Mining among the least happy industries – survey

The commodities rout, forced restructuring and job cuts appear to be taking a toll on workers’ spirits in the mining industry.

A 2016 Best Industry Ranking Report by employee retention platform TINYpulse has found that mineworkers together with employees in the energy and utilities sectors are the unhappiest.

According to the company, the report is based on more than 500 000 employee engagement survey responses from more than 60 000 employees in 13 industries and 500 organisations around the world.

Of the industries ranked, employees in consumer products and services are the happiest while those in energy, mining and utilities are among the least happy. The company said the top three contenders are robust industries while the bottom three are said to be among the most rapidly declining in terms of both jobs and output.

According to TINYpulse, “feeling valued and working with great people” matter most in terms of employee happiness. “Money, after all, can buy happiness … up to a point. After that point is reached, happiness doesn’t continue growing forever. The same is true of motivation; salary can help drive employees, but only to a certain extent.”

The survey found that the key differences between happy and unhappy industries are a result of culture. It said employees in the happiest industries rated their management as significantly more transparent than those in unhappy industries. Having a path for advancement with opportunities to grow and develop was one of the biggest differences reported by workers in happy and unhappy industries. And happy employees belonged to organisations who not only asked for feedback, but acted on it too.

“The key is being ready and willing to change. The company that is best positioned to make its employees happy is one that is agile in response to issues that arise,” said TINYpulse. It added that companies who change for the better would be rewarded with a “workforce that’s more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stick around”.

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