Dear SafetyXChange Members,

The past two Fridays of SafetyXChange have featured a fascinating discussion about motivation. I can'?t help but admire safety professionals for their obvious passion and heartfelt commitment to saving lives and preventing injuries. I just hope the people you work so hard to protect understand and appreciate what you do for them.

But I'm here to offer a different perspective. Those of you who feel safety in your bones should count your blessings and never take your passion for granted. Perhaps the best thing I can do to help you appreciate what you got is to remind you about your colleagues who don't feel the way you do.

Satisfaction and Safety Careers: The Story of JS

A few weeks ago, I received a very thoughtful note from JS, the safety and training director for a manufacturing company. JS has been with the company for 18 years. His initial job was to stock drywall. He was promoted to safety director in 2003. Sounds like a formula for success and happiness. But listen to what JS has to say:

"I do not have the passion I once had as an Operations Manager/Sales rep. I love the fact I am trying to save people from injuries but often fall back on the idea I am not my brother's keeper. With management putting up walls to climb, I often feel my time is wasted. I understand all safety managers fight this, but I feel my passion is not there."

"I have been for some time wishing to leave this company and find a totally new career that would better meet my personality and passions. I am torn by the fact that I no longer want to work for someone else and instead would like to start my own business but do not exactly know what to start. I am 40 and time keeps clicking away. This company is all I know. I feel I am stuck to the good income and not doing what I am driven or created for."

Why Do People Leave "Good Jobs?"

JS seems to have everything a safety professional would want. A good job, a robust paycheck, a loyal company and the chance to prevent injuries. But JS?s story shows that not all safety professionals want the same thing. Like managers in other fields, there are people like JS willing to leave a "good job" and do something else, even if it means stepping out of the financial comfort zone.

Why do JS and others do this? It's not necessarily about the money. In ExecuNet's market intelligence, compensation appears last on the list of reasons why managers plan to leave their current job this year; it's ranked third among the important factors for accepting a new position. But while salary was cited as one of the chief reasons for rejecting an offer, it trailed behind "level of opportunity/challenge and personal growth potential."

Conclusion

The point is that we are all different. An individual's professional values - the impetus that motivates the individual - are as distinct as his or her fingerprints. Two managers in the same roles will derive satisfaction from different sources. Next week, in Part 2 of this series, we?ll discuss the implications of this on how you manage people.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
www.execunet.com

SATISFACTION BY THE NUMBERS

Why Managers Leave Old Jobs & Take New Ones

By Lauryn Franzoni

Reasons for Leaving Current Job in Next Six Months

Personal - 30%
Limited advancement opportunities; lack of challenge/personal growth

External - 26%
Company/industry prospects not favorable; job security

Atmosphere - 22%
Differences with culture; boss is not a good match

Lifestyle - 11%
Work/life balance; volume of business travel; commute

Compensation - 11%

Source: ExecuNet 2006

WORKING TRENDS

The American Manufacturing Worker

By Glenn Demby

In 1979, one in five U.S. employees worked in manufacturing. Today, just over one in 10 do. That represents a loss of 5 million jobs in less than three decades. The good news is that the survivors are more skilled and productive. An American worker, in other words, needs to possess a high level of skills to get and keep a manufacturing job. Some other interesting factoids:

Regions that Lost the Most Manufacturing Jobs Since 1980: New England, Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic (almost 2 million jobs lost).

Regions with the Highest Percentage of Skilled Manufacturing Workers: New England, Mountain and Pacific.

National Median Salary of High-Skilled Employees: $24 per hour

National Median Salary of Medium-Skilled Employees: $14.60 per hour

National Median Salary of Low-Skilled Employees: $11 per hour

Industries with the Greatest Worker Skill Improvement:

• Professional Equipment
• Electrical Machinery
• Miscellaneous Manufacturing
• Printing and Publishing
• Chemicals
• Petroleum

Industries with the Lowest Worker Skill Improvement:

• Tobacco
• Leather

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Current Issues, Feb/March 2006 www.newyork.fed.org/research/current_issues

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