I come across a ton of articles about workplace dynamics and how the current rate of unhappiness at work hovers around 70%!
70% – wow! This means that almost 3 out of 4 workers spend a huge portion of their waking hours, dissatisfied. Put another way, if you happen to be in the 30%, you’re surrounded by unhappy colleagues. If you’re in the 70%, it’s a miserable place to be.
What is the source of such massive discontent at work?
According to Inc. magazine, (Dec 2017) there are 10 Science-Backed Reasons You’re Unhappy at Work
- Your boss. One huge reason for unhappiness at work is your boss. …
- Your co-workers. We are surrounded by others in our office all day long. …
- The type of work you are doing. Many do not enjoy the type of work they are doing.
- Your attitude. …
- The commute. …
- Stagnant growth. …
- Lack of appreciation. …
- Overworking.
- Jealousy of your friends.
- What your company stands for.
As agile practitioners, measurement specialists and IT people (my readers) – I wonder if there is isn’t also a Culture Clash – constantly having to answer questions and explain why we do what we do (5W’s and How about technology) – that contributes to discontent.
I believe that (in most companies), we have a minimum of three distinct cultures at work – (each with its own language, set of goals, and behavioral norms):
- Business
- IT (and technology pros)
- Marketing
- Finance
- etc.
Geert Hofstede (Software of the Mind, circa 1980’s) developed a model of Cultural Dimensions that delineated National (country specific) Culture in 5 dimensions:
I believe a similar construct could be made to delineate the differences between Workplace Cultures. We walk around all day speaking the same physical language (English in the US) – yet our work languages are vastly different.
Similar to how countries (and states within many countries) are unique, workplace cultures present unique cultural challenges/opportunities.
What do you think? Is it research worth pursuing?
I’d love to hear your comments… Carol