According to a recent MSNBC article, "Americans hate their jobs more than ever before in the past 20 years, with fewer than half saying they are satisfied."

Really? Americans hate their jobs? You've got to be kidding! Every American worker I know is as happy as a pig in shit. I mean, who wouldn't be? Dreary, gray cubicle walls, jackass bosses, HR departments that don't practice what they preach, god awful commutes, backstabbing coworkers, and a caffeine addiction to boot---who could ask for anything more?

Overall, dissatisfaction has spread among all workers, regardless of age, income or residence. Twenty years ago, the first time the survey was conducted, 61 percent of all Americans said they were satisfied with their jobs.

Want to hear my personal theory on why we're so unhappy? To those of you who read my blog, this will sound pretty familiar. But here goes:

It is simply because we allowed ourselves to be tricked. We bought into the uber-American expectation that you go to school, get a degree in a hot field, get a good job with a major company, define a career path, work tirelessly, get promoted, make good money, retire and then die.

Along the way, you're supposed to be happy, get married and have a family. You're also expected to obtain lines of credit and buy things with all the money your tireless work efforts bring you. McMansions, DeBeers diamonds for your sweetheart and your mother, vacations to Sandals and Disney World, Starbucks coffee, an SUV, a Tag Heuer watch, a Coach purse, Lasik surgery, granite counter tops and dinners at nice restaurants.

So what inevitably happens when either: A) You don't meet those expectations, B) You meet those expectations by sacrificing time with your family and/or going into debt or C) You meet those expectations but are still left feeling empty and lost?

I'll tell you what happens. You become disillusioned, disgruntled and depressed. You then become irate. Why? Because you're damn pissed off that you didn't follow your heart and instead bought into the American Dream---hook, line and sinker. And by this time you're not even sure you know what your heart wants anymore. And you argue with yourself that you should be happy because afterall, you did what you were suposed to do and you're still not happy.

And by the time the realization train runs us over, it's late in the game. We're neck-deep in it.

"How did I get to this point?" you ask yourself. The answer is that you were too afraid, too naive, too gullible or too programed. For most of us, I think it's a combination. I think we start off too programmed to think the path should be questioned and then end up too afraid to do anything about it. We say to ourselves, "Who's going to pay my mortgage and car payments if I switch careers now?", "My family will think I'm a failure!", or "How can I possibly switch careers at this age?".

This is the problem as I see it. Our thinking is flawed. We need to recognize that what worked in the past, no longer works. We need to take some lessons from other countries such as Japan who allows napping at work, France who adheres to a 35 hour work week or Norway who offers 54 weeks of paid maternity leave. And we need to stop buying into the old "American Dream" and redefine a new one that doesn't involve selling ourselves out.

Oh I could talk all day on this one, but for now my space is limited and I'll end by asking the JobSchmobbers their thoughts on this.

Talk about it: What are your thoughts on why Americans are so unhappy with their jobs?