Understanding Job Satisfaction Results
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It is interesting to break the data down further to examine how these specific variables influence the results of different groups of the work force. Employed vs. Unemployed, Male vs. Female, Management vs. Non-Management and Canadian Born vs. Non-Canadian Born are four key segments of interest. The follow categories are compared under what were identified as the two key questions, 6 and 12. Employed vs. Unemployed On the question of why they left their last job, a major difference between employed job seekers and unemployed job seekers was that 33.9% of employed workers had been laid off or terminated from their previous job while 68.9% of unemployed workers had been laid off or terminated. This data is consistent with the fact that nearly half the respondents are passive job seekers and that over a third of all surveyed noted that they were looking for work actively when still employed with their previous company. This leads to the conclusion that many workers who voluntarily leave a company either have a job lined up or are not going to be in the market for another job right away. Based on these survey results it is fair to say that over two thirds of unemployment is involuntary. Those that are currently employed were more likely to select low advancement opportunities as their reason for leaving their last job. Of these employed individuals, 24.1% stated this as their main reason for leaving while only 12.8% of unemployed job seekers took this position. However, if you eliminate the amount of laid off or terminated workers from the data, people currently unemployed actually would have stated this more than their employed counterparts with 41.2% compared to 36.4%. Overall, the largest statistic of why people left their previous job is still finding a job elsewhere, which continues to illustrate that a lack of advancement opportunities will convince an employee to look beyond the company they currently work in. Based on the question of what job seekers value most in a job, there were a few major differences. Of currently employed individuals, 28.6% desired increased pay and better rewards compared to 20.6% of unemployed job seekers. As well, 27.1% of unemployed job seekers selected more adequate managers as their primary concern while only 18.5% of employed workers chose this choice. This is logical as people currently unemployed are less concerned with more money as they are of finding work, and people in this position of unemployment may tend to hold grudges towards previous managers and supervisors, blaming them for their loss of employment Male vs. Female There is also a notable difference in the reason why people left their last job when comparing the males and females who answered the survey questions. Of males responding, 54.7% were laid off or terminated compared to only 43.0% of females. Females were also more than twice as likely to list low pay as a reason for leaving. This is a sensible conclusion as 58.9% of males had salaries over $40,000 per year while only 43.4% of females were in this salary range. Also, only 24.4% of females were in management positions compared to 41.0% of males. This result is not surprising as even though females matched up in terms of tenure on the job and Canadian work experience, the averages in Canada show that females are usually paid much lower than males. In 2001 the average female made $24,688 compared to $38,431 for males [4]. Interestingly enough, despite these strong differences in pay females still answered that they felt they were treated equitably within their company. This shows that there is still a gender divide in the workplace and that the disadvantaged parties do not always realize it. When asked what they value most, females tended to answer in a very similar manner to the males. The only notable difference was that 40.8% of males were looking for advancement opportunities compared to only 31.8% of females. This shows that men place a higher priority on obtaining more power and responsibility. This does not mean that it is not of interest to women in the workforce, but rather that it does not appear to be their primary objective Management vs. Non-Management Some logical conclusions were drawn from the comparison of people who hold, or previously held, management positions compared to those who do not. Managers made more money and had been in their jobs longer than those who were not in management positions. Interestingly, more managers on the website were unemployed at 55.9% than were non managers, of which 47.1% were unemployed. This statistic is logical as it seems likely that a manager would be less likely to be looking for work if they were currently employed as they would have a higher level of loyalty to a company that has promoted them.  When asked why they left their previous jobs, overall the managers and non-managers had very similar results. The one major difference was that 28.0% of current managers said that they found a better job elsewhere compared to 19.8% of the non-managers. This makes sense as many people in a non-management job would be enticed to leave a company for a management position elsewhere.
When asked what they value most in a job, an ironic statistic surfaced. Managers stated that more adequate managers was the most important aspect 27.4% of the time compared to 20.2% of the time for non-managers. Other factors listed were fairly similar but this one point illustrates that managers may tend to be critical of their subordinates but they are equally critical of those working above them. Canadian Born vs. Non-Canadian Born Canadian born job seekers listed higher salary ranges than non-Canadian born job seekers, however the differences were marginal. As well, the employed rates and management positions yielded very similar responses from both sides. One major difference was that only 19.5% of the non-Canadian born respondents who took part in the survey were female compared to 34.7% on the Canadian born side. This illustrates a common trend that sees many immigrant fathers looking for work in North America so they can bring their families over to start a new life. The majority of inquires that come into jobsites are from males in countries like Pakistan and India who are looking to work in Canada for these very reasons. Major differences existed when job seekers were asked about what they value most in a job. Non-Canadian born individuals responded with 51.0% stating that advancement opportunities were the most important aspect, while only 27.7% of Canadian born respondents listed this. The most popular Canadian born answer was more adequate managers with 28.3%, while only 15.8% of non-Canadians listed this. Canadian-born individuals also stated more flexible schedule at 12.7% compared to 5.7% of non Canadians. These results appear to indicate that immigrants to Canada are more likely to be career driven and more loyal employees. Immigrants would most likely be less inclined to complain about their bosses and be more flexible to meet the businesses needs when assigning work hours. |