According to a recent study, nearly 50 percent of American workers have considered leaving their jobs, and salary is the No. 1 factor contributing to employee dissatisfaction.

The study, which was conducted by market research firm MarketTools Inc., found that 47 percent of workers dissatisfied with their jobs said it was because of their salary.

Justin Schuster, vice president of enterprise products at MarketTools, says the increasing availability of jobs means employers must focus on satisfying their employees so they don’t have to pay the steep costs of employee turnover.

“Whereas individuals might have previously been happier to stay in a situation that was less than ideal from their perspective, as the economy improves their odds [of getting jobs] are increasing, and it’s the right time for companies to again focus on employee retention,” Schuster says.

The No. 2 contributor to employee dissatisfaction was workload at 24 percent, followed by opportunity for advancement or career development (21 percent), manager or supervisor (21 percent), and medical benefits (20 percent).

The study, which surveyed workers from several different industries, also found that 21 percent of employees had applied for another job in the last six months.

Schuster says employee feedback programs are a great way to gauge the satisfaction of employees and act on anything that might be causing unhappiness.

But the MarketTools study found that 72 percent of the employees’ workplaces did not have a regular feedback program in place. Of those that did, 29 percent were just once a year, 13 percent were twice a year, and 17 percent were quarterly.

“By having that hard data at their fingertips, employers can really prioritize where they put their attention and where they invest, and whether they have the right programs and benefits in place to keep employees in the organization,” Schuster says.

By Sam Oches