Graduate
employees are the unhappiest at work, according to University of Warwick
research published last week.
The study,
What has been happening to job satisfaction in Britain?, found that although
most workers had high levels of job satisfaction, graduates were the most
miserable.
Professor
Andrew Oswald, the author of the research, believes the dissatisfaction stems
from the lack of graduate-level jobs for the increasing number of graduates.
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He said,
“Graduates probably have high aspirations. Objectively speaking, they have the
nicest jobs in Britain, but it’s difficult because they are comparing
themselves against a higher standard of job than they can achieve.”
Oswald also
indicated that stress could be a factor. He said, “Graduate white-collar
workers commute much larger distances. In the south-east, half of all those
with university degrees are commuting two hours a day.”