The greatest satisfaction forworkers: the relational and social aspects of their job. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Workers might be generally satisfied with their job, but manyare disappointed at their employer's lackluster approach toprofessional development, according to asurvey of 1,500 workers by The Conference Boardahead of Labor Day.

Just over half (51 percent) of workers feel satisfied overall with their job. However, whenasked about 23 separate components that contribute to jobsatisfaction, respondents gave the lowest marks to workload; educational/job training programs;performance review process; bonus plan; and, inlast place, promotion policy.

Related: Top stressor for American workers? Theirjob.

“To attract and retain the most productive employees in today'slabor market, companies must make a bigger commitment to addressingthe factors within their control,” says Rebecca L. Ray, TheConference Board's executive vice president and a report author.“As workers continue to voluntarily leave their jobs at a recordrate, the need to prioritize components relating to theirprofessional development could not come at a more pressingtime.”

(PRNewsfoto/The ConferenceBoard)

Additional findings from the survey include:

– Job satisfaction is improving faster for lower-incomehouseholds. The tightening labor market has become more visible inblue-collar and low-paid services occupations than in white-collaroccupations. As a result, labor market conditions for these workershave improved, and so has their job satisfaction.

– Overall job satisfaction increased for the seventh year in arow. During this period wages and job security saw the largestimprovements. Satisfaction has increased each year following theGreat Recession.

– The greatest satisfaction for workers: the relational andsocial aspects of their job. Among the 23 survey components,participants gave the highest marks to people at work, followed bycommute to work; interest in work; supervisor; and physicalenvironment.

– Minnesota displaced Texas, the prior frontrunner, as the statewith the highest job satisfaction (58 percent). Potentialexplanations come from the state's strong job market, which is muchtighter than the national job market.

Through 2018 and 2019, the labor market will continue tightening, which will benefitemployees and challenge employers, according to The ConferenceBoard. With many workers having more job options than they have hadin some time, both this year and next year, companies will likelyhave to try harder to satisfy their workers for retention andproductivity. As a result, job satisfaction for employees willlikely continue increasing.

“In 2019, we forecast unemployment to dip close to 3.5 percent,a low rate not seen since the 1960s,” says Gad Levanon, TheConference Board's chief economist for North America, and a reportauthor. “As a result, we can expect employers to continue reducingeducational requirements in the hiring process, leading to fewerworkers feeling overqualified in their jobs, which further raisestheir job satisfaction.”