if we already have ‘fulfillment,’ ‘friendliness’ and ‘freedom,’ how hard can it be to add a fourth f?
\nnext question: the job outlook. join the poll; get the answers.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

by rick telberg<\/b>
\non careers <\/i><\/p>\n

what makes cpas happy? it’s no small question, considering the profession’s focus on recruitment and retention. so when gallup came out the other day with a poll on how americans like their jobs \u00e2\u20ac\u201d what they like and don’t like \u00e2\u20ac\u201d naturally we found the results interesting.“doing what suits me\/is fulfilling” was the most desirable attribute of a good job. “interacting with the public\/helping people” came in second, “freedom and flexibility to do a job my own way” was third and “good pay” came in a rather distant fourth. pay was about half as important as fulfillment.<\/p>\n

imagine that! employees primarily prefer self-fulfillment, helping people and the freedom to do their jobs without a boss barking at them. pay isn’t even secondary or tertiary. it’s practically an afterthought. <\/p>\n

so how does this relate to the cpa profession? curious, we decided to compare the gallup data with bay street group research in which accountants and finance managers were asked about office attitudes and relationships with management. <\/p>\n

it’s a testament to the profession that few cpas gripe about lack of fulfillment, too little opportunity to help people or freedom to do their jobs as they pleased. <\/p>\n

the big issue among accounting professionals is “office atmosphere.”<\/p>\n

how big? no less than 45 percent of respondents say they’d consider quitting because of it. <\/p>\n

it’s most laudable that the profession has apparently resolved the big issues \u00e2\u20ac\u201d fulfillment, friendliness and freedom. having taken care of the biggies, mere atmosphere should be a snap. <\/p>\n

or should it. nothing’s more complicated than human relationships. nothing, not even accounting standards. not even derivatives. <\/p>\n

“lack of team mentality,” said one respondent to our question asking what would make an employee quit a job. “too much e-mail, not enough face time. it’s all about the bottom line.”<\/p>\n

another said, “sometimes morale gets so bad, it’s better to leave than to stay.”<\/p>\n

“there’s enough stress inherent to my position,” said another. “i don’t need the negative atmosphere to make it worse. it also makes getting the job done more difficult.”<\/p>\n

feedback from management was at the core of many atmospheric disturbances. asked how often feedback is “limited to issues the person has control over,” 18 percent said “rarely” or “never.” twenty percent said feedback is rarely or never about behavior rather than personality. twenty-seven percent said feedback always or frequently “feels like a verbal attack,” and 44 percent said management waits until the problem is “out of hand.” <\/p>\n

feedback problems should be relatively easy to solve. they don’t require a root-level overhaul of the job and the profession. all we need for better feedback is a little more consciousness among management. if we already have fulfillment, friendliness and freedom, how hard can it be to add the fourth f?<\/p>\n

one of our respondents seems to say it all:<\/p>\n

“the review process is not looked upon as an opportunity to mentor. it is viewed as an opportunity to go over every minute detail to find something to criticize in your work. there is no training or suggestions for improvement other than generalizations, such as ‘need to work towards being more efficient,’ or ‘work on time management.’ those don’t help anyone. if the reviewer thinks it is an issue, then give the person some real suggestions and ideas for improvement, not generalizations.”<\/p>\n

if we cross the gallup poll and the bay street group poll, we can’t help but see auditing and accounting as a pretty nice way to earn a living. not perfect … not yet … but we’re close and getting closer. <\/p>\n

[first published by the aicpa]<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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