U.S. Workers' Satisfaction With Job Safety Rebounds

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One year after U.S. workers indicated significantly less satisfaction with the physical safety conditions of their workplace, their satisfaction has rebounded to its pre-pandemic level. Workplace safety and relations with coworkers are the two job aspects that U.S. employees are most satisfied with, of 13 tracked by Gallup.

Seventy-two percent of Americans who work full or part time say they are "completely satisfied" with both their safety on the job and their relationships with coworkers. Meanwhile, just 32% express the same level of satisfaction with the amount of work-related stress, earning it the bottom spot on the list.

These findings, from Gallup's Aug. 2-17 poll, mark the 22^nd year of tracking workers' satisfaction with various dimensions of their work life.

Satisfaction With Job Safety

Workers' satisfaction with safety on the job has frequently ranked at the top of the list of 13 job aspects since 1999. Last year, however, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of workers expressing complete satisfaction with it dropped nine percentage points to 65%, the lowest point since 2001. The latest seven-point uptick puts it back in line with findings from 2018 and 2019.

While the pandemic is ongoing and cases are once again surging as a result of the highly contagious delta variant, unlike a year ago, there are now COVID-19 vaccines available -- and workplaces are increasingly mandating vaccination. Recent Gallup data show 56% of Americans favor companies requiring employees to show proof of vaccination at their office or work site.

Gallup polling has found that white-collar workers are far more likely than blue-collar workers to say they are working remotely and thereby avoiding potential exposure to COVID-19. Last year, several demographic subgroups that are more likely to include blue-collar workers -- men, those with lower incomes, non-White employees and those without a college degree -- showed the largest declines in satisfaction with workplace safety. Though satisfaction figures among these traditionally blue-collar groups have ticked up since last year, most are not back to the levels recorded in 2019.

	2019	2020	2021	2020-2021 change
	%	%	%	pct. pts.
U.S. workers	74	65	72	+7
Gender
Men	79	65	70	+5
Women	68	65	75	+10
Race
White workers	78	69	74	+5
Non-White workers	67	59	68	+9
Education
College degree	71	71	73	+2
No college degree	77	61	72	+11
Annual household income
Less than $75,000	72	55	67	+12
$75,000 or more	78	73	76	+3
Gallup

Coworker Relations Ties With Safety for Highest Satisfaction Rating

Aside from the change in satisfaction with physical safety at work, employees' satisfaction levels have not changed significantly since last year, and the overall rank order has been generally stable over the past few years.

Majorities of workers are completely satisfied with six other job dimensions in addition to physical safety at work and relations with coworkers. These include job security (67%), flexibility of hours (65%), boss or supervisor (63%), workload (55%), amount of vacation time (52%) and recognition received for accomplishments (52%).

On the other end of the spectrum, along with work-related stress, less than half of workers are completely satisfied with the retirement plan offered by their employer (38%), the money they earn (38%), their chances for promotion (42%) and their health insurance benefits (45%). Still, taking into account the percentage of workers who say they are "somewhat satisfied," each combined measure rises to at least 67%.

	Completely satisfied	Somewhat satisfied	Total satisfied
	%	%	%
Your relations with coworkers	72	23	95
The physical safety conditions of your workplace	72	20	92
Your job security	67	25	92
The flexibility of your hours	65	22	87
Your boss or immediate supervisor	63	25	88
The amount of work that is required of you	55	30	85
The recognition you receive for work accomplishments	52	29	81
The amount of vacation time you receive	52	26	78
The health insurance benefits your employer offers	45	22	67
Your chances for promotion	42	28	70
The amount of money you earn	38	37	75
The retirement plan your employer offers	38	29	67
The amount of on-the-job stress	32	36	68
Gallup, Aug. 2-17, 2021

Bottom Line

Although COVID-19 cases are much higher than they were one year ago, American workers are currently more satisfied with their physical safety while at work than they were then. This is likely because of the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Increasing numbers of employers across the U.S. are mandating vaccines or requiring regular COVID-19 testing to ensure their employees have the safest working environment.

While U.S. workers are broadly satisfied with their workplace safety, relations with coworkers, job security, boss, flexibility in hours, workload, recognition and vacation time, there is still significant room for employers to help improve their employees' stress levels and their pay, benefits and chances for promotion.

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