Are you Happy at your work ?

[Mailman]

Link or it never happened.

Mailman

[AlfredJPruffock]

If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're among the 74% of American employees who are "not engaged" with or "actively disengaged" from your pointless job.

According to an unsurprising new study by Gallup, less than a fourth of employees are of any use at all -- they're the brown-nosing do-gooders who make work so miserable for the rest of us.

That's not necessarily because Americans are lazy, experts say. The main problem is that most companies are simply rotten places where people are forced to waste their lives in exchange for a paycheck that will never be big enough.

According to employment author Curt Coffman, no more that 15% of companies provide the kind of workplace that lets people enjoy actually working.

There are 12 characteristics of a "great job," according to Coffman. These include really knowing what your job is, having the tools and resources to get it done right, working with supervisors who show a regular interest in your projects and routinely complement you for good work, knowing your opinions and expertise are appreciated and put to use, feeling good about your company's business, and being able to see progress in your skills.

Because almost all workplaces are run by sociopaths who have backstabbed their way "to the top," it's unrealistic to expect conditions to improve for those toiling for the 85% of bad companies.

What's surprising is that only 74% of workers are either slacking or actively plotting against their bosses -- that means another 11% of doomed employees are still trying to "do what's right" despite their unhappy, Sisyphusian existence.

Those otherwise-miserable employees may at least have good friends at work; that's also one of the dozen requirements for a good job, and experts say many a disengaged employee will make a little more effort if they've got a buddy to make it a little less dull.

At least a few companies are now realizing that the economic guillotine most Americans live beneath is not enough to keep people working forever at stupid, pointless jobs -- and experts agree that almost all jobs fall under this category.

The Bush Administration has mocked the plight of miserable Americans, callously suggesting unhappy workers with lousy jobs "take Prozac."

"Major corporations are recognizing that vacation time is intrinsic to the mental and physical well-being of their employees," corporate recruiter Penny Morey told the Christian Science Monitor last week.

"They are encouraging employees to take the allotted time. Some smaller companies are increasing their vacation allotment so they can attract the best talent."