Vast Majority of Top Marketing Professionals Feel Underpaid

“As the job market recovers, recruiting, retaining, and developing a high-performing team of people can be a challenge,” said Marcia Pellicone, founder and president of Marketing Resources Solutions. “Understanding why employees are dissatisfied and what they are seeking in the workplace can help companies retain and attract highly skilled marketers.”

When you’re in touch with the high unemployment in the country, you can begin to have a skewed sense of the vibe in the workplace.  You can begin to picture a fleet of grateful, gracious workforce.  The mental reality of American workers, however, is far from satisfied.  According to Marketing Resources, unhappiness in the workplace is thriving.

When Pellicone speaks about dissatisfaction in the American workplace, she is responding to the evidence in a recent survey of high-level marketing professionals in which it was found that nearly two-thirds of these workers are unhappy in their current position.  As a recruiter, is it your impulse to play matchmaker for all these miserable people and find them more satisfying positions?

Marketing Resources found that half of the employees surveyed identified salary as being a top reason for unhappiness.  Forty-six percent of workers identified the lack of career growth as a critical downside of their work.  Nearly a third identified the difficult work environment as a key source of discontent.

Although low salary was the number one reason employees were unhappy, Marketing Resources discovered that happiness can be attained by more than a salary increase. The top three wants/needs of today’s professional marketers included, career advancement opportunities/a strong career path (55%), compensation package (healthcare insurance, bonus plan, etc.) (51%), and the ability to achieve a work-life balance (50%).

“As the business climate continues to improve, top talent will have opportunities to seek out different career opportunities that meet their wants and needs,” said Pellicone. “Companies who have an understanding of what their employees need and start taking action on providing those needs will have an easier time holding on to their top performers and avoiding future retention issues down the road.”