How do you beat on-the-job stress?
Job satisfaction is high for logistics professionals, according to the results of this year’s salary survey, That’s despite a 5-percent drop in average salary since the previous year. But there are a few areas of the job that could be improved, according to those who responded to our survey. A big one: work-life balance.
Asked what company management could do to increase their job satisfaction—barring a salary increase—survey respondents offered comments such as:
- “Hire enough people so we all don't work 50-60 hours a week.”
- “Draw the line for acceptable hours and offer comp time for beyond those hours.”
- “Flex time.”
- “Allow us to get help where it is needed to properly get projects finished on time, or at all,” and, more bluntly:
- “Reduce stress and allow some work-life balance.”
One respondent said management should “[p]rogress into the real world and stop being so ‘old school’ in their culture and approach.”
More vacation time or time off during holidays were also frequent requests. And there were calls for better processes and technology: “Provide the departments the tools to complete the job efficiently,” said one; another survey-taker wished for a “fully configured SAP to avoid repetitive tasks.” Those types of changes have the potential to make for a more manageable workload.
One respondent summed up the general sentiment particularly well:
I have found that providing a quality-of-life aspect has been key to myself and my staff. People do not want to work 60-80 hours per week and in most businesses I have worked that is the norm.
On the plus side, the logistics sector is adding jobs much faster than is the general economy; hiring is expected to increase by 22 percent over the next 10 years. We can hope that the need to attract talent will encourage employers to create more employee-friendly work environments. But in the meantime, logistics professionals will have to figure out for themselves how to juggle work and home life and avoid getting burnt out.
Have you found ways to reduce stress on the job, or to keep the job from taking over your life? If so, please share them in the comments section below.