They wonder what the company stands for, where it's going, and if the latest initiative is yet another here today, gone tomorrow program. Without a constant, long term core focus, organizations confuse, bewilder, depress, and disconnect both potential and actual employees. The primary reason employees disconnect from their jobs, though, is that today the jobs themselves are changing ceaselessly. Competition has forced companies to quickly change markets and products, and thus the jobs that produce them. Position titles, descriptions, and responsibilities change overnight.
New technologies require a never ending upgrade of job skills.
Further, downsizings and hiring freezes force employees to wear multiple job hats. Every so many years, literally one-half of your current job knowledge and skills become outdated or obsolete. For example, the occupational half-life in 1970 was estimated at somewhere between twelve and fifteen years. Frighteningly, according to the federal Department of Labor, today's best estimates of occupational half-life are in the range of thirty to thirty six months. A constantly changing job combined with a constantly eroding skills base leaves employees feeling more disconnected from their jobs than ever.