While the big concern these days is unemployment and lack of any significant job creation, a simmering problem in our society is the fact that most people who are lucky to have a job at all are simply bored out of their minds while at work. A recent Gallup poll found that 71% of employees are either "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work.
Another astonishing result of the survey is that people who've had some college education, including those who've gone on for post graduate degrees, are among those least engaged in their jobs. So much for the idea that higher education leads to more interesting, stimulating, creative life pursuits. In fact, those most "engaged" with their jobs are people who've had only a high school education, 34%.
Given the jobs and income panic in the U.S. right now, I doubt that this problem will attract much attention or concern for the time being. But think of all the intelligence and concern that psychologists, organization theorists, managers, and business school gurus have lavished over the decades on such topics as "self actualization" and all those wonderful steps employees take as they ascend Maslow's pyramid. What happened to all of that?
Even if basic numerical trends in employment start to improve, it appears that our economy will remain rotten at much deeper levels.