Negative news about work hurts morale and can be detrimental to companies

McMaster Sociologist, Dr. Paul Glavin, was recently published in The Globe and Mail, alongside Dr. Scott Schieman, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. In their column, they discuss their research on job satisfaction and the correlation between employee morale and engagement with work-related content and media consumption.

“As researchers who study work, it’s no shock that our Google News feeds are brimming with work-related content. Of late, however, we’ve noticed that this coverage has become eerily similar, painting a grim picture of the workplace. News stories are rife of employees ghosting their jobs, secretly juggling side hustles and harbouring an increasing bitterness toward their bosses. Our own systematic analysis of media coverage of the Great Resignation documents the scope of the negativity.

The stories collectively suggest a relentless surge of discontent, portraying workers as either overworked and unappreciated or as opportunists always hunting for the next better thing – some even “rage applying,” eager for a take-this-job-and-shove-it moment.

But are workers genuinely that unhappy?”

Read the full op-ed on The Globe and Mail.