the old adage goes, the known is better than the unknown, particularly in uncertain economic times. 1 This difference is statistically significant based on the appropriate statistical test for comparing sample means (p 0.05). 2 This difference is not statistically significant based on the appropriate statistical test for comparing sample means (p 0.05). 3 This difference is statistically significant based on the appropriate statistical test for measuring correlations (p 0.05). 4 These differences are statistically significant based on the appropriate statistical test for comparing sample proportions (p 0.05). 25

38 Demographics Demographics of Responding HR Professionals Table 16 Industry Table 17 Organization Size (Number of Respondents=603) Other 19% Manufacturing (durable goods) 13% Health 9% Services (profit) 9% Manufacturing (nondurable goods) 7% Finance 5% Government 5% High tech 5% Services (nonprofit) 5% Wholesale/retail trade 5% Telecommunications 4% Construction & mining/oil & gas 3% Educational services 3% Insurance 3% Transportation 2% Utilities 2% Newspaper publishing/broadcasting 1% (Number of Respondents=607) Small (0-99) 18% Medium ( ) 26% Large (500 and over) 56% 26

39 Demographics of Responding Employees Table 18 Industry Table 19 Organization Size (Number of Respondents=496) Services (profit) 16% Other 12% Construction & mining/oil & gas 11% Educational services 11% Manufacturing (nondurable goods) 10% Government 7% Health 7% Wholesale/retail trade 6% Transportation 5% Insurance 3% Finance 2% High tech 2% Services (nonprofit) 2% Telecommunications 2% Manufacturing (durable goods) 1% Newspaper publishing/broadcasting 1% Utilities 1% (Number of Respondents=762) Small (0-99) 42% Medium ( ) 16% Large (500 and over) 42% Table 20 Gender (Number of Respondents=762) Male 57% Female 43% Table 21 Age (Number of Respondents=744) 35 and under 25% 36 to 55 55% 56 and above 20% 27

40 SHRM Survey Reports Downloadable Surveys Available to the public: Job Opportunities Poll (39 pages, April _ pdf Job Satisfaction Poll (74 pages, December 2002) _ asp#P-6_0 HR Implications of the Attack on America (23 pages, September 2002) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Corporate Credibility and Employee Communications Survey (14 pages, August 2002) /hrresources/surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Job Opportunities Poll (30 pages, August 2002) _ asp#P-6_0 Workplace Romance Survey (24 pages, February 2002) _ asp#P-6_0 School-to-Work Programs Survey (16 pages, January 2002) _ asp#P-6_0 HR Implications of the Attack on America: Executive Summary of Results of a Survey of HR Professionals (13 pages, October 2002) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Negotiating Rewards Poll (14 pages, October 2001) _ asp#P-6_0 Search Tactics Poll (8 pages, April 2001) /hrresources/surveys_published/cms _ asp#P-6_0 Available to members only: March 2003 Current Events Survey (Members Only, 28 pages, May 2003) _published/cms_ pdf 2003 FMLA Poll (Members Only, 20 pages, April 2003) _ pdf 2003 Business Ethics Survey (Members Only, 48 pages, April 2003) _published/cms_ pdf Employer Incentives for Hiring Individuals With Disabilities (Members Only, 66 pages, April 2003) Fun Work Environment Survey (Members Only, 56 pages, November 2002) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 28

41 Aligning HR With Organizational Strategy (Members Only, 53 pages, November2002) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Recruiter Cost/Budget Survey (Members Only, 30 pages, October 2002) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_ SHRM/Fortune Survey on the Changing Face of Diversity (Members Only, 16 pages, October2002) /hrresources/surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Workplace Demographic Trends Survey (Members Only, 37 pages, June 2002)- /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Global Leadership Survey (Members Only, 36 pages, June 2002) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 SHRM 2002 Benefits Survey Results (Members Only, 57 pages, April 2002) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 A Study of Effective Workforce Management (Members Only, 36 pages, February 2002) /results/default.asp?page=umdstudy02.asp Human Resource Strategies, Stages of Development and Organization Size Survey (Members Only, 46 pages, January 2002) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Job Security and Layoffs Survey (Members Only, 76 pages, December 2001) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 World Events Survey Impact on Global Mobility (Members Only, 4 pages, November 2001) /hrresources/surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Religion in the Workplace (Members Only, 58 pages, June 2001) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Employee Referral Programs (Members Only, 40 pages, June 2001) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Impact of Diversity Initiatives on the Bottom Line (Members Only, 41 pages, June 2001) /hrresources/surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_ Benefits Survey (Members Only, 59 pages, April 2001) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_ FMLA Survey (Members Only, 51 pages, January 2001) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Workplace Privacy Survey (Members Only, 51 pages, December 2000) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Performance Management Survey (Members Only, 43 pages, December 2000) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 Impact of Diversity Initiatives Poll (Members Only, 5 pages, October 2000) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_ Retention Survey (Members Only, 40 pages, June 2000) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 SHRM Cover Letters and Resume Survey (Members Only, 39 pages, May 2000) /surveys_published/cms_ asp#p-6_ Benefits Survey (Members Only, 52 pages, April 2000) _published/cms_ asp#p-6_0 29

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