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Study: Half Of Americans Feel Undervalued At Work, Will Look For New Jobs

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you're reading this at work, chances are that you wish you were somewhere else.

KNX 1070's Ron Kilgore reports the survey released Thursday found half of U.S. employees feel undervalued at their workplace and intend to search for a new job over the coming year.

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The American Psychological Association (APA) conducted the online survey of 1,714 adults and found employees who feel valued by their employers are more likely to report better physical and mental health, and higher levels of engagement, satisfaction and motivation.

93 percent of employees who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88 percent reported feeling engaged, compared to just 33 percent and 38 percent, respectively, of those who said they do not feel valued.

"Only 54 percent of working Americans said that their employer made them feel valued, which was surprisingly low," said the APA's David W. Ballard. "Out of those employees who say they don't feel valued at work, half of them say they're looking to hit the door and look for a new job this year."

A variety of factors were linked to feeling undervalued, including fewer opportunities for involvement in decision making, being less satisfied with growth and advancement potential , having fewer flexible work arrangements, and being less likely to say they are receiving adequate monetary compensation and non-monetary rewards.

In fact, Ballard said the study touched on what appears to be a raw nerve with a majority of workers: their paychecks.

"When we asked employees what are the top things that stressed them out on the job, that they're unhappy with on the job, low salary comes out number one," he said. "People are unhappy with what they're getting paid."

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