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Survey looks at worker concerns

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A recent survey looks into how the country’s workers feels about the future of their careers.

The survey shows that the majority of workers are confident in their ability to do their job right now. However, nearly half of those surveyed said they are concerned for the future, with just six in ten saying their employer is helping them prepare for the future.

And half of the those surveyed feel they aren’t getting adequate opportunities to move up internally within their work.

Dr. David Ballard is the director of the American Psychological Association Center for Organizational Excellence.

“Some people fear that people are going to be displaced, especially with automation, but what others have found is if you’re able to identify the needs and the work that needs to be done moving ahead you can actually retool people and move them into work that’s actually more interesting more meaningful.”

Ballard said both men and women feel they have the technical skills and motivation to do their best work, yet women say they aren’t getting the same opportunities to grow and move up as men are.

“To be successful in the future to be able to deal with whatever gets thrown at us moving forward, you have to have a workforce who can be responsive to those changes, who can identify needs, and who can do the new work that emerges not just do things the way we always have.”

The survey was conducted in early September, and over a thousand people participated.

For a link to the survey, click here.