Just in time for the job market to start stabilizing, employers are getting something all-new to worry about: How to retain the very talent that helped them survive the downturn.  

According to a new CareerBuilder survey on worker satisfaction, released today, nearly one-in-five workers (19 percent) plan to leave their current job this year to find a new one.   

This should come as little surprise to employers who were forced to make tough business decisions last year, which often meant asking workers to take on heavier workloads with fewer resources and less pay.  In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s not unusual to see employees leave their companies following a downturn – when market conditions improve and more job opportunities open up. It seems all that cost-cutting eventually takes a  toll on satisfaction levels.  

The key to holding on to your most valuable employees, says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder, is constant and open communication. Haefner says, “Employers should take workers’ pulses early on in the new year. That way, they can be aware of the issues that may affect their staff’s performance, retention rates and overall happiness on the job in the coming months.”

The survey found that job satisfaction overall is down from last year.  Only 61 percent of employees reported satisfaction with their jobs in 2009, compared with 70 percent who said the same in 2008.

Among the survey’s other key findings:

Workers want more advancement and training opportunities…or else:

• 28 percent of workers say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the career advancement opportunities provided by their current employers.
• 26 percent of workers are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with training and learning opportunities provided by their current employers.
• 90 percent of workers did not receive a promotion in 2009, and 23 percent felt they were overlooked.
• 27 percent of workers who did not receive a raise or promotion in 2009 said they would leave their current positions in less than a year if they did not receive either.
• Of the 20 percent of workers who plan to switch careers/fields in the next two years, 41 percent say it’s because they want more career advancement.

A work/life balance? What is that?

• More workers are dissatisfatisfied with their work/life balance this year than last year: 23 percent of workers say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their work/life balance, an increase from the 18 percent who said the same last year.

Where have all the good leaders gone?

• Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of workers rate their corporate leaders as poor or very poor.
• 35 percent of workers cited an inability to address employee morale as a major concern with senior leadership
• 30 percent of workers said their senior leaders lacked transparency
• 28 percent of workers complained that senior leaders made major changes without warning

For more insight, read the full press release here.