10 Signs Showing Job Dissatisfaction in the Workplace

In the current scenario, job dissatisfaction is one of the biggest reasons for attrition. It is because employment is one of the most significant phases of life. The idea of a job hooks almost everyone. It can be either in preparation for one or working in one.

Since work is so significant in life, employees always have certain expectations from it. When these expectations go untouched, it causes job dissatisfaction, which leads to employee attrition.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem in the market today. To add evidence to this claim, a study published by Economic Times show that 8 out of 10 employees are dissatisfied with their job. Furthermore, a survey by Gallup goes on to explain that only 15% of the employees worldwide are engaged in what they do.

It is evident that job dissatisfaction is a problem faced by many companies today, and your employees can be as vulnerable as any.

Job dissatisfaction has many adverse effects in the workplace. It is for this reason why you must stop it before it spreads. To do this, you must look into the specific behavior of employees. To better illustrate it, here are ten signs showing job dissatisfaction in the workplace.

10 Signs of Job Dissatisfaction in the Workplace

1. Lack of Interest

Lack of Interest in one’s work is the first sign of dissatisfaction at the workplace. When employees engage in other activities in the workplace like texting with friends, it shows disinterest in work. This situation only gets worst with time and is an early sign of dissatisfaction in an office.

2. Postponing Work

Constant postponing of work by employees is yet another issue contributing to reverse job satisfaction. Postponing means dislike towards one’s work, and with procrastination, work only keeps on pilling up. This work later becomes unmanageable, which reduces the employee morale to work on it furthermore.

3. Easily Distracted Employees

Being easily distracted at work is never a good mark. It not only declines productivity but also shows boredom at work. You won't encounter employees being easily distracted from the things they love doing. If common everyday occurrences distract your employee easily, it shows disengagement at work.

A study published in Lifehack state that talkative co-workers (cited by 80% of respondents) and office noises (cited by 70% of respondents) are two of the biggest distractions in the workplace.

4. Irregular Arrival and Departure from Office

Coming to the office late and leaving early is a sign of escaping from work. This is because it is human nature to avoid things we don’t like. If this is a constant behavior at your workplace, it shows one’s disregard towards work. With time, this disregard for work only transforms for the worst and harms one’s career growth.

5. Declining Productivity

Constant declining productivity is the first sign of noticing something’s off. Though it may not be drastic at all times, sometimes it may be because of job dissatisfaction.

Utter and constant declining productivity shows an employee’s lack of initiative to mend a situation. This indifference means the employee performing poorly is not interested in the work.

6. Time off during office hours for personal work

Continuously taking time off from office hours for personal work is another sign of annoyance for employees from work. While sometimes it is unavoidable for employees but a frequenting appearance of this is alarming.

A study published in CNBC showed that workers admitted to having spent 2.9 hours every day on non-work related aspects in an employee poll.

7. Easily Irritable

Sometimes, it so happens that an employee of yours may be going through a bad day, which makes him/her get irritated quickly. But, if this is a regular occurrence, it denotes low content with work.

Most of the time, a lack of profound gratitude with work has employees feeling irritated in the workplace. An alarming report published in All Work shows that 44% of the studied employees are more annoyed at work than in other places.

If you have easily irritable employees, the chances are that you have job dissatisfaction at work. Constant irritation is a sign of being sick of something which is never good.

8. Frequent Leaves

Taking frequent leaves from work life is another sign of unhappy employees in the workplace. Numerous leaves are the sign of a disengaged employee. It shows a person’s lack of commitment to the work, which is an outcome of a lack of interest in the job.

A study by the U.S Department of Labor published in SHRM estimated that almost 3% of a company’s workforce remains absent every day. Employers must take every step in keeping employee absenteeism in check.

9. Frequent Signs of Stress, Negativity, and Unhappiness

For most parts of the day, your employees spend more time with each other than almost anyone else. This generally brings a sense of belonging and friendliness, which makes employees typically happy. But, this may not be the case always.

Signs in employees showing regular negativity, stress, and unhappiness at work, shows dissatisfaction with the working environment.

10. Lack of best efforts in work

Last but not least, the employees that fall in the category of “That will do.” Work needs to be a source of fulfillment. When you see employees unwilling to put their best foot forward, it means something is amiss. This “something” is the zeal to make a difference, perform best to one’s ability, and love one’s work.

Forgetting this drive means diminishing love for one’s work, ultimately leading to dissatisfied employees.

These are some of the signs that employees emit out of job dissatisfaction. In times like these, you as employers must take corrective action to mend the situation. Ignoring these signs will only add to declining employee retention and show poor management skills.

Conclusion

As employers, it is understandable that you won’t get things right all the time. But, what matters here is the acceptance of a problem and initiative to mend it. Job dissatisfaction is one of the arch-enemies of productivity.

It reduces employee engagement, absenteeism, employee morale, employee motivation, and productivity. So, you must do everything to ensure that your workforce has 100% employee satisfaction.

This article is written by Jyoti Prakash Barman. He is an in-house Content Marketer at Vantage Circle with interests in music and automobiles. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com