The Frustrated Employee – Does This Sound Like You?

You are highly engaged and committed to organizational objectives. But you feel held back, like your company’s ecosystem is somehow working against you. You also wonder if your job fit and opportunities for growth are appropriately matched to your high level of personal and professional motivation.

According to a new study released by Hay Group’s Insight Research arm, this type of employee – “the frustrated employee” – represents 20% or more of the total workforce. They even captured the voice of this frustrated employee through a quote from a survey respondent:

“I need support, and my manager and his boss are not doing their best to provide it. I am inundated with work, and I end up staying here late each night. I root for the company and I think we are one of the good guys in the industry. I like my job despite this situation and I think things will change for the better eventually. But waiting for that time to come is very challenging. I’m almost ready to throw in the towel.” Hay Group Insight Employee Survey Respondent

Hay added that the finger often needs to be pointed right at the organization for their lack of support for these highly engaged but increasingly demotivated employees. They added that this is symptomatic of broader issues, including the fact that 40% of employees surveyed felt that “the amount of work expected of them is unreasonable and that stress levels in their jobs are a real problem”.

This issue may best be summed up with a quote from Thomas Britt’s 2003 Harvard Business Review Article, entitled “Black Hawk Down at Work”. In his piece, Britt explored frustration among one of the US Army’s most elite units, the Rangers.

“For these high performers, factors they can’t control—role ambiguity, inadequate resources, and overwork itself—can hinder their best work and drive them to seek jobs elsewhere. The ones who stay behind may well be the ones who just don’t care.”

Let’s keep the conversation going.