How Work Really Gets Done

According to the announcement of the survey results:

The telephone survey of 510 American workers at firms employing 1,000 or more employees shows that to solve problems and find on-the-job satisfaction, U.S. employees don't turn to the company - they turn to each other. The findings also indicate that Americans who work for larger companies are generally satisfied with and fulfilled by their jobs - largely because of the informal dimensions of their work and interactions.

Here are the numbers:

-- Most people - 65% - who work at big companies say "employees rely on themselves and co-workers to provide solutions and solve problems." (Only 30% say they rely on managers for solutions and problem solving.)

-- Nearly two out of five big-company employees (37%) say they sometimes "ignore company rules because they've developed better ways of getting work done."

-- Nearly all big-company employees (90%) say they have someone at work to turn to when they need to get something done - and that they turn to that person because they respect their knowledge and experience. Interestingly, that person is more likely to be a co-worker (52%) than a boss (45%). (41% say it's a co-worker in their department, while 11% say it's a co-worker in another department.)

-- Most employees (57%) believe that the best ideas for making the company more successful come from "all levels" of employees. Only 8% believe the best ideas come mainly from the CEO or president, and only 7% believe they come mainly from senior managers. However, one in 10 employees believes the best ideas come mainly from middle managers, and 15% believe they come mainly from lower-level supervisors and lower-level employees.

Posted by Allan Alter on July 31, 2007 11:11 AM