Survey Shows that Most Americans Are Happy at Work

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A study just released by the University of Chicago, just in time for the labor day holiday, shows that Americans are really happy at work, for the most part, anyway. The survey is based on interviews conducted from 1972 to 2006 and over that period of time, 27,587 have been interviewed.

The survey does give some good insight into exactly who is happy, with workers over the age of 65 being the most satisfied with 86% being satisfied with their jobs, 48% said they were very satisfied and just 4% saying they are very dissatisfied. These figures are attributed to the fact that people over 65, for the most part, do not have to work in order to insure their financial security, so they can be more selective in their choice of employment.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, the youngest workers, whose aged 29 and under have the most who are not happy at work with just 42% saying they were very satisfied. A young person will take their first job to get their foot in the door so to speak, and since they have no experience to put on a resume, they will take whatever job they can in their chosen field, usually entry level and the most tedious. Then when they can list experience, either get a promotion to a better job with the same company or set out to find not only a better job, but a better place as well.

Where you live can have an impact on happiness in the work place also. Those living in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee had the highest percentage saying they were satisfied with their jobs.

The groups who were the least happy are blacks, with 40% being satisfied and 53% unsatisfied and Hispanics with 465 satisfied and 51% unsatisfied and just about anyone who is involved with doing unskilled labor. To be more precise, those with jobs in the fields that fall into the 10% that are considered to be the least prestigious such as unskilled manual labor and service occupations came in with 35% who say they are very satisfied. Meanwhile, those who are engaged in jobs that are considered to fall into the top 10% of most prestigious occupations have 57% saying they are satisfied.

One figure that is not surprising is that the level of job satisfaction is directly related to the level of income. Of the group who earn less than $12,500 a year, 40% said they were very satisfied and of those earning over $110,000 a year, 68% said they were very satisfied.

Source: University of Chicago http://www-news.uchicago.edu/

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