Forty-five percent of engineers who responded to a survey said they feel less motivated in their work than three years ago.

Amid moves by companies to adopt performance-based salary systems and reduce personnel, the results, recently released on an Internet site owned by job magazine publisher Recruit Co., show that morale is weakening among people in charge of designing and developing new technology.

The survey was conducted in December via Tech Soken, a Web site providing information on jobs for engineers. Replies were received from about 3,100 engineers with full-time jobs.

About 13 percent of respondents said their motivation had fallen "considerably" compared with three years before, while 32 percent described their motivation as having decreased "slightly."

Twenty-nine percent said their motivation had risen either "considerably" or "slightly."

In giving multiple answers for their lower motivation, 69 percent cited worsening relationships in the workplace, while 65 percent said they had doubts about their work projects. Sixty-four percent said they were dissatisfied with the way they were evaluated and treated by the company.

Asked about changes they have experienced in the workplace, about half of the respondents said there had been reductions in personnel, shortened deadlines and management strategies based on shorter time spans.

Kaoru Fujii, former chief editor at Tech Soken, said the survey results point to discrepancies between management and employees that need to be addressed.

"The communication gap between companies and workers is getting wider," Fujii said. "In order to raise motivation, it is important that both sides communicate with each other."