This is normally a time of hope, when people everywhere celebrate and contemplate the new year that will soon be upon us. It is a season of warm feelings and good spirits as we look ahead. And, that’s why a survey released this week by Hudson is jarring and disconcerting.

The Hudson Employment Index, a national poll of 2,000 U.S. workers conducted November 30 and December 1, 2007, found that workers everywhere are glum and pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy and their own personal work outlook heading into the new year. This isn’t a big shock given ongoing concerns about the U.S. housing market, the collapse of numerous subprime lenders, oil priced at more than $90 a barrel and a tepid holiday sales season, but the Hudson index puts it all in pretty stark terms. For example:

• Nearly half (46 percent) of workers surveyed feel the leaders of their organization believe the economy is getting worse.

• More than one in five (21 percent) workers expect their job prospects in the coming year to be worse than in 2007, compared with 15 percent who felt this way a year ago. Some 30 percent say it is not at all likely they will be looking for a new job next year (compared with 26 percent last year).

• Just 57 percent of workers expect to earn more in 2008, down from 63 percent last year.

The index also shows that workers have gone from feeling very optimistic about the prospects for their company and their own personal finances last March, when it hit a record high, to very pessimistic in November, when the index hit a record low.

And to follow up on my Business of Management blog item from earlier this week, only 23 percent of workers expect a holiday bonus this year, down from 24 percent who felt that way last year.

It isn’t good when employees feel this bad about their organizations, their finances and their job prospects heading into the new year. Managers and executives everywhere need to take note and do whatever they can to help ease the very real concerns that are rippling through workers, because as you probably know all too well, a pessimistic workforce is a less productive workforce.