Reader Surveys

Poll: What Do You Feel Like You Gained Out of Your Summer Internship?

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Summer internships are a great way for college students and recent grads to get some real-world experience before heading back to school or entering the workforce. Young adults from various majors and backgrounds clamor over openings at various companies. For our July question of the month, we want to know what you feel like you gained from your summer internship. Let us know by voting in our poll!

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

Poor Leadership Top Workplace Stress

StressPollResults_May2014_webApril was stress awareness month, so we checked in with our readers on the top workplace stress triggers in our monthly poll. Topping the list with 21% of the results was “lack of/poor leadership,” followed by 15% responding that “long hours/increasing workloads” are the biggest trigger of stress. Tied for the third spot with 10% of the votes were “inadequate pay/benefits” and “poor working environment/company culture.”

Here is how the remaining responses ranked:

  • Concerns about job security: 9%
  • Poor work-life balance: 9%
  • Work is uninteresting/not your chosen career: 7%
  • Poor relationships with co-workers: 7%
  • Inadequate job training: 5%
  • Lack of opportunities for advancement: 4%
  • Other: 3%

Top Causes of Stress for Leaders and Managers
Leadership challenges plague both employees and those charged with leading a company. Express Employment Professionals also asked the same questions about workplace stress to the readers of Refresh Leadership, a blog for managers and leaders, and “lack of/poor leadership” topped their list with 17% of the votes. “Long hours/increasing workloads” came in second place with 15% of the votes, ranking the same spot on the list as top causes of stress for the Movin’ On Up readers.

If you’ve thought being the boss would solve all your stress at work, this may crush your hopes of an easier life when you move up the corporate ladder. However, it can be comforting to know that you’re not alone in facing challenges with leadership. A search for leadership books on Amazon returns over 20,000 results, a testament to the true struggle leading a team and working with others can be. As a point of reference, there were only 10,000 weight-loss books on Amazon, even with the constant diet fads.

Leadership is often about communication, and your manager may be better served in helping you if you find an effective and efficient way to share your challenges and successes. It may not solve all your workplace worry, but it could be the start of less stress.

Ways to Cope
Check out these related blog posts with suggestions on managing workplace stress and improving relationships at work:

What have you found to be the most efficient way to manage workplace stress? Share your ideas in the comments section below.

Poll Results: Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

poll_Results_Turnover_Feb2014In a recent poll we asked why you left your last job or why you’re planning to quit. The results show 34% of respondents want better compensation, while 13% said they didn’t get along with their supervisor. Another 13% had ethical differences with the company, and 10% just didn’t like their job. Only 7% of respondents needed a different schedule, 3% didn’t get along with co-workers, and just 3% said they haven’t ever left their job.

Looking over this summary of our poll results leads to the question, how can employees fix these issues?  Is leaving a job the only answer?  It’s understandable that not everyone will get along, and at some point people will decide to leave their job because they just don’t fit in. Maybe, they don’t have the right skills, or the schedule has changed and become challenging, but is there more that can be done instead of just moving on?

Talk to Your Supervisor
Even though you may not get along with the people in charge, before you quit, or if you’ve even thought about quitting, talk to your supervisor. Let that person in leadership know what’s going on. If you don’t like the job you’re doing let them know; they may have a new task they need you to work on. If you don’t get along with someone in the team you’re working with, let your supervisor know. There may be a different project you could work on that could totally change your outlook on your job and brighten your mood. There could be a promotion right around the corner, so keep working hard and doing your best.

Things at work may not always be wonderful, but don’t give up at the first sign of difficulty. Have you stayed at a job even though you haven’t always liked it? What did you learn in that process? Let us know in the comments section below.

End of Year Reader Survey

2014_Annuel_Readers_Survey_Nov2013As we plan for 2014, we want to know more about you. To ensure we continue to provide content that is useful for you in 2014, we’d like to know what topics you want to hear about, where you are in the job search, what made you visit our blog, and more.

Your answers are important and beneficial to us as we look forward to 2014.

Poll: Who are you?

ReadersPoll_Sept2013_webIn order to provide the best content for Movin’ On Up blog readers, we invite you to participate in a brief survey. Your answers will be used to help plan future article topics for our blog and further career assistance from Express Employment Professionals.

Poll: How Do You Think Millennial employees Want to be Managed?

Job Seeking and Career Advice PollA Google search on “Millennials in the workplace” returns more than 2.4 million results, reinforcing the impact this generation is having in the business world. Millennials have proven their ability to contribute in the workplace and mingle with the other generations, but it’s still a hot topic of conversation.

Born between 1980 and the late-1990s, the 80 million members of the Millennial generation are a force to be reckoned with, outnumbering even the Baby Boomers. But when it comes to their desired management style, we want to hear what you think. Vote in our poll to tell us how you think Millennials want to be managed.

Poll: What Do You Think Employers Want Most When Hiring?

Job Seeking and Career Advice PollImpressing an employer while applying for a job is a multi-step process. It’s a combination of having a stand-out resume and application, getting the opportunity to interview, interviewing well, and following up appropriately. All this activity is taking place on the job seeker’s side and conversely a flurry of work is happening with the prospective employer as well.

Matching job seeker’s skills and desires with employer’s requirements and workplace culture is no easy task. To assist job seekers, we’ve featured many posts exploring the ways to ace the job search process, including the benefits of hobbies, the value of networking, and the best preparation for an interview. Currently, Express is taking a look at the challenges faced by employers and the state of employment. This research has uncovered the personality traits desired in employees and which jobs are hardest to fill right now.

Now we want to hear from you! Share your experience with us in this poll.