Australian employees have lost their passion for the job as well as their belief in themselves and their leaders, a new survey has found.
The 2010 Global Mindset Index, released by global consultancy rogenSi, has found a dramatic erosion of motivation and a loss of mental toughness in the workplace since last year. It found that workforce passion for the job, the largest indicator of self-belief, dropped 18 percent on the previous year.
These results ring alarm bells for organisations, according to rogenSi Director and psychologist Dr Clark Perry.
“Uncertainty and nervousness across the global marketplace are now being internalised and have dramatically affected employees,” said Dr Perry.
“Following the GFC, some organisations have been operating at a frenetic pace and have become blinkered and so focused on trying to achieve outcomes or indeed just survive. The result has been much more demand on employees’ times with little or no reward or recognition for the effort,” added Dr Perry.
The survey also found that Generation Y has been most adversely affected by the GFC, recording an almost 25 percent drop in passion for the job. Young women aged 25-34 years old are also suffering, recording a 23 percent drop in passion for the job as well as a fall in self-belief and mental strength.
Leaders must take action now to avoid mass resignations or poor performance on the job, says Dr Perry.
“For females and Generation Y workers, it would appear that leaders are not doing enough to communicate the organisation’s commitment to them. In addition, they are failing to provide adequate feedback on performance and are neglecting to outline their professional progress within the organisation,” said Dr Perry.
“Disaffected team members will limit Exceptional Performance. It will also become much tougher to retain skilled and capable staff who have years of service and potential ahead of them.”
