Low unemployment and global opportunities make U.S. employees very confident in their jobs.

The airline industry has flown straight into a storm of problems. Cost-cutting, security concerns and economic uncertainty have clipped the wings of a once proud and respected industry that struggles every day to deliver customer satisfaction to millions of consumers. When an industry is ranked lower in customer satisfaction than the Internal Revenue Service, it’s a sign that there’s trouble brewing. That’s where the airline industry finds itself, battling some bumpy turbulence following a May report from the University of Michigan.

A February report released by The Conference Board – a market information company that also produces the Consumer Confidence Index – found that, for the first time ever, fewer than 50 percent of Americans were satisfied with their jobs. Young workers led the way with just 39 percent job satisfaction, followed by the 45-54-year-old age group, which has the second-lowest level of satisfaction at 45 percent.

Office politics can be difficult to define, but one thing is certain: there’s no getting around them. For some, mastering office politics is the key to their careers. Others would like to avoid them altogether. And the impact on employee morale, , depending on whom you ask, can range from favorable to fatal.

As continued from my entry yesterday: Making Employee Productivity a Slam Dunk