GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ - American workers will likely be enjoying their time off for the Labor Day holiday, but not because they dislike their jobs. According to a new Gallup survey conducted August 24-26, nearly nine in 10 employed adults age 18 and older say they are generally satisfied with their current jobs. However, workers fall short of expressing total enthusiasm. Only 39% are completely satisfied with their jobs, while another 47% are somewhat satisfied. Fourteen percent of employed Americans indicate they are dissatisfied with their jobs.
The Gallup survey does provide some clues as to why workers are less than fully satisfied. When probed about specific aspects of their jobs, Americans seem to consider themselves hardworking, stressed, underpaid, and under-appreciated. Forty-four percent of workers describe themselves as "workaholics," and another 56% as "solid performers," but fewer than four in 10 are completely satisfied with their pay, the degree of recognition they receive at work, or amount of on-the job stress they endure.
Not surprisingly, then, the Poll finds that most full-time and part-time employees -- 77% -- enjoy the time they spendawayfrom their jobs more than the hours they spend working. This is particularly true among high-income Americans who, presumably, have greater financial means to do the things they enjoy most when not at their jobs.
Satisfaction Evident in Being Your Own Boss
The most satisfied American workers are those who are self-employed
in their own business or professional practice. Nearly three in
five workers in this group, 58%, say they are "completely
satisfied" with their jobs. Satisfaction also correlates with age,
rising from 29% among 18-29 year-old workers, to 39% among those
30-49 years, and 49% among the 50-years and older group.
The impact of income on job satisfaction is mostly seen at the lower end of the income spectrum. The percentage of workers in households earning $75,000 per year or more who are "completely satisfied" with their jobs is 47%. That figure is 42% among those making $30,000-74,999, but just 24% among those earning less than $30,000.
Co-Workers Get High Marks, but Not Stress Levels and
Pay
Beyond overall job satisfaction, Gallup focused on fifteen specific
aspects of employment in the new Labor Day survey. The items
covered a variety of work conditions, human interrelations and
financial benefits. A majority of workers are at least somewhat
satisfied with all of the items measured, but the percentage who
are completely satisfied falls short of a majority in most
cases.
Of all the items rated, employees are most satisfied with their relations with their co-workers; 67% say they are completely satisfied with this aspect of their jobs. More than half of all workers also report high satisfaction with the physical safety of their workplace, the flexibility of their work hours, and the amount of vacation time they receive. The general satisfaction in these areas could be driven by good working conditions, or by relatively low (or perhaps reasonable) expectations.
By contrast, workers are theleastsatisfied with the amount of on-the-job stress they face, their salaries and various financial benefit issues. The percentage who are completely satisfied ranges from 21% for stress and 23% for their pay, to 31% for the retirement plan offered by their employers, 32% for promotion opportunities, 33% for health insurance benefits, and 38% for family and medical leave benefits. Recognition for a job well done also ranks fairly low, with just 38% of workers saying they are completely satisfied with the recognition they receive at work for their accomplishments.
Job security, bosses and supervisors, employee workload, and the opportunity to learn and grow all rank as mid-level work issues, with 43-48% saying they are completely satisfied with these aspects of their jobs.
So which of these workplace items, in particular, seem most strongly related to employees' overall job satisfaction? Three factors emerge as the most important "drivers" of employee satisfaction in this survey: stress, recognition and salary. Close to two-thirds of workers who say they are completely satisfied with their stress, recognition and salary levels also say they are completely satisfied with their jobs. This contrasts most sharply with relations with co-workers, amount of vacation time, and physical safety at work. Less than half of those who say they are completely satisfied with these aspects of their jobs are completely satisfied with their jobs, overall.
On the flip side, the items most highly correlated with worker dissatisfaction are dissatisfaction with co-workers, with one's boss, with one's job security and with the opportunities to learn and grow. More than 40% of workers who are dissatisfied with these items say they are dissatisfied with their job overall.
Snapshot of the American Workforce
In addition to rating job satisfaction, the new Gallup survey
records a variety of interesting statistics about the American
workforce.
- According to survey respondents, 54% of Americans work full time and another 7% work part time.
- The average number of hours worked per week by full time employees is 46 hours, compared to 26 hours among part-timers. More than half of full-time employees, 54%, indicate they put in over 40 hours in a typical week.
- Two-thirds of all workers are employees of a private company or business, while another 17% are self-employed, and 16% work for the government.
- Thirteen percent of workers say they belong to a labor union; another 6% work in a bargaining unit but are not unionized.
- Eighty-five percent of workers hold one job; 13% hold two jobs and 2% hold three or more jobs.
- Self-employment appears to be a benefit procured over time. Only 8% of workers aged 18-29 say they are self-employed in their own businesses or professional practices. This figure rises to 15% among 30-49 year-old workers, and reaches 29% among workers aged 50 and older. Men are only slightly more likely to be self-employed than women, 19% vs. 14%.
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,028 adults, 18 years and older, conducted August 24-26, 1999. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Which of the following best describes your current situation -- employed full time, employed part time, retired, a homemaker, a student, unemployed but looking for work, unemployed and not looking for work?
| Employed full time | 54% |
| Employed part time | 7 |
| Retired | 20 |
| A homemaker | 8 |
| A student | 4 |
| Unemployed but looking for work | 4 |
| Unemployed and not looking for work? | 2 |
| DISABLED (vol.) | 1 |
| No opinion | * |
| 100% |
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your job? Would
you say you are -- Completely satisfied, somewhat satisfied,
somewhat dissatisfied, or completely dissatisfied with your
job
BASED ON -- 641 -- EMPLOYED FULL-TIME/PART-TIME; ± 4 PCT
PTS
| Completely satisfied | Somewhat satisfied | Somewhat dissatisfied | Completely dissatisfied | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Aug 24-26 | 39% | 47% | 12% | 2% | *% |
| 1997 Aug 22-25 | 35 | 51 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 1989 Jul 18-21 | 28 | 61 | 8 | 3 | * |
Now I'll read a list of job characteristics. For each, please
tell me how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with your current job
in this regard. First, are you completely satisfied, somewhat
satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or completely dissatisfied with
... [RANDOM ORDER]
BASED ON -- 641 -- EMPLOYED FULL-TIME/PART-TIME; ± 4 PCT
PTS
| Completely satisfied | Somewhat satisfied | Not satisfied | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your relations with co-workers | 67% | 27% | 3% | 3% |
| Physical safety conditions of your workplace | 63 | 28 | 8 | 1 |
| Flexibility of your hours | 56 | 31 | 13 | * |
| Amount of vacation time you receive | 50 | 30 | 18 | 2 |
| Your job security | 48 | 33 | 18 | 1 |
| Your boss or immediate supervisor | 47 | 35 | 11 | 7 |
| Amount of work required of you | 46 | 35 | 18 | 1 |
| Opportunity you have to learn and grow | 43 | 38 | 18 | 1 |
| Recognition you receive at work for your accomplishments | 38 | 35 | 25 | 2 |
| Family and medical leave benefits your employer provides | 38 | 32 | 19 | 11 |
| Health insurance benefits your employer offers | 33 | 30 | 28 | 9 |
| Your chances for promotion | 32 | 32 | 27 | 9 |
| Retirement plan your employer offers | 31 | 30 | 29 | 10 |
| Amount of money you earn | 23 | 47 | 30 | * |
| Amount of on-the-job stress you have | 21 | 44 | 34 | 1 |
Which of the following best describes your job. Are you -- an
employee of a private company or business, a government employee,
or self-employed in your own business or professional
practice?
BASED ON -- 641 -- EMPLOYED FULL-TIME/PART-TIME; ± 4 PCT
PTS
| Private employee | Government employee | Self employed | OTHER (vol.) | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Aug 24-26 | 66% | 16% | 17% | 1% | *% |
| 1989 Jul 18-21 | 62 | 23 | 14 | -- | 1 |
Overall, which of the following descriptions best fits the
way you see yourself at work -- a high achiever, workaholic, a
solid performer who does what is expected of you, or an
underachiever, who gets by with the minimum necessary to keep your
job?
BASED ON -- 641 -- EMPLOYED FULL-TIME/PART-TIME; ± 4 PCT
PTS
| High achiever/workaholic | 44% |
| Solid performer | 56 |
| Underachiever | * |
| No opinion | * |
| 100% |
