The State of The American Worker 2013: Attitudes About Work in America

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AEI Public Opinion S Studies
THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN WORKER 2013: ATTITUDES ABOUT WORK IN AMERICA
Compiled by Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow, AEI and Andrew Rugg, Research Assistant (Updated August 2013)
Table of Contents
Contents
OVERALL SATISFACTION ......................................................................................................... 3 JOB ANXIETY TODAY .............................................................................................................. 14 SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF WORK ................................................................................................ 31 WORK-LIFE ISSUES ................................................................................................................... 44 WORK CHARACTERISTICS ..................................................................................................... 47 WORK TIME AND COMMUTES ............................................................................................... 53 LOYALTY .................................................................................................................................... 57 THE BOSS .................................................................................................................................... 60 OTHER WORK AND JOB ISSUES: ........................................................................................... 62 ATTITUDES ABOUT LEISURE ................................................................................................. 64
OVERALL SATISFACTION:
For the past five years, AEI has released a yearly poll compilation on workers attitudes about their jobs to coincide with Labor Day. This years study, The State of the American Worker, 2013, comes at a time when there is tentative evidence that people think the economy is improving. Still, in Gallups August 2013 question, 76 percent said it was a bad time to find a good job today. In a related and recently updated AEI Public Opinion Study, Economic Security: Americans Concerns about their Jobs, Personal Finances, Retirement, Health Costs, Housing, and More, we look beyond concerns about work. This year, poll responses from leading survey organizations show that the vast majority of workers are satisfied with their jobs. There has been little change in the responses since survey organizations started measuring them regularly in the 1970s. (The results from the major survey organizations are shown below.) Eighty-five percent of employed people said they were completely or somewhat satisfied with their jobs according to Gallups August 2013 poll (87 percent gave that response in 2010 and 90 percent in 2008.) Only 15 percent in 2013 said they were somewhat or completely dissatisfied. Gallups numbers are similar to those from the National Opinion Research Center and the Pew Research Center. Dissatisfaction is slightly higher among some groups than others. Young people, for example, are just starting out and their salaries are often low. Their dissatisfaction is not surprising. It is a product of their place in the life cycle. After looking at overall satisfaction, we look at peoples views about specific aspects of their job. How satisfied are people with their coworkers, with what they earn, with their benefits and vacation time? Most pollsters in the public domain dont ask questions about work attitudes very often. We include here some older questions. In 1955, 32 percent told Gallup they would be happier in a different job. In an October 2006 survey, 27 percent told Pew Research Center interviewers that they would be happier in a different job. Seventy percent said they would not. In a January 2011 Gallup poll, 70 percent said their job was ideal for them. In 1977, in an Opinion Research Corporation survey, 47 percent of teens said having a secure, steady job was important to them in choosing a career. In 1999, 21 percent of them gave that response. Young people are more likely than older ones to say they have seriously considered changing jobs, an attitude that is also a function of their stage in life. But their expectations about their jobs today are different from the past, too.
QUESTION: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your job? Would you say you arecompletely satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or completely dissatisfied with your job/the work you do. Completely satisfied 28% 31 46 39 35 Somewhat satisfied 61% 30 41 47 51 Somewhat dissatisfied 8% 6 9 11 10 Completely dissatisfied 3% 6 4 3 3
Jul. 1989 Jul. 1991 May 1993 June 1994 Aug.1997
Aug.1999 Aug. 2001 Aug. 2002 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2006 Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008 Aug. 2009 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2012 Aug. 2013
39 41 43 44 50 42 43 46 48 50 48 47 47 46
47 44 46 41 39 44 47 48 42 37 39 36 42 39
12 11 9 11 11 11 8 4 7 10 8 13 7 12
2 4 2 4 3 3 2 2 2 3 4 5 4 3
NOTE: Sample is employed people. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Would you say you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the following things about your life: Your job/the work you do? Satisfied 67% 85 82 87 85 86 87 90 84 84 77 70 76 71 73 69 75 70 86 71 70 89 89 91 Dissatisfied 20% 11 13 6 10 8 7 6 11 9 11 20 8 16 11 12 16 9 13 10 10 11 11 9
Jan. 1949 Jul. 1963 Aug. 1965 Sep. 1966 Oct. 1966 Nov. 1966 Apr. 1969 Apr. 1969 Aug. 1971 Dec. 1971 Jan. 1973 Dec. 1984 Sep. 1988 Dec. 1991 Apr. 1995 Feb. 1997 May 1998 Oct. 1998 Nov.1998b Nov. 1999 May 2001 Jun. 2001a Jun. 2002a Jun. 2003a
NOTE: a) Sample is employed people. B) Sample is employed people or those going to school. In 1984, Gallup changed the wording of this question from the work you do to your job or the work you do. In 1998, 1999, and 2001 a volunteered not applicable category was added to the questionnaire. This change may explain the smaller number of total respondents in the substantive categories satisfied and dissatisfied in those years. * In Nov. 1998, Jun. 2001, Jun. 2002, and Jun. 2003 the question read: Next we would like to know how satisfied you are with each of the following aspects of your life very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. How satisfied are you with...your job, or the work you do? The satisfied and dissatisfied totals were obtained by adding up very and somewhat satisfied and very and somewhat dissatisfied. SOURCE: Surveys by the Gallup Organization.
QUESTION: Do you enjoy your work so much that you have a hard time putting it aside? Yes 51% 33 23 No 45% 67 77
1955 1988 2001
Gallup Gallupa Ipsos-Reida
NOTE: a Sample is employed people. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization and Ipsos-Reid. QUESTION: Do you think you would be happier in a different job? Yes 32% 21 33 35 34 27 No 63% 66 61 59 63 70
Jun. 1955 Jan. 1965 Aug. 2001 Aug. 2006 Sep. 2006 Oct. 2006
NOTE: The 1955 and 1965 samples are in-person. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization, 1955-2001 and Aug-Sep 2006, PSRA/Pew, 2006. QUESTION: Nearly all of us, of course, want many things in life that we dont have. Sometimes our wants concern the material goods of life, sometimes they concern opportunities, sometimes they concern psychological or what are sometimes called spiritual satisfactionsWill you tell me from the list on this card those items which seem to your particularly deficient I y our own life nowthat is, those which you really feel would make a big difference in your own happiness? Gallup/Institute for International Social Research, Aug. 1959 Better health More interesting work/More congenial job Greater faith in god or religion Being of more service to other people More exiting life More leisure time and chance to enjoy leisure Better education than I now have Ability to get more enjoyment out of life, greater capacity to be satisfied with things as they are for me now More opportunities for my own personal development Greater economic or financial security More pay, larger income Happier home and family life Better home to live in NOTE: Adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses. QUESTION: On the whole, how satisfied are you with the work you do would you say you are very satisfied, moderately satisfied, a little dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very satisfied 49% 50 50 56 53 49 52 Moderately satisfied 37% 37 38 33 33 39 37 A little dissatisfied 11% 8 8 8 9 10 8 Very dissatisfied 3% 4 4 3 5 2 4 31% 21 35 36 16 35 50 29 32 52 44 20 36
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978
1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
47 48 53 47 49 49 46 48 48 48 46 44 47 46 48 45 50 50 49 51 49
37 39 36 35 38 40 38 40 38 39 42 43 40 40 39 44 36 36 38 36 36
12 9 8 12 10 9 11 10 10 10 8 10 11 11 10 9 9 9 8 9 10
4 5 4 6 3 2 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 4
NOTE: Sample is employed people. Asked of those who are currently working, temporarily not at work or keeping house. SOURCE: National Opinion Research Center. QUESTION: All in all, how satisfied would you say you are with your jobvery satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied? 1973a 1974 1978 1984 1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997a 1999 2000b 2000a 2001a 2002 Very satisfied 57% 59 45 59 43 52 43 46 45 54 54 54 50 58 49 Somewhat satisfied 33% 33 31 32 41 34 44 38 43 36 37 37 42 36 40 Somewhat dissatisfied 7% 5 7 6 12 9 10 12 9 4 6 6 6 5 8 Very dissatisfied 3% 3 5 3 3 5 2 5 3 5 3 2 1 1 3
NOTE: a. Sample is employed people. b. Sample is employed/unemployed/retired/formerly employed. SOURCE: Harris Interactive. QUESTION: Everything considered, the satisfaction you get from the work you do, what it pays, etc. how satisfied are you with the field of work you chose to go intoextremely satisfied, fairly well satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied? ---------------------------Field of work you chose---------------------------------Extremely satisfied Fairly satisfied Not too satisfied Not at all satisfied 38% 47% 9% 5% 41 43 11 4 33 49 12 6 37 47 11 4 36 47 11 5
Nov. 1973 Nov. 1976 Nov. 1979 Nov. 1980 Nov. 1983
Oct. 1988 Nov. 1991 Apr. 1994 Apr. 1996 Apr. 1999 Apr. 2001
33 34 27 31 27 32
52 49 54 52 58 56
10 12 15 12 11 8
4 3 4 4 3 3
NOTE: Sample is employed people. SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: Knowing what you know now, if you had to decide all over again whether to take the job you now have, what would you decide...Would you decide without hesitation to take the same job, would you have second thoughts, or would you decide definitely not to take the same job? Would take the same job 1977 U. Mich. 64% 1997 Harris 69 Would have second thoughts 28% 26 Would not take the same job 9% 6
SOURCE: Surveys by the Survey Research Center, University of Michigan for the Department of Labor and Harris Interactive for the Families and Work Institute. QUESTION: In the past year, have you seriously considered changing your job? Yes 34% 32 35 30 34 No 65% 66 64 68 66
July 1981 Mar. 1994 Apr. 1994 Apr. 2000 May 2001
NOTE: Sample is employed people. SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: Do you think of the work you do as a job, or do you think of it as a career? Job 47% 51 30 35 39 43 42 51 47 50 45 45 45 35 48 44 41 38 45 44 45 41 Career 52% 49 70 63 61 54 57 47 52 48 53 53 53 62 51 53 58 62 53 54 54 55
Jan. 1985 Mar. 1985 Dec. 1986 Feb. 1987 Apr. 1987 Jun. 1987 1988 Jun. 1989 Oct. 1989 Nov. 1993 Mar. 1994 Apr. 1994 Aug. 1994 Jul. 1995 Aug. 1996 Aug. 1996 Jul. 1997 Sep. 1997 Sep. 1997 May 1998 Jun. 1998 Jul. 1998
Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP/VA Slims Black/USA Today Black/USA Today Black/USA Today Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP NYT Yankelovich Roper GfK-NOP/Worth Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP US News Am. Viewpoint Roper GfK-NOP PSRA/Wisconsin CBS News Roper GfK-NOP Yankelovich Roper GfK-NOP Hart/Shell
Dec. 1999 Apr. 2000 Aug. 2000 May 2001 Jan. 2006
Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP Roper GfK-NOP ABC/Good Housekeeping
50 43 46 42 39
48 56 53 56 60
NOTE: Question wording varied slightly. Samples are employed people. SOURCE: Surveys by Roper GfK-NOP, Roper GfK-NOP/Virginia Slims, Gordon Black/USA Today, the New York Times, Yankelovich Partners, Roper GfK-NOP/Worth, US News and World Report, American Viewpoint/Lake Research/Buffalo Qualitative Research, Princeton Survey Research Associates/Wisconsin Public Television, CBS News and Peter Hart Research for the Shell Oil Company. QUESTION: How satisfied are you with the kind of work you do? Completely satisfied 41% 43 39 Mostly satisfied 52% 49 23 Mostly unsatisfied 6% 6 6 Completely unsatisfied 1% 1 4
Jul. 1989 Jun.Jul. 2006 Jun.Jul. 2008
NOTE: Samples for 2006 poll is employed adults. SOURCE: July 1989 survey by Gallup, JuneJuly 2006 and 2008 survey by PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Here are two different ways of looking at your job. Some people get a sense of identity from their job. For other people, their job is just what they do for a living. Which of these best describes the way you usually feel about your job? Sense of identity Gallup 57% PSRA/US News 51 Gallup 58 Gallup 57 Gallup 51 Gallup 54 Gallup 56 PSRA/Pew 51 PSRA/Pew 49 Just what you do 40% 41 41 40 47 44 43 45 49
1989 1992 1993 1998 1999 2001 2003 2006 2010
NOTE: Asked of adults employed full or part-time. In a Harris poll conducted in 1996, 51 percent of employed Americans said their job gives [them] a sense of purpose in life, 26 percent said their job was nothing more than a source of income, an d 22 percent said it was an obligation I must fulfill. In Japan, the responses were 29, 57, and 8 perce nt, respectively. SOURCE: Surveys by the Gallup Organization and Princeton Survey Research Associates for U.S. News & World Report. QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your job very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very satisfied 43% 45 47 47 Somewhat satisfied 42% 40 41 41 Somewhat dissatisfied 11% 9 8 9 Very dissatisfied 4% 6 4 4
Dec. 1995# Dec. 1996# Jul. 1999# Mar. 2005
NOTE: Sample is employed adults. SOURCE: # Survey by The New York Times. March 2005 survey by CBS News/New York Times. QUESTION: Overall, how satisfied are you with your job? Are you . . .? Completely satisfied 24% 28 Mostly satisfied 62% 61 Mostly unsatisfied 10% 8 Completely unsatisfied 3% 2
Jul. 1997 Jun.Jul. 2006
Jan. 2008 Jul. 2009 May. 2010 Jul. 2012 Nov.Dec. 2012 NOTE: Samples are employed adults. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center.
31 30 32 30 31
56 60 54 56 58
10 7 7 10 7
3 2 4 3 3
QUESTION: If you won $10 million in the lottery, would you continue to work, or would you stop working? Yes, continue 59% 55 61 68 No, stop working 40% 44 39 31
Aug. 1997 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2013
NOTE: In August 2005, 59 percent of those who said they would continue working said they would stay in their current job. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Next, wed like to know whether or not you feel good about various things in thi s country and in your life. Do you feel good about your job if you have one, or not? Feel good 60% 67 65 63 64 62 64 60 Do not feel good/Not applicable 40% 33 35 37 36 38 36 40
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
NOTE: Question wording varied. SOURCE: Harris Interactive. QUESTION: Now Id like to find out how satisfied you are with different aspects of your job. Please tell me whether you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with it. How satisfied are you with your job overall? Very satisfied 55% 54 59 51 49 58 49 57 53 49 Somewhat satisfied 34% 34 32 33 36 30 38 30 38 39 Neither 2% 3 2 5 3 3 5 5 3 4 Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied 5% 3% 6 2 5 2 8 4 7 5 6 3 6 2 6 2 3 2 4 3
Aug. 1998 Feb. 1999 Aug. 1999 Jan. 2000 May 2000 Aug. 2000 Apr. 2001 Oct. 2001 May 2008 Nov. 2009
NOTE: Asked of employed people. SOURCE: Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers.
QUESTION: Which of the following best tells how well you like your job...I hate it, I dislike it, I dont like it, I am indifferent to it, I like it, I am enthusiastic about it, or I love it? Aug. 1999 28% 26 33 6 3 2 2 Apr. 2001 25% 27 33 9 2 3 1
Love my job Enthusiastic about it Like it Indifferent Dont like it Dislike it Hate it
SOURCE: Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers. QUESTION: All in all, which of the following best describes how you feel about your job...? Aug. 2001 32% 59 6 2 Aug. 2005 32% 59 7 2
Love it Like it Dislike it Hate it
SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your job? Would you say you are ... Very satisfied 48% 28 Somewhat satisfied 43% 42 Somewhat dissatisfied 6% 14 Very dissatisfied 3% 13
Aug. 2004 Mar. 2011
NOTE: Asked of those employed full or part time. SOURCE: AP/Ipsos. QUESTION: How about when it comes to your job, if you work, how satisfied do you feel at the present time very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very satisfied 36% Somewhat satisfied 26% Somewhat dissatisfied 7% Very dissatisfied 4%
Aug. 2004
NOTE: Survey conducted by female interviewers only. SOURCE: ABC News. QUESTION: What best describes how you feel about your job? Something you only do to earn money 39% An important part of who you re as a person 61%
Aug. 2004 SOURCE: AP/Ipsos.
Question: How important is your job to your overall satisfaction with life? Would you say . . . ? Very important 47% Somewhat important 44% Not too important 6% Not at all important 3%
10
QUESTION: Im going to read you some statements related to your job. For each of these statements, please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement...my job allows me to achieve my full potential. Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly agree agree disagree disagree Aug. 2004 36% 39% 17% 8% SOURCE: AP/Ipsos. QUESTION: Id like to ask you about some aspects of your life. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the following aspects of your life? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your job or the work you do? Satisfied 69% Dissatisfied 10%
Jan. 2005
SOURCE: National Conference for Community and Justice, PSRI. QUESTION: I am going to read you a series of statements about your job. For each series, please tell me which statement comes closer to your own view, A or B. Statement A: I am not happy with my present job and Id like to have a different one. Statement B: I like my present job and Im not interested in changing it. I like my present job/ Not interested in changing 72% Not happy with job/ Like a different one 27%
Feb. 2005
SOURCE: Zogby International/Public Service Research Foundation. QUESTION: Now Im going to read you a list of items, and Id like you to rate your feelings for each one. Would you say you are fed up with and tired of ... or dont you feel that way? Sep. 2005 High gas prices Partisan bickering in D.C. The Iraq War Hurricanes Your Job Feb. 2010 Partisan bickering in D.C. Growing federal deficit Health Care Reform Debate Snowstorms Your Job NOTE: Asked of registered voters. SOURCE: Fox News/Opinion Dynamics. QUESTION: Please tell me whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied, on the whole, with the following aspects of your life. Your jobthe kind of work you do. Would you say you are very satisfied/dissatisfied or somewhat satisfied/dissatisfied? Fed up with 82% 81 67 36 9 Dont feel that way 15% 16 30 56 72 Dont know 3% 3 3 8 19 Fed up with 85% 77 58 37 11 Dont feel that way 12% 12 34 47 61 Dont know 2% 11 7 16 28
Very satisfied Oct. 2005 54% Note: Asked of those employed. Source: PSRA/Pew Research Center.
Somewhat satisfied 30%
Somewhat dissatisfied 7%
Very dissatisfied 5%
11
QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your jobthe kind of work you do? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied withyour jobthe kind of work you do? Very satisfied 43% 39 Somewhat satisfied 49% 23 Somewhat dissatisfied 6% 6 Very dissatisfied 1% 4
Jun. 2006 Jun. 2008
Note: In 2006, the question read How satisfied are you with the kind of work you do? Source: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Do you think you would be happier if you made more money? Yes 73% No 26%
Jul. 2006 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
QUESTION: How much more money per year would it take to make you happy? Jul. 2006 None/ Not happier 26% $ 5,000 or less 11% $5,00110,000 17% $10,00120,000 17% $20,00050,000 14% $50,001100,000 5% More than $100,000 3%
Mean (including none/not happier): $32,629 Mean (excluding none/not happier): $45,934 Median (including none/not happier): $10,000 Median (excluding none/not happier): $17,000 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Compared to one year ago, would you say you are more satisfied in your job situation, about as satisfied, or less satisfied now than you were a year ago? More satisfied now 30% About as satisfied 44% Less satisfied now 25%
May 2008
NOTE: Survey asked of employed adults. The national employed adult sample includes those employed full and part-time, and those unemployed looking for work. SOURCE: The Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers. QUESTION: Do you believe the place where you work cares about you as a person, or are you just someone who works there? Cares about me May 2008 61% SOURCE: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers University. Just work there 31%
QUESTION: Compared to one year ago, would you say you are more satisfied with your job situation, about as satisfied, or less satisfied now than you were a year ago? More satisfied About as satisfied May 2008 30% 44% Mar. 2009 23 41 May 2009 23 41 Jul. Aug. 2010 19 53 SOURCE: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers University. Less satisfied 25% 33 34 26
12
QUESTION: In all honesty, do you think you, personally, are underpaid for the work you do, paid about the right amount, or are you overpaid for the work you do? Underpaid 51 43 Paid about right 46 53 Overpaid 3 4
Aug. 2008 Aug. 2010
NOTE: Asked of adults who are employed full or part time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: In the last few years have you or has anyone living in your household been laid off or lost their job? Yes 18% 18 23 27 30 34 29 35 No 82% 82 77 73 70 65 71 65
Dec. 2008 Feb. 2009 April 2009* Sep. 2009* Nov. 2009 Dec. 2010 Jul. 2011** May 2012
NOTE: *April 2009 and earlier question wording read in the last few months. **July 2011 wording and earlier read in the last few months. SOURCE: ABC/Washington Post. QUESTION: Which one of the following jobs would you most like to have? Aug. 2010 Professional Athlete Actor/Actress President of the United States Rock Star SOURCE: Marist Poll. QUESTION: Would you say that your job is ideal for you, or not? Yes, ideal 70% 70% No 29% 30% 29% 32 13 13
Jan. 2010 Jan. 2011
NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your job or the work you do? Satisfied 84% 89 89 87 84 88 Dissatisfied 16% 11 11 13 15 12
Jan. 2010 Mar. 2010* Apr. 2010 May 2010 Aug. 2010 Jan. 2011 *
NOTE: Survey asked of those employed. SOURCE: Gallup/USA Today, *Gallup.
13
QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your current job: very satisfied, satisfied, not very satisfied, not satisfied at all? Not very satisfied 8% Not satisfied at all 4%
Feb. 2010 NOTE: Sample is of employed adults. SOURCE: Marist Poll.
Very satisfied 45%
Satisfied 43%
QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your current job or career very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very satisfied 53% 45 36 Somewhat satisfied 32% 37 49 Somewhat dissatisfied 9% 10 10 Very dissatisfied 5% 7 5
Oct. 2010 Mar. 2011 Dec. 2011
Note: Asked of those employed full or part time. Source: PSRA/Pew Research Center.
JOB ANXIETY TODAY: While job satisfaction numbers have remained mostly stable, job
anxiety concerns jumped in some areas in 2009 following the recession. In Gallups August 2009 poll, for example, 31 percent of employed respondents said they were worried that they would be laid off in the near future, double what it was in 2008. The 2009 response represented the highest level of anxiety since the trend began in 1997. But in 2012, 28 percent worried that they would be laid off in the near future. Twenty-six percent worried in 2012 that their hours at work would be cut back: 27 percent worried about that prospect in 2009. Twenty-eight percent in 2012, down from 32 percent in 2009, worried that their wages would be reduced. There is also worry (40 percent in Gallups 2012 poll) about benefits being reduced, although more people were worried about this prospect in 2009 (46 percent). Outsourcing doesnt appear to be a big worry in Gallups trend question. Only 11 percent in Gallups August 2012 poll worried that their company would move jobs overseas.
QUESTION: Next, please indicate whether you are worried about each of the following happening to you, personally, in the near future. How about . . . ? That you will be laid off Worried 20% 19 20 15 Not worried 80% 81 79 84
Aug. 1997 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005
14
Aug. 2006 Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008 Aug. 2009 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2012
17 14 15 31 26 30 28
82 85 85 68 73 70 71
That your hours at work will be cut back Worried 15% 15 14 13 16 12 14 27 25 30 26 Not worried 85% 84 86 87 83 87 85 72 73 69 73
Aug. 1997 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2006 Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008 Aug. 2009 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2012
That your wages will be reduced Worried 17% 17 17 14 19 14 16 32 26 33 28 Not worried 83% 82 83 86 80 86 83 67 74 66 71
That your benefits will be reduced Worried 34% 31 28 28 30 29 27 46 39 44 40 Not worried 66% 67 69 69 67 68 70 52 58 54 58
That your company will move jobs to countries overseas Worried 9% 11 Not worried 89% 89
Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004
15
Aug. 2005 Aug. 2006 Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008 Aug. 2009 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2012
12 11 10 8 10 9 13 11
88 86 88 91 88 91 86 87
NOTE: Sample is employed adults, full or part-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Thinking about the next 12 months, how likely is it that you will lose your job or be laid off very likely, fairly likely, not too likely or not at all likely? Very Fairly Not too Not at all likely likely likely likely Jan. 1975 Gallup 3% 10% 28% 55% Apr. 1975 Gallup 5 8 22 63 Nov. 1979 Gallup 3 8 18 66 May 1980 Gallup 6 8 24 60 Sep. 1980 Gallup 6 9 24 60 Jun. 1982 Gallup 7 7 28 54 Nov. 1982 Gallup 9 9 28 49 Apr. 1983 Gallup 8 8 26 55 Feb. 1989 Gallup 4 8 35 53 Jul. 1990 Gallup 6 6 24 62 Mar. 1991 Gallup 5 7 22 65 Jul. 1991 Gallup 6 10 25 59 Oct. 1991 Gallup 6 10 25 59 Dec. 1993 Gallup 5 7 27 60 Apr. 1996 Gallup 5 9 34 52 Jun. 1997 Gallup 4 6 26 63 Dec. 1998 Gallup 6 7 27 60 Apr.2001 Gallup 5 7 36 52 Sep. 2001 Gallup 7 6 25 62 Apr. 2006 Gallup 3 7 32 57 Apr. 2007 Gallup 4 8 31 57 Dec. 2008 ABC/Wash Post 10 11 30 48 Feb. 2009* PSRA/Pew 5 16 31 46 Mar. 2010* PSRA/Pew 9 15 25 49 Mar.Aug. 2010 NORC 8 9 31 52 Apr. 2010 Gallup 8 13 40 38 Jun. 2011* PSRA/Pew 5 16 29 48 Apr. 2012 Gallup 5 10 42 42 Apr. 2013 Gallup 6 12 35 45 NOTE: Samples are employed adults. *For this survey, the category Somewhat likely replaced fairly likely. QUESTION: Do you know someone, personally, who has been laid off or fired recently, or not? Yes 50% 50 52 60 58 43 50 No 49% 46 47 40 42 57 50
Oct. 1990 Oct. 1991 Dec. 1993 Mar. 1994 Apr. 1996 Aug. 2001 Oct. 2001
Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
16
Nov. 2001 Feb. 2002 Apr. 2003
Gallup Gallup Gallup
54 51 60
46 49 40
QUESTION: Please tell me whether you are worried or not worried about each of the following happening in the next 12 months that you or your spouse will lose a job? Worried Not worried Oct. 1990^ Gallup/Newsweek 20% 79% Oct.Nov. 1991 Gallup 31 65 Dec. 1991 Gallup 25 68 Jan. 1992 (early) Gallup 36 62 Jan. 1992 (late) Gallup/CNN/USA Today 33 64 Oct. 1992* Gallup/CNN/USA Today 29 67 Jan. 2001 Gallup 19 65 Jul. 2001 Gallup 22 77 Oct. 2001 Gallup/CNN/USA Today 29 70 Jul. 2002 (mid) Gallup/CNN/USA Today 27 70 Jul.2002 (late) Gallup/CNN/USA Today 22 73 Oct. 2002 Gallup/CNN/USA Today 27 70 Dec. 2002 Gallup/CNN/USA Today 24 73 Jan. 2004 Gallup/CNN/USA Today 21 78 Jan. /Feb. 2008 Gallup/USA Today 23 74 Jan. 2011 Gallup 30 68 Jan. 2012 Gallup 34 63 NOTE: *Asked of registered voters. ^ Very and somewhat categories combined. QUESTION: Which of the following statements apply to you...A member of your family has been laid off or fired recently? Applies 17% 23 21 25 22 Doesnt apply 83% 77 80 74 77
Oct. 1990 * Oct. 1991 Dec. 1993 Mar. 1994 Apr. 1996
Gallup/Newsweek Gallup Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today
NOTE: *Asked of those who know someone who has been laid off or fired. QUESTION: Which of the following statements apply to you...You know people outside of your family who have been laid off or fired recently? Applies 50% 50 52 60 58 Doesnt apply 49% 46 47 40 42
Oct. 1990 * Oct. 1991 Dec. 1993 Mar. 1994 Apr. 1996
Gallup/Newsweek Gallup Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today
NOTE: *Asked of those who know someone who has been laid off or fired. QUESTION: Thinking now about job opportunities where you live, would you say there are plenty of jobs available in your community or are jobs difficult to find? Plenty of jobs Jobs are difficult available to find Jan. 1992 US News 12% 79% May 1992 US News 16 77 Aug. 1992 US News 15 76 Jun. 2001 PSRA/Pew Research Center 42 44
17
Jun. 2002 Oct. 2003 Jan. 2004 Feb. 2004 Apr. 2004 Aug. 2004 Sep. 2004 Jan. 2005 May 2005 Oct. 2005 Jan. 2006 Mar. 2006 Dec. 2006 Feb. 2007 Jun. 2007 Sep. 2007 Nov. 2007 Jan. 2008 Apr. 2008 Jul. 2008 Oct. 2008 Dec. 2008 Feb. 2009 Sep.Oct. 2009 Dec. 2009 Mar. 2010 Dec. 2010 Jun. 2011 Jul. 2011 Jan. 2012 Apr. 2012 Oct. 2012 * Apr. 2013
PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center ABC/Washington Post PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center ABC/Washington Post PSRA/Pew Research Center ABC/Washington Post ABC/Washington Post ABC/Washington Post
31 24 27 31 30 34 31 32 30 36 33 37 40 39 39 36 41 34 30 31 25 19 11 14 12 10 14 14 14 16 24 25 24
59 66 60 59 57 55 52 58 60 56 56 56 49 48 49 50 48 53 61 58 64 73 80 79 84 85 79 79 82 78 70 68 67
NOTE: *Asked of registered voters. QUESTION: How would you rate the financial condition of the company or organization that employs you? Would you say it is in excellent financial shape, good shape, only fair shape or in poor shape? Excellent 22% 25 23 27 31 30 22 20 15 18 23 23 Good 39% 40 40 38 39 39 44 43 43 42 41 40 Fair 24% 22 26 23 20 21 25 27 29 27 27 25 Poor 12% 11 9 10 7 6 5 8 10 10 7 11
Jan. 1992 May 1992 Aug. 1992 Oct. 1992 Jun. 2001 Feb. 2008 Oct. 2008 Dec. 2008 Feb. 2009 Oct. 2009 Dec. 2010 Jun. 2011
U.S. News U.S. News U.S. News U.S. News PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew
QUESTION: When you think about your current financial situation, what, if anything, worries you the most? Dont Have Enough Money* Losing Job/Job Stability* Mar. 1995 19% 17 Mar. 2005 21% 11 Apr. 2009 17% 22 Dec. 2009 9% 20
18
Health Care Costs Retirement/Social Security Economy Getting Worse** Affordable Housing**
7 6 6 -
11 8 6 -
14 9 7
10 6 3 7
NOTE: Only top responses shown. *April 2009 survey wording was Afford bills and Job concerns. **December 2009 survey wording was Cant Pay Bills and Worsening Economy and Housing Costs. SOURCE: CBS/New York Times. QUESTION: Let me read you several elements relating to the current economy. For each one, please tell me whether it is an area in which you feel very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied . . . your current job security? -------------------------------------------------Current job security--------------------------------------------------Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied 30% 31% 10% 10% 36 37 14 12 38 37 12 12 37 39 10 13 36 38 13 12 37 40 12 11 38 36 12 13 41 37 10 11 40 38 11 10 45 33 10 11 46 35 9 9 35 35 14 15 32 36 13 17 36 30 16 17 33 34 14 18 33 32 15 19 35 32 13 18
Jan. 1996 Mar. 1996 Jun. 1996 Sep. 1996 Dec. 1996 Mar. 1997 Jun. 1997 Sep. 1997 Dec. 1997 Dec. 1998 Apr. 2000* Jan. 2009 Apr. 2009 Sep. 2009 Dec. 2009 Aug. 2010 Jan. 2011*
NOTE: Asked of employed people. Question wording in 2010 and 2011 was When it comes to your current job security, are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dis satisfied. *Asked of registered voters. SOURCE: NBC/Wall Street Journal. QUESTION: Thinking about the job situation in America today, would you say that it is now a good time or a bad time to find a quality job? Good time 69%% 70 76 78 39 25 22 25 24 25 26 29 29 32 26 27 22 23 Bad time 25% 24 19 16 56 71 75 73 73 72 72 68 67 64 69 68 74 70
Aug. 1998 Feb. 1999 Jan. 2000 Aug. 2000 Aug. 2001 Oct. 2001 Nov. 2001 Dec. 2001 Jan. 2002 Feb. 2002 Mar. 2002 Apr. 2002 May 2002 Jun. 2002 Jul. 2002 Aug. 2002 Sep. 2002 Oct. 2002
UConn/Rutgers UConn/Rutgers UConn/Rutgers UConn/Rutgers Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
19
Nov. 2002 Dec. 2002 Jan. 2003 Feb. 2003 Mar. 2003 Apr. 2003 May2003 Jun. 2003 Jul. 2003 Aug. 2003 Sep. 2003 Oct. 2003 Nov. 2003 Dec. 2003 Jan. 2004 Feb. 2004 Mar. 2004 Apr. 2004 May 2004 Jun. 2004 Jul. 2004 Aug. 2004 Sep. 2004 Oct.2004 Nov. 2004 Dec. 2004 Jan. 2005 Feb. 2005 Feb. 2005 Mar. 2005 Mar. 2005 Apr. 2005 Apr.2005 May 2005 May 2005 Jun. 2005 Jun. 2005 Jul. 2005 Jul. 2005 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2005 Sep. 2005 Sep. 2005 Oct. 2005 Oct. 2005 Nov. 2005 Nov. 2005 Dec. 2005 Dec. 2005 Jan. 2006 Feb. 2006 Mar. 2006 Apr. 2006 May 2006 Jun. 2006 Jul. 2006 Aug. 2006 Sep. 2006
Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
27 19 20 19 16 23 22 22 20 17 19 24 24 29 31 28 28 30 30 32 36 33 34 29 37 36 33 38 38 39 34 37 38 38 39 35 40 39 35 39 36 38 38 35 37 37 42 36 40 41 40 41 41 42 41 42 42 41
69 78 78 79 81 75 75 76 78 81 79 74 73 68 68 70 69 66 67 65 61 63 61 67 60 59 62 59 57 57 61 59 58 59 58 62 56 58 61 58 58 59 56 62 58 59 56 60 56 55 56 55 53 52 53 51 53 54
20
Oct. 2006 Nov. 2006 Dec. 2006 Jan 2007 Feb. 2007 Mar. 2007 Apr. 2007 May 2007 Jun. 2007 Jul. 2007 Aug. 2007 Sep. 2007 Oct. 2007 Nov. 2007 Dec. 2007 Jan. 2008 Feb. 2008 Mar. 2008 Apr. 2008 May 2008 Jun. 2008 Jul. 2008 Aug. 2008 Sep. 2008 Oct. 2008 Nov. 2008 Dec. 2008 Jan. 2009 Feb. 2009 Mar. 2009 Apr. 2009 May 2009 Jun. 2009 Jul. 2009 Aug. 2009 Aug.Sep. 2009 Oct. 2009 Nov. 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010 Feb. 2010 Mar. 2010 Apr. 2010 May 2010 Jun. 2010 Jul. 2010 Aug. 2010 Sep. 2010 Oct. 2010 Nov. 2010 Dec. 2010 Jan. 2011 Feb. 2011 Mar. 2011 Apr. 2011 May. 2011 Jun. 2011 Jul. 2011
Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
40 41 44 48 45 45 46 47 43 43 42 39 39 38 35 33 26 26 20 23 21 19 20 20 14 12 10 13 9 9 10 9 11 11 9 10 10 8 9 9 11 10 11 12 13 12 10 10 9 11 13 13 12 13 17 15 11 10
54 53 50 47 50 49 49 50 53 50 51 55 56 55 57 60 71 69 75 73 74 76 75 76 82 86 88 86 90 90 89 89 86 87 90 87 88 89 89 90 88 88 88 86 85 85 88 88 88 86 84 84 86 83 81 82 86 88
21
Aug. 2011 Sep. 2011 Oct. 2011 Nov. 2011 Dec. 2011 Jan. 2012 Feb. 2012 Mar. 2012 Apr. 2012 May 2012 Jun. 2012 Jul. 2012 Aug. 2012 Sep. 2012 Oct. 2012 Nov. 2012 Dec. 2012 Jan. 2013 Feb. 2013 Mar. 2013 Apr. 2013 NOTE: Asked of national adults.
Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
13 9 10 8 12 15 13 19 21 19 20 17 17 20 22 24 19 25 23 22 26
86 89 88 90 87 81 85 78 77 80 78 81 81 76 73 73 76 70 73 74 71
QUESTION: If you were to lose your job, how likely is it that you would find a job just as good as the one you have now very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely? Very likely 35% 37 29 34 16 Very likely 22% Somewhat likely 29% 33 31 30 26 Somewhat likely 31% Not too likely 24% 23 23 21 30 Not very likely 23% Not at all likely 11% 7 16 15 27 Not likely at all 23%
Feb. 2001 Apr. 2001 Apr. 2006 Apr. 2007 Apr. 2010
Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup
Dec. 2008
ABC/Wash Post
NOTE: Asked of those who work full time or part time. ABC/Wash Post wording was If you were to lose your job, how likely is it that you would find another job just as good as the one you have nowvery likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely? QUESTION: All things considered, which of the following aspects of your job will you be most concerned about in the coming months? Keeping your job Your salary Your work hours None of the above Aug. 2001* 17% 35% 36% 12% Aug. 2004 21 37 31 11 NOTE: *Question asked if you were concerned about maintaining your employment instead of your job. No new results since 2004. SOURCE: AP/Ipsos.
22
QUESTION: Now looking ahead at the next six months. How likely is it that you, someone in your family or someone else you know personally will lose their job in the next six months as a result of economic conditions? Extremely likely, very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, not at all likely? Extremely likely 7% 7 7 7 6 7 8 8 8 9 9 8 8 9 9 8 8 7 7 8 8 7 7 7 7 8 6 8 8 6 6 7 6 8 6 6 9 7 6 7 6 8 7 7 7 8 8 8 7 6 9 6 Very likely 12% 13 12 11 11 13 11 11 12 13 13 14 14 13 13 13 13 12 15 13 13 12 12 11 12 12 13 13 10 11 12 9 10 11 12 13 10 12 13 12 12 11 12 10 11 13 11 11 12 11 13 10 Somewhat likely 30% 31 29 28 28 30 32 31 29 31 30 30 30 30 28 29 30 32 32 32 32 31 30 32 29 28 30 31 29 28 30 28 30 27 31 29 26 26 26 29 31 29 29 29 24 26 32 27 26 29 27 26 Not very likely 32% 32 33 34 35 31 31 31 29 30 30 31 30 28 29 31 32 31 29 30 28 30 30 32 33 31 31 29 31 34 33 33 37 31 32 32 34 31 33 30 31 34 32 31 35 31 32 33 33 33 30 34 Not at all likely 1% 1 18 18 19 18 17 18 20 16 15 14 16 17 17 17 15 17 15 16 17 18 19 17 17 20 19 18 21 20 18 23 16 22 18 19 20 22 21 21 18 17 18 21 22 21 15 20 21 20 20 23
Jan. 2002 Feb. 2002 Mar. 2002 Apr. 2002 May 2002 Jun. 2002 Jul. 2002 Aug. 2002 Sep. 2002 Oct. 2002 Nov. 2002 Dec. 2002 Jan. 2003 Feb. 2003 Mar. 2003 Apr. 2003 May 2003 Jun. 2003 Jul. 2003 Aug. 2003 Sep. 2003 Oct. 2003 Nov. 2003 Dec. 2003 Jan. 2004 Feb. 2004 Mar. 2004 May 2004 Jun. 2004 Jul. 2004 Aug. 2004 Sep. 2004 Oct. 2004 Nov. 2004 Jan. 2005 Feb. 2005 Mar. 2005 Apr. 2005 May 2005 Jun. 2005 Jul. 2005 Aug. 2005 Sep. 2005 Oct. 2005 Nov. 2005 Dec. 2005 Jan. 2006 Feb. 2006 Mar. 2006 Apr. 2006 May 2006 Jun. 2006
IPSOS-Reid IPSOS-Reid IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook IPSOS-Reid/Cook AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos AP/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos
23
Jul. 2006 Aug. 2006 Sep. 2006 Nov. 2006 Dec. 2006 Jan. 2007 Feb. 2007 Mar. 2007 May 2007 Jun. 2007 Jul. 2007 Aug. 2007 Sep. 2007 Oct. 2007 Nov. 2007 Dec. 2007 Jan. 2008 Feb. 2008 Mar. 2008 Apr. 2008 May 2008 Jun. 2008 Jul. 2008 Sep.2008 Oct. 2008 Nov. 2008 Dec. 2008 Jan. 2009 Feb. 2009 Mar. 2009 Apr. 2009 May 2009 Jun. 2009 Jul. 2009 Jul.-Aug. 2009 Sep. 2009 Oct. 2009 Nov. 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010 Feb. 2010 Mar. 2010
RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos RBC/Ipsos
7 4 6 7 6 5 5 8 8 4 6 5 6 5 8 5 6 8 7 6 7 8 9 8 11 9 11 11 15 14 13 11 15 11 12 12 11 9 13 9 9 8
8 10 12 10 10 11 8 11 10 10 12 12 11 12 11 10 12 16 14 14 17 18 15 15 18 18 21 22 27 25 24 21 21 20 22 24 18 20 16 16 16 18
29 31 27 27 27 25 28 25 24 29 30 25 32 26 29 32 32 30 33 32 33 29 31 30 35 34 35 33 33 37 36 36 35 40 36 35 36 41 38 37 44 37
33 33 31 33 36 34 34 31 35 32 30 33 29 33 29 33 29 26 28 28 23 28 28 27 21 24 19 21 18 15 16 19 18 17 18 19 25 21 22 26 21 26
22 20 23 21 20 24 23 23 21 23 20 23 20 21 21 18 18 19 15 17 17 14 14 19 14 12 10 10 5 7 9 10 9 9 9 7 9 8 9 11 8 10
QUESTION: How concerned are you that in the next 12 months you or someone else in your household might be out of work and looking for a jobvery concerned, somewhat concerned, or not concerned at all? Not concerned at all 48% 41 45 44 53 61 53 51 43 45
Oct. 2002 Apr. 2004 Jun. 2004 Sep. 2004 Oct. 2004 Jun. 2005 Dec. 2005 Jan. 2006 Feb. 2008 Mar.Apr. 2008
CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT
Very concerned 31% 33 28 30 22 20 21 22 29 28
Somewhat concerned 20% 25 27 26 24 18 25 27 27 26
24
Aug. 2008 Sep. 2008 Oct. 2008 Late Oct. 2008 Dec. 2008 Jan. 2009 Feb. 2009 Late Feb. 2009 Mar. 2009 Apr. 2009 Apr. 2226, 2009 June 1216, 2009 Jul. 2009 Jul. 2009 Sep. 2009 Dec. 2009 Feb. 2010 Mar. 2010 Apr. 2010 (early) Apr. 2010 (late) May 2010 Jun. 2010 Jul. 2010 Aug. 2010 Oct. 2010 (early) Oct. 2010 (late) Jan. 2011 (early) Jan. 2011 (mid) Feb. 2011 Mar. 2011 Jun. 2011 (early) Jun. 2011 (late) Sep. 2011 (early) Sep. 2011(late) Oct. 2011 Dec. 2011 Jan. 2012 (early) Jan. 2012 (mid) Feb. 2012 Jul. 2012 Aug. 2012 Sep. 2012 Dec. 2012 Feb. 2013 Mar. 2013 Jun. 2013
CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News CBS News/NYT CBS News CBS News/NYT CBS News CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News/NYT CBS News CBS News/NYT CBS CBS News/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS/NYT CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS/NYT CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT
24 21 23 35 33 30 44 38 30 44 32 36 40 36 30 29 31 35 36 34 28 32 31 40 35 36 37 41 33 31 30 31 38 36 75 32 34 36 38 39 33 36 30 34 32 32
25 23 28 26 26 32 28 26 30 26 26 28 29 26 28 34 26 24 26 30 26 25 29 30 29 26 25 25 26 27 25 29 25 30 18 27 28 28 27 27 29 25 26 24 31 29
50 56 49 38 39 38 27 35 39 30 42 35 30 38 42 33 41 41 37 35 45 41 39 29 36 38 37 34 40 41 44 39 37 34 6 40 38 35 35 33 37 37 43 41 36 38
QUESTION: Do you, personally, know anyone who has been laid off or lost their job within the last six months, or not? Yes 63% 60 55 53 50 54 68 No 37% 40 45 46 50 46 31
Apr. 2003 Apr. 2004 Apr. 2005 Apr. 2006 Apr. 2007 Apr. 2008 Apr. 2012 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
25
QUESTION: As far as you know, in the past six months, has your employer laid off any employees, or not? Yes, has 34% 26 27 22 30 No, has not 64% 72 71 73 67
Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008 NOTE: Samples are employed adults. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
QUESTION: How likely is it that you or someone in your household will lose a job or be laid off in the next 12 months? Would you sayvery likely, fairly likely, fairly unlikely, or very unlikely? Very likely 9% 10 9 9 7 8 9 7 12 10 9 8 Fairly likely 11% 12 12 11 10 8 11 12 10 10 10 9 Fairly unlikely 25% 21 22 22 24 24 20 21 20 20 21 20 Very unlikely 53% 53 55 55 57 58 56 56 57 58 56 60
Feb. 2003 Jun. 2003 Jul. 2003 Oct. 2003 Dec. 2003 Jan. 2004 Feb. 2004 May 2004 Jun. 2004 Jul. 2004 Aug. 2004 Sep. 2004
SOURCE: TIPP/Investors Business Daily/Christian Science Monitor Poll. QUESTION: I am going to read to you a series of statements about your job. For each series, please tell me which statement comes closer to your own views A or B. Statement A: I want to keep my present job, even though I believe I could earn better pay and benefits in another job. Statement B: I would like to have a different job, but I dont think I would be able to earn the pay and benefits I get in my present job. Like different job more 53% Keep present job more 31%
Feb. 2004
SOURCE: Zogby International/Public Service Research Foundation. QUESTION: Thinking back over the last five years, which, if any, of the following have happened to you personally? Aug. 2005 You were given a promotion You left a job to work for a different company You changed careers or made a significant change in the type of work you do for a living Your benefits were reduced Your wages were reduced You were laid off from a job You were fired from a job SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. Yes 42% 41 32 30 19 15 7 No 58% 59 68 69 81 85 93
26
QUESTION: How secure do you feel in your current job? Very secure 48% 47 44 45 45 48 43 50 41 48 42 43 43 42 44 42 37 37 Fairly secure 21% 18 20 20 20 17 21 23 20 17 24 21 22 19 20 24 26 23 Not very secure 4% 3 3 5 4 3 7 5 7 4 3 5 5 6 5 6 3 6 Not at all secure 6% 4 3 2 5 1 6 6 8 5 6 4 4 6 3 7 4 8
Jul. 2007 Aug. 2007 Sep. 2007 Oct. 2007 Nov. 2007 Dec. 2007 Jan. 2008 Feb. 2008 Mar. 2008 Apr. 2008 May 2008 Jun. 2008 Jul. 2008 Aug. 2008 Sep. 2008 Oct. 2008 Nov. 2008 Dec. 2008
Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International Zogby International
NOTE: Asked of the employed. QUESTION: If you were to lose your job, how likely is it that you would find another job just as good as the one you have nowvery likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely? Very secure 44% Fairly secure 20% Not very secure 3% Not at all secure 3%
Aug. 2007
No job 30%
NOTE: Asked of the employed. SOURCE: Zogby International. QUESTION: In the past couple of years would you say you have felt more secure and confident that you can continue in your job as long as you want, or less secure and confident, or has there been no change? More 21% 15 24 20 14 Less 35% 36 33 39 37 No change 43% 48 42 40 47
Mar. 2008 Jan. 2009 Feb. 2009 Dec. 2009 Jul. 2010*
CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS
NOTE: Asked of those currently employed full or part time. *Question wording was In the last 12 months would you say you have felt more secure and confident that you can continue in your job as long as you want, or less secure and confident, or has there been no change? QUESTION: Please tell me whether you are very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not confident at all about each of the following? The chances that your current employer will not have to lay you off in the next six months. Very confident 69% 57 60 Somewhat confident 16% 29 23 Not too confident 10% 9 8 Not confident at all 5% 3 7
Mar. 2008 Mar. 2009 May 2009 SOURCE: CNN/ORC.
27
QUESTION: Over the next year, do you think the job market in your area will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Better 17% 39 28 28 35 31 33 Worse 41% 18 14 12 15 16 13 The same 41% 41 56 56 46 48 51
Dec. 2008 Dec. 2009 Jul. 2010 Feb. 2011 Dec. 2012 Mar. 2013 Jun. 2013
CBS CBS/NYT CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT
NOTE: *Asked of a half sample. QUESTION: Thinking of the last 6 months, that is since _____ of this year, have you or someone in your family lost a job as a result of economic conditions, or not? Yes (self lost job) 10% 8 7 8 5 8 9 9 7 8 6 8 7 6 6 7 6 8 6 7 6 6 5 8 5 4 Yes (someone in family) 25% 25 21 21 26 20 21 22 28 23 23 21 29 25 25 16 18 27 22 23 18 18 25 18 19 20 No 65% 62 70 65 65 70 66 66 63 67 69 69 61 67 68 76 72 62 70 67 74 74 69 72 75 75
Feb. 2009 Apr. 2009 MayJun. 2009 July 2009 Sep. 2009 Oct. 2009 Nov. 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010 Mar. 2010 Apr. 2010 May 2010 June 2010 Aug. 2010 Sep. 2010 Oct. 2010 Nov. 2010 Jan. 2011 Mar. 2011 May 2011 Jun. 2011 Jul. 2011 Aug. 2011 Oct. 2011 Dec. 2011 Feb. 2012
AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK/Univision AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK
QUESTION: Thinking of the last 6 months, that is since _______ of this year, has someone you know personally, other than a family member, lost a job as a result of economic conditions or not? Yes 65% 67 60 64 66 65 66 69 71 No 35% 33 39 34 32 34 34 30 29
Feb. 2009 Apr. 2009 MayJun. 2009 July 2009 Sep. 2009 Oct. 2009 Nov. 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010
AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK
28
Mar. 2010 Apr. 2010 May 2010 Jun. 2010 Aug. 2010 Sep. 2010 Oct. 2010 Nov. 2010 Jan. 2011 Mar. 2011 May 2011 Jun. 2011 Jul. 2011 Aug. 2011 Oct. 2011 Dec. 2011 Feb. 2012
AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-GfK Ap-Gfk Ap-Gfk Ap-Gfk Ap-Gfk
64 64 63 70 65 65 54 55 65 60 62 57 57 60 59 58 54
35 36 36 29 35 35 46 44 35 40 38 43 43 40 41 42 46
QUESTION: If you or someone living in your household were to lose a job, how likely is it that you would find another job that is just as goodvery likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely? Very likely 13% Somewhat likely 30% Not too likely 31% Not at all likely 23%
Feb. 2009
Kaiser
NOTE: Asked of those with someone in the household employed. QUESTION: How likely do you think it is that the following thing will happen to you in the next 12 months?...Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, not at all likelyA fami ly member will lose a job? Very likely 13% Somewhat likely 27% Not too unlikely 27% Not at all likely 31%
Oct. 2009
SOURCE: AP/Stanford University/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/GfK. QUESTION: How likely do you think it is that you or someone in your household will _______ in the next twelve months extremely likely, very likely, just somewhat likely, or not that likely? Just somewhat
Extremely Have their overtime hours or bonus reduced Dec. 2009 Have to take a lower-paying job Dec. 2009 Have their wages cut Dec. 2009 Lose their job Sep. 1991* Dec. 2001 Jan. 2002 Oct. 2002** May 2003 Dec. 2009 SOURCE: NBC/Wall Street Journal.
Very
Not That
14% 12 10 8 8 6 6 8 8
15% 10 10 10 7 7 6 8 7
17% 19 20 21 20 18 17 17 18
35% 47 46 58 64 67 69 65 54
29
QUESTION: How would you rate the job market in your area these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Very good 2% 3 5 5 5 Fairly good 25% 30 39 37 41 Fairly bad 39% 35 32 34 29 Very bad 32 % 28 20 20 22
Jul. 2010 Feb. 2011 Dec. 2012 Mar. 2013 Jun. 2013
CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT
NOTE: *Asked of a half sample. QUESTION: Do you feel your job is secure, that if you do good work you will be able to keep it as long as you want, or dont you feel this way? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? Strongly have job security 62% Somewhat have job security 14% Somewhat dont have job security 8% Strongly dont have job security 14%
Jan. 2011
NOTE: Asked of those employed full time or part time. SOURCE: Washington Post/Kaiser/Harvard Race and Recession Survey. QUESTION: Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the job market in your area these days? Optimistic 50% Pessimistic 45%
Jun. 2011
CBS
QUESTION: How secure do you feel that you can continue in your job as long as you want very secure, somewhat secure, not very secure, or not at all secure? Not very 8% 8 7 Not at all 4% 6 8
Oct. 2011 Apr. 2012 May 2012
CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT
Very 49% 53 53
Somewhat 39% 33 33
NOTE: Asked of employed Americans. National adult re-interviewed. The respondents were first interviewed for a CBS News/NYT poll conducted in April of 2012. QUESTION: In the past couple of years, as a result of economic conditions, have your salary or wages been reduced, or not? Yes 27% 34 29% No 73% 66 71%
Oct. 2011^ Apr. 2012^ May 2012*
CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT
NOTE: Sample of national adults working. ^Including an oversample of those unemployed who are looking for work. *National adult re-interviewed. The respondents were first interviewed for a CBS News/New York Times poll conducted in April 2012.
30
SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF WORK: What people want in their jobs hasnt changed
much over time. Work that is important and gives a feeling of accomplishment tops the list. In 1973, the Roper Organization began asking people about specific aspects of their jobs. Gallup and the Wall Street Journal followed in 1989 and 1996, respectively. The responses are shown below. People are most satisfied with their coworkers, but they are generally satisfied with many other aspects of their jobs. In 2013, for example, 51 percent told Gallup interviewers they were completely satisfied with their job security, and another 31 percent pronounced themselves somewhat satisfied. Gallup reported in 2013 that 38 percent are completely satisfied (and 27 percent somewhat satisfied) with their chances for promotion. Satisfaction with earnings is generally lower. Perhaps because they were happy to have a job, more workers in Gallups 2010 question were completely satisfied with the amount of money they earned than in 2009. Thirty-one percent were satisfied in 2010 compared to 26 percent in 2009. In 2013, 29 percent were completely satisfied with the amount of money they earned. Like the rat race many years ago, the time crunch and stress have captured the popular imagination. Surveys show that for most workers, media portrayals of job stress may be overstated. In Gallups 2013 data, 28 percent are completely satisfied with the amount of stress in their jobs, and another 39 percent are somewhat satisfied. In 1991, the first year this question was asked, 17 percent said they were completely satisfied and 44 percent somewhat satisfied with the amount of on the job stress. Not surprisingly, parents of young children have concerns in this area. The Pew Researchs latest report Modern Parenthood from March 2013 includes some of these questions. In 1988, in a Roper GfK-NOP question not included here, 21 percent said they had taken work home in the past month. In 1998, that proportion was 22 percent. In 2001, 24 percent told Roper interviewers they had done work-related activity during leisure time in the past month. In a 2001 ABC News question, 26 percent indicated that having to work too hard was a problem that they personally had, while 72 percent said it was not. In Gallups 2013 asking, 67 percent were satisfied with the amount of on-the-job-stress in your job. Stress, like other variables in this analysis, often tends to reflect ones place in the life cycle. Two-earner couples or single parents with young children are more likely to experience stress than are two-earner couples with adult children for example.
QUESTION: Would you please look at this card and tell me which one thing on this list you would most prefer in a job? (b) Which comes next? (c) Which is third most important? (d) Which is fourth most important ... high income, no danger of being fired, working hours are short/lots of free time, chances for advancement, work important and gives a feeling of accomplishment? Feeling of accomplishment 52% 51 50 47 Chances high income 19% 19 20 21 No danger for advancement 18% 18 18 20 Short hours/ of being fired 7% 8 8 8
1973 1974 1976 1977
Lots of free time 5% 5 4 4
31
1980 1982 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 2006
52 43 51 48 50 49 53 52 50 51 49 40
20 26 19 19 22 21 21 21 24 20 23 24
19 17 19 22 18 20 17 18 16 17 18 20
6 10 8 7 6 7 5 6 6 9 8 11
3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 2 5
SOURCE: National Opinion Research Center.
JOB SECURITY QUESTION: Now Ill 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...? (Gallup) QUESTION: Regardless of how satisfied you are overall with the kind of work you do, you may feel differently about various aspects of it. Here is a list of some of the things. Would you read down that list, and for each one, would you tell me whether you are completely satisfied with it, fairly well satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied with it? (Roper GfK-NOP) QUESTION: Let me read you several elements relating to the current economy. For each one, please tell me whether it is an area in which you feel very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. (NBC/WSJ) QUESTION: Im going to read you a list of characteristics of your job. For each one, please tell me if you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with that aspect of your job. (AP/Ipsos-Reid) Gallup ------------------------------------------Job Security-------------------------------------Completely Somewhat Somewhat Completely satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied 45% 42% 8% 3% 35 44 12 7 46 33 9 11 52 35 6 6 48 33 11 7 54 30 8 7 55 30 7 7 48 35 7 8 54 28 11 6 52 31 9 7 55 29 10 5 56 31 6 6 55 31 8 5 50 30 10 8 51 33 7 7 49 33 10 8 49 34 10 5 51 31 11 6
1989 1991 1993 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Your job securityknowing you have a job as long as you want it Completely Somewhat Somewhat satisfied satisfied dissatisfied 1991 32% 43% 13% 1994 33 43 15 1996 34 40 14
Completely dissatisfied 8% 7 10
32
1999 2001 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. Your current job security
37 38
39 44
14 12
8 5
Mar. 1996 June 1996 Sep. 1996 Dec. 1996 Mar. 1997 June 1997 Sep. 1997 Dec. 1997 Dec. 1998 May 2000 Jan. 2001 Jan. 2009 Apr. 2009 Jul. 2009 Sep. 2009 Dec. 2009 Aug. 2010 Sep. 2010 Jan. 2011
Very satisfied 36% 38 37 36 37 38 41 40 45 46 49 35 32 30 36 33 33 35 35
Somewhat satisfied 37% 37 39 38 40 36 37 38 33 35 33 35 36 30 30 34 32 29 32
Somewhat dissatisfied 14% 12 10 13 12 12 10 11 10 9 8 14 13 15 16 14 15 15 13
Very dissatisfied 12% 12 13 12 11 13 11 10 11 9 9 15 17 24 17 18 19 20 18
SOURCE: NBC and The Wall Street Journal.
CHANCE OF PROMOTION Your chances for promotion Completely satisfied 1989 29% 1991 20 1998 30 1999 32 2001 32 2002 35 2003 35 2004 40 2005 28 2006 37 2007 39 2008 35 2009 40 2010 40 2011 39 2012 33 2013 38 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. Somewhat satisfied 38% 40 37 32 30 30 27 30 32 25 29 33 26 28 26 31 27 Somewhat dissatisfied 19% 18 16 15 12 14 15 11 18 15 11 12 13 10 12 12 13 Completely dissatisfied 6% 11 13 12 13 11 13 9 8 11 10 7 9 11 14 11 13
33
The chances it offers to move up Completely satisfied 1973 29% 1976 28 1979 25 1980 27 1983 26 1988 24 1991 22 1994 20 1996 21 1999 23 2001 23 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. Your opportunities for career advancement Completely satisfied Mar. 1996 22% June 1996 23 Sep. 1996 21 Dec. 1996 19 Mar. 1997 22 June 1997 23 Sep. 1997 23 Dec. 1997 23 Dec. 1998 32 May 2000 32 SOURCE: NBC and The Wall Street Journal. Your opportunities for advancement Very satisfied Aug. 2004 36% Mar. 2011* 16
Somewhat satisfied 35% 28 29 32 32 36 40 38 37 34 40
Somewhat dissatisfied 16% 19 21 21 21 20 21 25 24 26 23
Completely dissatisfied 16% 18 20 17 18 13 12 12 14 13 9
Somewhat satisfied 39% 37 39 46 37 41 38 40 40 37
Somewhat dissatisfied 20% 20 21 18 23 17 18 20 14 15
Completely dissatisfied 16% 18 17 16 16 17 18 15 12 14
Somewhat satisfied 39% 22
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied -22
Somewhat dissatisfied 13% 16
Very dissatisfied 11% 14
NOTE: *Source is AP/ LifeGoesStrong.com. Asked of those employed full or part-time. QUESTION: I am going to read to you a series of statements about your job. For each series, please tell me which statement comes closer to your own views A or B. Statement A: I believe that there is opportunity for advancement in my present job. Statement B: I am in a dead-end job. There is no opportunity to move up. Opportunity for advancement 64% Dead-end job no opportunity to move-up 31%
Feb. 2004
SOURCE: Zogby International/Public Service Research Foundation.
INCOME/BENEFITS The amount of money you earn Completely satisfied 1989 16%
Completely dissatisfied 8%
34
1991 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
13 21 23 24 27 28 28 25 31 29 28 26 31 29 30 29
53 48 47 46 43 46 46 46 44 46 45 45 43 41 41 40
23 19 16 18 18 17 16 19 15 15 17 14 15 16 19 16
10 11 14 12 12 8 10 10 9 10 10 14 11 14 9 14
SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The income it provides Completely Somewhat Somewhat Completely satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied 1973 21% 53% 17% 9% 1976 26 48 18 7 1979 20 48 21 10 1980 23 48 21 8 1983 22 47 22 8 1988 17 56 21 4 1991 22 54 18 5 1994 18 53 23 6 1996 19 51 21 8 1999 19 54 19 7 2001 23 56 17 4 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. The benefits it provides (health and medical insurance, life insurance, pension plan, etc.) Completely Somewhat Somewhat Completely satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied 1973 32% 34% 11% 18% 1976 33 31 14 18 1979 33 32 12 20 1980 32 35 14 15 1983 32 30 17 19 1988 28 37 15 16 1991 28 38 17 14 1994 27 35 18 17 1996 25 35 19 18 1999 26 38 17 16 2001 29 37 19 13 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. The health insurance benefits your employer offers Completely Somewhat satisfied satisfied 1989 32% 39% 1999 33 30 2001 36 27 2002 36 28
Somewhat dissatisfied 14% 14 11 12
Completely dissatisfied 9% 14 15 14
35
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
34 39 27 31 36 40 43 39 35 35 35
34 26 33 27 28 28 24 26 23 22 25
11 9 11 13 10 8 8 9 12 13 11
11 14 16 13 13 11 15 15 18 18 19
SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The health insurance benefits offered by your employer Very Somewhat satisfied satisfied Aug. 2004 34% 30% SOURCE: AP/Ipsos The retirement plan your employer offers Completely satisfied 1999 31% 2001 31 2002 29 2003 35 2004 36 2005 27 2006 31 2007 32 2008 34 2009 35 2010 33 2011 34 2012 33 2013 33 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The retirement benefits offered by your employer Very Somewhat satisfied satisfied Aug. 2004 34% 29% Aug. 2011* 17 22 NOTE: *Source is AP/ LifeGoesStrong.com. QUESTION: Does your employer offer any health insurance benefits with your job, or not? Jun.Jul. 2006 Yes 68% No 16%
Somewhat satisfied 30% 34 33 31 28 31 31 30 26 26 30 26 26 28
Somewhat dissatisfied 10% 8 10 9 10 9 12 9 11 9 11 8 11
Completely dissatisfied 19% 16 16 14 13 18 11 14 14 19 14 20 16
Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied -21
NOTE: Sample is employed adults. Sixteen percent said they were self employed. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center.
36
QUESTION: Do you feel you are paid fairly for the work you do, or not? Yes 71% No 29%
QUESTION: Do you think you are paid more than you are worth, less than you are worth, or about what you are worth? More than worth 4% A lot less than worth 23% A little less than worth 34%
May 2008
NOTE: Survey asked of working adults. Source: Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers. QUESTION: In general, would you say that your company or place of work is understaffed, with too few employees for the amount of work that needs to be done, has about the right number of employees, or is overstaffed, with too many employees for the amount of work that needs to be done? Understaffed 38% Right number of employees 52% Overstaffed 8%
Aug. 2010
Gallup
NOTE: Asked of adults who are employed full or part time.
In May 2001, when Roper GfK-NOP asked All things considered, would you say the employee benefits offered by the organization you work for are better than they were 5 years ago, or worse, or about the same now as they were 5 years ago. 27 percent said they were better, 9 percent worse and 52 percent the same. In 1991, the responses were 22, 15 and 48 percent respectively.
CO-WORKERS Your relations with co-workers Completely satisfied 1999 67% 2001 64 2002 66 2003 68 2004 74 2005 69 2006 67 2007 74 2008 69 2009 69 2010 70 2011 68 2012 69 2013 70 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The kind of people you work with Completely satisfied 1973 50% Somewhat satisfied 27% 28 28 29 22 25 26 20 27 24 24 24 25 24 Somewhat dissatisfied 2% 3 2 1 -3 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 Completely dissatisfied 1% 2 2 1 1 * 1 1 * 1 1 2 3 1
Completely dissatisfied 3%
37
1976 1979 1980 1983 1988 1991 1994 1996 1999 2001 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP.
52 50 45 48 41 41 37 37 40 39
38 42 46 43 49 49 49 50 46 50
6 5 7 6 6 5 10 9 9 8
2 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 2
Your relationships with your co-workers Very satisfied Aug. 2004 69% Mar. 2011* 37 NOTE: *Source is AP/ LifeGoesStrong.com.
Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied -15
HOURS/VACATION/AMOUNT OF WORK/STRESS The amount of work that is required of you Completely satisfied 1993 47% 1998 45 1999 46 2001 47 2002 51 2003 50 2004 53 2005 49 2006 52 2007 54 2008 50 2009 54 2010 55 2011 53 2012 49 2013 51 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Please tell me whether you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied withthe total number of hours that you work each week. Very satisfied 46% 37 Somewhat satisfied 37% 35 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4% 4 Somewhat dissatisfied 8% 16 Very dissatisfied 5% 7
Somewhat satisfied 35% 40 35 35 36 31 33 36 36 34 37 30 30 30 32 34
Somewhat dissatisfied 13% 11 12 13 9 13 10 11 8 7 10 8 9 10 13 9
Completely dissatisfied 5% 4 6 5 4 6 4 4 4 4 3 7 6 7 6 4
May 2008 Nov. 2009
NOTE: Survey asked of those employed. Source: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers/Abt SRBI.
38
The amount of vacation time you receive Completely satisfied 1991 35% 1993 50 1998 47 1999 50 2001 52 2002 50 2003 53 2004 52 2005 47 2006 54 2007 55 2008 51 2009 56 2010 60 2011 54 2012 54 2013 54 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The vacation time you receive Very satisfied Aug. 2004 58% SOURCE: AP/ Ipsos. The number of hours you work Completely satisfied 1973 46% 1976 45 1979 39 1980 41 1983 41 1988 33 1991 31 1994 30 1996 32 1999 28 2001 32 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. The flexibility of your hours Completely satisfied 1989 46% 1991 39 1999 56 2001 57 2002 63 2003 61 2004 62 2006 60
Somewhat satisfied 43% 22 34 30 25 25 26 27 28 27 24 27 20 19 21 20 22
Somewhat dissatisfied 12% 13 9 9 9 11 9 9 11 7 7 10 9 9 10 10 9
Completely dissatisfied 7% 13 9 9 9 11 8 8 11 8 9 8 10 8 10 10 10
Somewhat satisfied 39% 38 41 43 42 49 49 48 46 48 47
Somewhat dissatisfied 10% 11 13 12 12 13 14 17 17 18 17
Completely dissatisfied 4% 5 7 4 4 4 5 4 6 6 3
Somewhat satisfied 40% 44 31 28 27 25 24 28
Somewhat dissatisfied 10% 10 8 9 8 9 7 8
Completely dissatisfied 3% 6 5 5 2 4 5 3
39
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
68 61 65 64 63 60 64
22 26 21 22 24 26 23
5 7 7 8 7 10 7
4 5 5 5 5 5 5
NOTE: In the August 2003 Gallup survey, 65 percent of women said they were completely satisfied with the flexibility of their hours. The figure for men was 58 percent. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The amount of on-the-job stress in your job Completely satisfied 1991 17% 1993 24 1998 22 1999 21 2001 22 2002 20 2003 26 2004 27 2005 27 2006 22 2007 32 2008 27 2009 28 2010 26 2011 28 2012 29 2013 28 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The amount of on-the-job stress Very satisfied Aug. 2004 22% Mar. 2011* 15
Somewhat satisfied 44% 36 42 44 40 46 36 7 36 43 43 42 41 42 38 37 39
Somewhat dissatisfied 24% 25 23 22 23 18 23 24 25 22 14 21 21 19 21 20 20
Completely dissatisfied 11% 14 11 12 13 13 11 10 10 9 9 7 9 13 13 13 11
SOURCE: AP/ Ipsos. *Source is AP/LifeGoesStrong.com. QUESTION: Thinking about criticisms that are sometimes made about life in America, is having to work too hard a problem you personally feel you have, or not? Yes 13% 26 No 87% 72
Oct. 1965 Mar. 2001
Harris ABC
NOTE: The question wording for the Harris question was, Now I want to hand you another card with some criticisms which have been made about life in America. For each, please tell me of it is a problem you personally feel you have or not...Have to work too hard? When the ABC survey was broken down by gender, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women said they were working too hard. SOURCE: Harris Interactive and ABC News.
40
QUESTION: Some people say working long hours is worth it because it produces prosperity and a higher standard of living. Others say it's not worth it because it creates stress and lack of time. On balance would you say working long hours is or is not worth it? Worth it 46% 33 Not worth it 50% 58
Mar. 2001 Oct. 2002
NOTE: When broken down by gender in 2001, 54 percent of men and 39 percent of women said it was worth it. In 2002, 41 percent of men and 26 percent of women said it was worth it. SOURCE: ABC News. QUESTION: If you were granted one wish that would change your job, which one of the following would you choose? Jul. 2004 All I would have a job where I would make more money I would have a more impressive or high-profile job I would have a job that gave me more time to spend with family and friends SOURCE: Center for a New American Dream. 46% 6 Men 42% 8 Women Parents 49% 4 46% 5
36
37
35
38
In January 2003, Ipsos-Reid/Cook Political Report asked an open-ended question in which people could volunteer any response they wished: What are some of the biggest problems and challenges you and your family face today? Time management answers including finding enough time in the day and work too much totaled 1 percent. When Ipsos Reid/Cook Political Report asked that question in January, April, and October 2002, the total for time management was also 1 percent; in July 2002 it was 2 percent.
OTHER Your boss or immediate supervisor Completely satisfied 1989 40% 1991 37 1998 47 1999 47 2001 51 2002 56 2003 54 2004 60 2005 50 2006 55 2007 60 2008 53 2009 56 2010 58 2011 58 2012 54 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. Somewhat satisfied 45% 45 38 35 29 28 28 24 30 29 24 26 25 27 23 28 Somewhat dissatisfied 9% 10 7 7 8 7 9 6 10 6 5 8 6 5 5 7 Completely dissatisfied 4% 6 5 4 6 5 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 7 4
41
Your boss or immediate supervisor Very satisfied Aug. 2004 54% Mar. 2011* 33
SOURCE:AP/Ipsos. *Source is AP/ LifeGoesStrong.com. The personal satisfaction you get from the kind of work you do Completely Somewhat Somewhat satisfied satisfied dissatisfied 1973 43% 44% 8% 1976 46 37 9 1979 42 43 10 1980 41 44 11 1983 41 45 10 1988 37 48 12 1991 36 46 12 1994 35 47 14 1996 36 47 13 1999 36 49 12 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. The recognition you receive at work for your work accomplishments Completely Somewhat Somewhat satisfied satisfied dissatisfied 1991 24% 52% 17% 1999 38 35 14 2001 39 36 13 2002 46 33 13 2003 41 38 12 2004 48 35 9 2005 41 34 14 2006 47 33 10 2007 47 34 10 2008 45 35 12 2009 50 30 12 2010 49 30 10 2011 47 31 13 2012 46 34 10 2013 48 30 13 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. The importance to society of the work you do Completely Somewhat satisfied satisfied 1973 42% 41% 1976 40 38 1979 37 42 1980 38 45 1983 39 42 1988 33 42 1991 32 44 1994 31 44 1996 33 46
Completely dissatisfied 5% 5 5 3 3 2 4 3 4 2
Completely dissatisfied 5% 11 10 7 8 7 10 8 7 5 6 9 6 7 8
Somewhat dissatisfied 8% 11 11 12 13 16 15 18 14
Completely dissatisfied 5% 6 6 3 5 4 5 4 4
42
1999 2001 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP.
35 34
44 47
15 17
4 3
The opportunities you have to influence decisions made at work Completely Somewhat Somewhat satisfied satisfied dissatisfied 1991 27% 39% 20% 1994 26 41 21 1996 27 39 20 1999 29 38 20 2001 26 43 20 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. The physical safety conditions of your workplace Completely Somewhat satisfied satisfied 1999 63% 28% 2001 65 25 2002 69 23 2003 69 23 2004 73 19 2005 68 22 2006 67 23 2007 73 19 2008 73 21 2009 76 19 2010 78 15 2011 72 19 2012 73 19 2013 70 21 NOTE: Samples are employed people. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
Completely dissatisfied 11% 9 11 12 7
Somewhat dissatisfied 5% 6 5 5 5 8 6 6 3 3 3 6 5 5
Completely dissatisfied 3% 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 2
43
WORK-LIFE ISSUES: In a 1977 Department of Labor survey, 72 percent said it was not
at all hard or not too hard to take time off during their work day to take care of personal or family matters. In a 2000 Penn, Schoen, & Berland survey, 80 percent (47 very and 33 percent somewhat) said their employers were accommodating to their needs to balance work and family life. Other surveys show that most working people feel confident about balancing work and family life. In an April 2005 ABC News/ Washington Post survey, 88 percent of working fathers and 89 percent of working mothers were satisfied with their ability in this regard. The Pew Research Centers March 2013 Modern Parenthood study has additional poll data on this subject.
QUESTION: Which way do you tend to look at the relationship between work and leisure time: that work is the most important thing and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge peoples batteries so they can d o a better job or that leisure time is the most important thing the purpose of work is to make it possible to have the leisure time to enjoy life and pursue ones interests? Sep.Oct. 1975 Sep.Oct. 1980 Sep. 1985 Jan.Feb. 1992 Aug. 1997 Jul. 2006 Work is most important 48% 48 46 38 39 37 Leisure time is most important 36% 36 33 40 57 53
NOTE: The 19751992 askings had the choice of both or neither. The Aug. 1997 wording is slightly different. The question worded as Which way do you tend to look at the relationship between work and leisure time...work is the important thing or t hat leisure is the important thing? SOURCE: 19751992 surveys by Roper GfK-NOP. Aug. 1997 survey by KRC/US News & World Report. July 2006 survey by the Washington Post. QUESTION: Do you feel you have enough time for yourself, or not? Yes, enough time 62% 58 No, not enough time 38% 41
Jun. 1989 Mar. 2005 SOURCE: CBS News/New York Times.
QUESTION: Do you feel you spend too much time, not enough time, or about the right amount of time with your family? Too much 5% 6 3 Not enough 47% 36 40 Right amount 46% 56 56
Jun. 1989# Sep. 1991# Mar. 2005*
SOURCE: # Surveys by Mellman and Lazarus for Mass Mutual. * Survey by CBS News/ New York Times. QUESTION: Generally speaking, do you have enough time to do what you want to do these days, or not? Yes, enough time 49% 48 No, not enough time 51% 52
Sep. 1990 Mar. 1995
44
Dec. 2001 Dec. 2002 Dec. 2003 Dec. 2004 Dec. 2005 Dec. 2006 Dec. 2007 Dec. 2008 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
50 52 52 56 50 54 53 59
49 48 48 44 49 46 47 41
QUESTION: In general, how often do you experience stress in your daily life never, rarely, sometimes, or frequently? Never 4% 2 4 2 4 4 3 3 5 3 5 3 4 2 Rarely 17% 18 18 20 17 16 20 20 21 20 19 16 18 15 Sometimes 39% 38 37 45 41 43 39 36 36 40 36 35 35 41 Frequently 40% 42 41 33 37 37 38 40 36 37 39 45 42 42
Jan. 1994 Dec. 2001 Dec. 2002 Dec. 2003 Dec. 2004 Dec. 2005 Dec. 2006 Dec. 2007 Jun.Jul. 2008 Dec. 2008 Sep. 2009 Oct. 2011 Jul. 2012 Jun. 2013
Health Magazine/Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Pew Gallup Time/The Rockefeller Foundation Kaiser/Washington Post Pew University of Connecticut
QUESTION: How hard is it for you to take time off during your work day to take care of personal or family matters? Not at all hard 38% 47 42 38 Not too hard 34% 27 31 34 Somewhat hard 12% 15 15 18 Very hard 14% 11 12 10
1997 2002 2006 2010
U Mich NORC NORC NORC
SOURCE: Survey Research Center University of Michigan for the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Opinion Research Center. QUESTION: Considering everything, what would be the ideal situation for you working full-time, part-time, or not at all outside the home? Full-time work Part-time work Not working 1997 32% 48% 20% 2007 21 60 19 2012 37 50 11 NOTE: Sample is working mothers. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: My supervisor accommodates me when I have family and personal business to take care of. Agree 94% Disagree 6%
1997
SOURCE: Harris Interactive for the Families and Work Institute.
45
QUESTION: Now, Id like to find out how satisfied you are with different aspects of your job. Please tell me whether you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with itThe ab ility to balance work and family. Very satisfied 53% 51 40 Somewhat satisfied 34% 32 40 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 3% 5 4 Somewhat dissatisfied 6% 8 11 Very dissatisfied 3% 4 5
Aug. 1998 Jul.Aug. 1999 Nov. 2009
NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers/Abt SRBI. QUESTION: How accommodating is your employer to the need to balance work and family? Very accommodating 47% Somewhat accommodating 33% Not very accommodating 8% Not at all accommodating 8%
2000
SOURCE: Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates for Blueprint. QUESTION: Im going to read you some statements related to your job. For each of these statements, please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement...I do a good job of balancing my job and my family. Strongly agree 61% Somewhat agree 33% Somewhat disagree 4% Strongly disagree 1%
QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your ability to balance work and family life - very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied? Apr. 2005 Very satisfied 53% 53 41 Somewhat satisfied 37% 36 47 Not too satisfied 8% 9 10 Not at all satisfied 2% 2 2
Working Adults Working Moms Working Dads
SOURCE: ABC News/Washington Post. QUESTION: How satisfied are you with the amount of free time you have in an average week - very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied? Apr. 2005 Working Adults Working Moms Working Dads Very satisfied 43% 20 28 Somewhat satisfied 34% 46 35 Not too satisfied 16% 24 26 Not at all satisfied 7% 10 10
SOURCE: ABC News/Washington Post.
46
QUESTION: What would you say is the biggest challenge in raising children today? Feb. 2007 Societal influences Discipline/Morals Time, Work balance NOTE: Responses are combined. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: If you work outside the home, in the last year, have you taken time off from work in order to help provide for a parent, or not? Yes No MayJun. 2007 26% 66% (If yes) Was your employer helpful or not helpful in giving you time off to provide this care? Yes 81% No 13% 38% 31 10
(If no) Do you think your employer would be helpful or not helpful if you needed time off to help care for your parent? Yes No 73% 15% SOURCE: ABC News/USA Today.
WORK CHARACTERISTICS: In survey questions asked since 1996, around 15

percent say they hold more than one job. Telecommuting has risen in popularity since US News and Gallup first asked about it twelve years ago, when 9 percent of workers said they have telecommuted. In August 2008, Gallup found that three in ten Americans had telecommuted. In 2007, 55 percent of Americans reported that they worked for the private sector. Eleven percent said they worked for non-profits while 16 percent worked for government or were selfemployed.
QUESTION: How many different jobs do you currently hold? One 85% 87 85 86 85 83 87 Two or more 15% 12 15 14 15 17 13
Jul. 1996* Jul. 1997* Aug. 1999 Aug. 2002 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2005 Jun.Jul. 2006*
Newsweek PSRA Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup PSRA/Pew
NOTE: Asked of those employed full time or part time. *Question worded as How many jobs do you have now?
47
QUESTION: How many different jobs do you hold for pay or profit? One job 86% Two jobs 10% Three or more jobs 4%
Aug. 2004
AP/Ipsos
NOTE: Asked of those employed full time or part time. QUESTION: Have you ever switched careersthat is, switched from one type of work to another type of work? Yes 54% 52 63 61 61 No 47% 48 37 38 39
Dec. 1986 Apr. 1987 Jul. 1997 Jun.Jul. 2006 Jan. 2010
USA Today USA Today PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center PSRA/Pew Research Center
NOTE: Samples are employed adults. Twenty-two percent said they switched 1 time; 39 percent said 2 times or more of those who said yes in 2006. Previous to that the subquestion was not asked. QUESTION: How likely is it that you will stay with your present employer for the remainder of your working life? Is it... Very likely 45% 44 41 42 40 Somewhat likely 19% 20 24 27 26 Not very likely 13% 20 18 13 16 Not at all likely 23% 15 17 17 16
Dec. 1986 Apr. 1987 Jul. 1997 Jun.Jul. 2006 Jan. 2010
USA Today USA Today PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew
NOTE: Samples are employed adults. USA Todays final category was not likely at all. If self-employed substitute. QUESTION: How likely is it that you will switch careers again/sometime during your working life?...Very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, not at all likely? ----Switching careers during your lifetime---Somewhat Not very likely likely 20% 24% 21 25 19 25 19 25 23 23
Apr. 1987 Jul. 1997 Jun.Jul. 1997 Jun. 2006 Jan. 2010
USA Today PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew PSRA/Pew
Very likely 23% 29 28 28 24
Not at all likely 32% 24 27 27 29
QUESTION: How long have you worked for your current employer? For how long have you worked for your current employer (Gallup/USA Today) One year or less Gallup 25% Gallup 25 PSRA/Pew 26 Gallup/USA Today 21 2-4 years 21% 22 23 23 5-9 years 20% 21 19 21 10 or more years 34% 36 32 36
Jul. 1989 Jul. 1989 (late) Jun.Jul. 2006 Aug. 2009
NOTE: Samples are employed adults (includes self employed). Mean: 8.3. Median: 5.
48
QUESTION: How likely is it that you will switch careersthat is, the type of work you dosometime during your working life? Very likely, somewhat likely, or not very likely? Very likely 24% Somewhat likely 24% Not very likely 51%
May 1993
Gallup/CNN/USA Today
NOTE: Samples are employed adults. USA Todays final category was not likely at all. QUESTION: Have you ever telecommuted, that is, worked from your home using a computer to communicate for your job? Yes, have 9% 32 30 No, have not 91% 68 69
Oct. 1995 Aug. 2006 Aug. 2008
US News/CNN/Gallup Gallup/USA Today Gallup/USA Today
(Asked of those who have telecommuted) If there are 20 workdays in a typical month, about how many days out of 20 would you telecommute from home instead of going into the office? None 17% 23 One to five 48% 49 Six to ten 8% 9 Eleven-Fifteen 7% 3 Sixteen-Twenty 16% 11
Aug. 2006 Aug. 2008
(Asked of those who have telecommuted) Are you more likely to telecommute during regular business hours instead of going into the office or after regular business hours or on the weekend in addition to going into the office? During regular business hours 40% 33 After regular business hours 50% 54
Aug. 2006 Aug. 2008
NOTE: Sample is adults employed full or part-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Including all its locations and work sites, not just your own, about how many people are employed by the company or organization you work for? Fewer than 25 18% 27 25-100 16% 16 100-1,000 28% 23 1,000 or more 37% 33
Jul. 1996* Jun.Jul. 2006
Newsweek PSRA/Pew
NOTE: Samples are employed adults. * Based on not self-employed. QUESTION: Which of the following best describes your job? Are you an employee of a private company or business, or an employee of a non-profit organization, a government employee, or self-employed in your own business or professional practice? Private company or business Aug. 2001 Gallup 58% Aug. 2002 Gallup 55 Aug. 2003 Gallup 58 Aug. 2004 Gallup 57 Aug. 2005 Gallup 55 Jun.Jul. 2006 PSRA/Pew Research Center 57 Aug. 2006 Gallup 55 Aug. 2007 Gallup 55 Feb. 2009 PSRA/Pew Research Center 50 NOTE: Samples are employed adults. Non-profit organization 11% 13 11 8 9 9 9 11 10 Self employed 12% 12 13 15 18 16 17 16 18
Government 17% 16 17 17 15 18 16 16 20
49
QUESTION: Next wed like to know how often, if ever, that your job requires you to work in an office - do you always, usually, rarely, or never work in an office? Always 36% 36 40 Usually 19% 13 10 Rarely 19% 23 33 Never 25% 28 26
2002 Jan. 2004 Mar. 2004
NOTE: Asked of adults employed full-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Next wed like to know how often, if ever, does the work you do get your clothes dirty - always, usually, rarely, or never? Always Usually Rarely Never 2002 24% 17% 33% 26% NOTE: Asked of adults employed full-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: How long have you worked in your present job for your current employer? Feb.Jun. 2002 Mar.Aug. 2006 Mar.Aug. 2010 NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: NORC/UChicago. QUESTION: How are you paid at work: do you have a salary, are you paid by the hour, or are you mostly paid by commission? Salary 41% 39 38 38 39 46 Hour 47% 51 50 51 53 52 Commission 7% 6 7 5 7 3 Less than 1 year 23% 25 21 1-4 years 31% 26 29 5-9 years 18% 21 21 10 or more years 26% 27 28
Aug. 2002 Aug. 2005 Jun.Jul. 2006 Aug. 2007 Jul.Aug 2010 Mar. 2012
NOTE: Asked of adults employed full or part-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization, 2002-2005; PSRA/Pew Research Center, 2006, 2010, 2012. Question: Does the type of work you do generally require a bachelors degree from a college or university or some other advanced academic? Yes No Aug. 2002 38% 61% Aug. 2005 43 57 NOTE: Asked of adults employed full or part-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: Does the type of work you do generally require advanced training such as a bachelors degree from a college or university or some other advanced academic degree? Yes 48% No 52%
Oct. 2002 NOTE: Asked of adults employed full-time. SOURCE: Gallup/CNN/USA Today.
50
QUESTION: Is your compensation (at work) based in part on some type of incentive pay, a commission, or a year-end bonus, or is your hourly wage/your salary/the amount you are paid for the job fixed ahead of time with no bonus or incentive pay expected? Based on some type of incentive pay or bonus 43% Not based on incentive pay 55%
Nov. 2002
NOTE: Asked of adults employed full-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization/UBS. QUESTION: Which of the following best describes how you get paid at workyou are paid an hourly rate, you are paid a salary, or you are paid by the job? Hourly rate 51% Salary 38% By the job 9%
Nov. 2002 NOTE: National employed adults. SOURCE: Gallup/UBS, 2002.
QUESTION: Which of the following comes closest to describing how you feel about your personal job? Aug. 2004 My job is interesting nearly all the time While my job is interesting most of the time, there are dull stretches now and then There are a few times when my job is interesting, but mostly it is dull and monotonous My job is completely dull and Monotonous there is nothing interesting about it SOURCE: Survey by AP/Ipsos. QUESTION: Have you ever moved because of a job? If yes, how often have you moved because of a job? No, never 65% Once 14% Twice 9% Three times 4% Four or more 8% 42 %
48
Mar. 2005
SOURCE: CBS News/New York Times. QUESTION: Have you ever moved because of your husbands/wifes job? (If Yes): How often have you moved because of his/her job? Yes, three times 2% Yes, four or or more times 4%
Mar. 2005
Yes, once 12%
Yes, twice 4%
No 77%
NOTE: Asked of those married. SOURCE: New York Times.
51
QUESTION: Are you now employed full-time, part-time or not employed? Full-time 52% 49 48 Part-time 12% 15 12 Not employed 36% 35 39
Oct. 2005 Feb. 2006 Jun.Jul. 2006
SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Which of the following best describes the place where you work? Jun.Jul. 2006 An office A factory or manufacturing facility A construction site or other outside work site A store, restaurant, or retail outlet A school A hospital, clinic, or medical facility Your own home Private home Drive a car or bus or truck SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Do you generally get paid a salary, or are you paid by the hour? Salary 42% 30 39 46 Hourly 50% 48 53 52 Mixed/Other/Contingent 8% 3 7 3 33% 13 12 11 11 8 6 2 1
May 2008 Feb. 2009* Jul.Aug. 2010** Mar.Apr. 2012**
NOTE: Survey asked of working adults. *Question wording read Do you work for annual salary or are you paid by the hour? **Question wording read Are you paid a salary, by the hour, self-employed/commission/stipend? SOURCE: Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers. QUESTION: Which of the following best describes how you get paid at workyou are paid an hourly rate, you are paid a salary, or you are paid by the job? Jun.Jul. 2008 Hourly rate 78% Salary 15% By the job 5%
NOTE: Survey of national adult low-wage workers. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington Post, Harvard University. QUESTION: Compared to twenty years ago, do you think the types of jobs now available in the U.S. require different backgrounds and skills than they used to 20 years ago, or do the jobs available now require about the same backgrounds and skills? Different 87% Same 10%
Dec. 2009
CBS News
In October 2002, the Gallup organization asked, In your job, do you directly supervise other workers, or not? Fifty-four percent said yes; 46 percent said no.
52
WORK TIME AND COMMUTES: How a question is worded and the methodology
employed affect estimates of the number of hours worked each week. Data from Gallup and the Census Bureau paint similar pictures of commuting times. The American Community Survey, conducted by the US Census Bureau, shows that the average commuting time fluctuated within a narrow range between 2000 and 2011. In the 2000 census, the average was 24.3 minutes. In 2011, that number was 25.5 minutes.. Further, it turns out that a lot of people like their commutes. In a comprehensive survey on traffic, 19 percent of those who worked outside the home and commuted to work told ABC News/Washington Post interviewers in January 2005 that they liked their commute a great deal, 41 percent said they liked it somewhat, 23 percent said they disliked it somewhat, and 12 percent disliked it a great deal. In the survey, 63 percent said their commute from home to work usually took less than thirty minutes. Twenty-seven percent said it took from thirty to fifty-nine minutes, and 9 percent, sixty minutes or more
QUESTION: First, we would like to know approximately how many hours a week you spend at your job or occupation, and that includes keeping house or going to school, as well as working for pay or profit. How many hours would you estimate you spend at work, housekeeping, or studies, including any travel time to and from the job or school? (Harris) QUESTION: In a typical week, how many hours do you work? (Gallup) QUESTION: How many hours did you work last week, at all jobs? (NORC-GSS) CES: Data are from employer reports. Robinson: Time Diary Harris Median Hours 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 CES 38.6 38.6 38.7 38.8 38.7 38.8 38.6 38.0 37.8 37.7 37.1 36.9 37.0 36.9 36.5 36.0 35.8 35.7 35.3 35.2 34.8 35.0 35.2 34.9 34.8 34.8 GSS Robinson Time Diary Gallup Mean Hours Gallup Median Hours
29.4
40.6 43.1
39.9 39.8 40.5 40.8 41.0 39.8 40.4 40.5 41.2 41.8 41.3
46.9
47.3 48.8 47
28.3
53
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
49
50 51 51 51 50 50 50 50 47 49 50 50 45 46
34.7 34.6 34.5 34.3 34.4 34.5 34.7 34.5 34.4 34.6 34.6 34.5 34.5
41.4 41.3 40.9 40.3 41.8 41.7 42.4 41.8
43.4 42.5
40 --
43.5 41.9 42.8 43.0 43.1 42.3 41.9 43.0 43.6 43.3 42.4 43.0 42.8 42.8
40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40
NOTE: Gallup asked adults who were employed full time or part-time. QUESTION: Just your best estimate, on an average day, how much time would you say you spend in a car for all reasons, including work, school, errands and leisure? Less than 30 15% 30 12% 31-59 6% 60 22% Greater than 60 43%
Jan. 2005
NOTE: Asked of those who ever drive. Responses are in minutes. SOURCE: ABC News/Washington Post/Time. COMMUTING QUESTION: How do you ordrive your own car, carpool, train, bus or how? Drive own car 82% Carpool 12% Train 2% Bus 2%
Oct. 1965
Harris
NOTE: Asked of those with family member who commutes. QUESTION: On most days, about how long does it take you to get from your home to where you work? Roper median minutes 14.5 14.8 14.7 15 21 22.4 16.5 26 24.3 NORC mean minutes Gallup mean minutes Census mean minutes
1973 1977 1980 1986 1987 1988 1990 1992 2000
21.7 23
54
NOTE: Sample is adults employed full or part-time. SOURCE: Harris Interactive, the Department of Labors Current Employment Statistics, National Opinion Research Centers General Social Survey and Americans Use of Time Project (University of Maryland, John Robi nson). QUESTION: Do you have a job outside your home? (If yes) Do you drive there yourself or use a carpool, or get to work some other way? No job outside home 34% Drive self 47% Carpool 8%
Jun. 1979
CBS/NYT
QUESTION: Do you usually drive to work alone or do you drive with someone? Alone 76% With someone 24%
Jul. 1979
Cambridge
NOTE: Asked of those employed outside the home full or part time and they drive to work. QUESTION: Given a choice, would you prefer to ride or drive to work? Ride 37% Drive 55%
Apr. 1980
Cambridge
NOTE: Asked of those who work outside the home. QUESTION: Tell me which one of the following best describes how you go to workdrive your own car, car pool, or some form of public transportation? Drive own car 57% Carpool 6% Public transportation 5% Combination 3%
Apr. 1990
NBC/WSJ
NOTE: Asked of registered voters. QUESTION: What methods of transportation do you currently use to get to work? Do you drive alone, carpool or both? Drive alone 81% Carpool 9% Public transportation 9% Walk 4% Bicycle 1%
Jul. 1993
Chilton
NOTE: Asked of those who work. Adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses. QUESTION: How do you generally get to work do you drive yourself, ride with someone else, take mass transportation, walk or something else? Drive 86% 87 85 82 82 Ride with someone else 5% 4 6 8 6 Mass transportation 4% 4 4 4 5 Walk 2% 3 3 3 3
May 2000 Jun. 2004 Aug. 2007* May 2008* Aug. 2008*
Gallup/CNN/USA Today AP/IPSOS Gallup Gallup/USA Today Gallup
NOTE: Asked of those employed outside the home. *Sample is adults employed full or part-time. QUESTION: How many minutes does it usually take you to commute from home to work? Less than Greater than 60 15 minutes 15 minutes 16-29 minutes 30 minutes 31-59 Minutes 60 minutes minutes Jan. 2005* 31 12 20 12 15 5% 4 NOTE: Asked of those who work outside the home who drive themselves to work. SOURCE: ABC News/Washington Post/Time.
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QUESTION: How do you usually get to workdo you drive alone, drive or ride with someone else, walk, take a bus, take other public transportation or what? Drive/ride with someone else 8% Take other public transportation 1%
Jan. 2005
ABC/Time/WP
Drive alone 84%
Walk 3%
Bus 3%
NOTE: Asked of those employed outside the home. Sample is adults employed full or part-time. QUESTION: Is commuting to work something you like or dislike? Do you like/dislike it somewhat or a great deal? Like great deal 19% Like somewhat 41% Dislike somewhat 23% Dislike great deal 12%
Jan. 2005
NOTE: Asked of those who work outside the home. Seventy-four percent of those who had a commute of less than 15 minutes liked their commute compared to 42 percent whose commute was more than 30 minutes. Seventy-one percent who worked in a rural area or town liked their commutes, compared to 56 percent who worked in a suburb, and 47 percent who worked in a city. SOURCE: ABC News/Washington Post/Time. QUESTION: How much total time in minutes do you spend commuting to and from work in a typical day? Less than 30 min. 28% 31 30-60 min 36% 35 60-90 min. 17% 16 90 min to 2 hours 9% 7 2 hrs or more 8% 11
Aug. 2007 Aug. 2008
NOTE: Sample is adults employed full or part-time. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: How many minutes does it usually take you to commute from home to work? 1-10 minutes 25% 11-20 minutes 29% 21-30 minutes 18% 31-180 minutes 23%
Dec. 2011 SOURCE: ReasonRupe.
Depends 3%
QUESTION: And are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with the following aspects of your job? If an item does not apply to you, please say so. Your commute. Very satisfied 54% Somewhat satisfied 24% Somewhat dissatisfied 7% Very dissatisfied 7% Does no apply 7%
Jun. 2013
SOURCE: CNBC, Hart and McInturff Research Companies. In a 1997 Maritz survey for American Demographics magazine, drivers were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement: Driving is my time to think and enjoy being alone. Forty-five percent of drivers agreed with the statement, 24 percent were neutral, and 30 percent disagreed. In 2002, The Conference Board asked, To what extent are you satisfied with each of the following aspects of your present job...commute to work? On a five-point scale, 59 percent in the mail survey placed themselves on either point one or two. In 2000, the figure was 58 percent, and in 1995, it was 62 percent.
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LOYALTY: Huge majorities of workers say they are loyal to their companies. Solid majorities
say their companies are loyal to them. Workers perceptions of most employers loyalty are more negative, but they are also less reliable than peoples personal experiences.
QUESTION: There is increasing talk these days about the ethical and moral standards in our society. We would like to know how widespread you think certain questionable practices are...Do you think that is true of most, fairly many, not too many, or very few (people, business people, employees, etc.)
--------------------------------Business people padding their expense accounts----------------------------------Most Fairly many Not too many Very few 1973 32% 37% 15% 7% 1976 32 42 12 6 1978 31 43 12 7 1979 31 45 13 3 1982 33 45 13 4 1986 33 44 13 3 1987 28 32 21 10 1988 22 43 19 6 1993 23 44 20 6 1997 26 47 17 4 2000 24 43 20 6 -----------------------Employees taking company supplies home for their own use--------------------------Most Fairly many Not too many Very few 1988 17% 36% 30% 10% 1993 20 38 27 9 1997 20 45 24 7 2000 23 38 24 9 ----------------------------People lying on their resumes/Employment applications----------------------------------Most Fairly many Not too many Very few 1997 20% 38% 29% 8% 2000 21 34 29 10 NOTE: Not all categories shown. SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: Do you have a strong sense of loyalty to the company or organization you work for, or not? Yes, strong sense of loyalty 86% 85 83 86 81 85 No, not strong 12% 14 16 14 18 15
May 1993 Sep. 1998 Aug. 2001 Aug. 2002 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004
SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
57
QUESTION: Does the company you work for have a strong sense of loyalty to you, or not? Yes, strong sense of loyalty 67% 3 66 64 70 63 67 No, not strong 30% 24 32 32 27 34 29
May 1993 Dec. 1993 Sep. 1998 Aug. 2001 Aug. 2002 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
QUESTION: And, how much loyalty would you say you feel toward the company/organization you work for as a whole a lot, some, only a little, or no loyalty at all? A lot of loyalty 54% Some loyalty 32% Only a little loyalty 10% No loyalty at all 4%
Sep. 1994 SOURCE: PSRA.
QUESTION: And, compared to a few years ago, would you say that todays employees in general are mo re loyal to their employers, less loyal to their employers, or has there been no change? (Wirthlin) QUESTION: In general, how loyal do you think that employees are to their companies todayvery loyal, fairly loyal, just somewhat loyal, or not too loyal? (Hart/Shell Oil) More loyal 14% 33 14 Less loyal 58% 55 59 No change 27% 25
1996 July 1998 Nov. 1998
Wirthlin Hart Wirthlin
QUESTION: Compared to a few years ago, would you say that todays employers in general are more loyal to their employees, less loyal to their employees, or has there been no change? (Wirthlin) QUESTION: In general, how loyal do you think that companies are to their employees todayvery loyal, fairly loyal, just somewhat loyal, or not too loyal? (Hart/Shell Oil) ------------------------------------------------Most employers loyalty--------------------------------------------------More loyal Less loyal No change 1996 Wirthlin 11% 65% 22% July 1998 Hart 25 73 Nov. 1998 Wirthlin 15 63 21 --------------------------------------------------My loyalty to employer---------------------------------------------------Great deal Some Not too much Very little a Mar. 1994 47% 33% 9% 5% a May 2001 54 33 6 4 a: Sample is employed people NOTE: Some responses combined. Roper GfK-NOP responses are asked of employed people. SOURCE: University of Connecticuts Center for Survey Research and Analysis, Wirthlin Worldwide a nd Peter D. Hart Research Associates for Shell Oil Company and Roper GfK-NOP.
58
QUESTION: I am going to read you a series of statements. For each, please tell me whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree... I feel a sense of loyalty to the company or organization that I work for. Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly agree agree Neither disagree disagree Aug. 1998 50% 36% 3% 6% 4% SOURCE: University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research and Analysis. QUESTION: I am going to read you a series of statements. For each, please tell me whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree...The company or organization I work for feels a sense of loyalty towards me? Strongly Agree 27% Somewhat agree 38% Somewhat disagree 14% Strongly disagree 13%
Aug. 1998
Neither 7%
NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research and Analysis. QUESTION: Overall, how committed do you feel your company is to you? Very, moderately, only somewhat or not very committed at all? Loyal 72 77 Not loyal 29 20
Nov.1998 Jan. 2001
NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: Wirthlin Group. QUESTION: Overall, how committed do you feel to your company? Very, moderately, only somewhat or not very committed at all? Loyal Not loyal Nov.1998 84 16 Jan. 2001 92 2 NOTE: Asked of those employed. SOURCE: Wirthlin Group. QUESTION: I am going to read to you a series of statements about your job. For each series, please tell me which statement comes closer to your own views A or B. Statement A: The company or agency I work for cares about me as an individual. I feel respected. Statement B: The company or agency I work for does not really care about me. I am just a number. Cares about me/ feel respected 70% Does not care/ just a number 26%
Feb. 2004
NOTE: Not all categories shown. SOURCE: Zogby International/Public Service Research Foundation. QUESTION: Please just tell me if you agree or disagree with each of the following statementsI feel a sense of loyalty to the company or organization that I work for. Agree Disagree Nov. 2009 85% 13% NOTE: Asked of those employed full or part-time/retired from their primary job but still working full or part-time and they are not self-employed. SOURCE: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers.
59
QUESTION: Please just tell me if you agree or disagree with each of the following statementsThe company or organization I work for feels a sense of loyalty towards me. Agree 63% Disagree 35%
Nov. 2009
NOTE: Asked of national adult workers. SOURCE: John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers.
THE BOSS: Around a quarter of those surveyed say they would be interested in having the
bosss job. About the same number say they would be interested in running the organization they work for. In a 1943 Roper survey of factory workers for Fortune, 55 percent said they would prefer a job which pays quite a low income but which they were sure of keeping, 27 percent said a job which pays a good income but which you have a 50-50 chance of losing, and 15 percent a job which pays an extremely high income if you make the grade, but which you are sure to lose if you dont. In 1993, those responses were 28, 32, and 32 percent respectively. Far more Americans daydream about being rich than about having a better job.
QUESTION: If you were taking a new job and had your choice of a boss would you prefer to work for a man or a woman? Male boss 66% 37 62 46 36 40 48 39 35 46 38 48 31 37 30 32 Female boss 5% 19 7 12 12 8 14 22 16 19 16 22 19 19 28 22 No difference 25% 43 29 38 50 46 34 36 47 33 45 28 49 43 39 44
Sep. 1953 Aug. 1966 Sep. 1975 Jun. 1982 May 1988 Feb. 1989 Dec. 1989 Aug. 1993* Jun. 1994 Sep. 1995* Aug. 1999 Dec. 2000 Apr. 2002 Aug. 2006 Jun. 2008 ** Aug. 2011
NOTE: Samples are employed adults. Sample is employed adults. Mail survey Asked of those employed full/part time. Sep. 1953 question wording was If you were taking a new job, and had your choice of a boss, would you prefer to work under a man or woman? June 2008 question wording was If you were taking a new job and had your choice of a boss would you prefer to work for a man or woman? (If Say depends on person, probe once:) Everything else being equal, would you prefer to work for a man or a woman? SOURCE: Gallup, *Gallup/CNN/USA Today, ** *Gallup/UBS, **Pew.
60
QUESTION: It is the goal of some people who work to advance their position, while others like what they are doing and do not particularly want to move up to more responsibilities. Thinking now of your present position and your immediate bosss position, do you think you would be interested in having your bosss job or would you really prefer to keep your own? Interested in bosss job 29% 23 25 Prefer own job 63% 70 63
1985 1992 1995
SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: Regardless of how you feel about having your bosss job, do you think you would be interested in the top jobrunning the organization you work for, or would you prefer to keep your own job? Interested in running organization 30% 24 24 Prefer own job 62% 67 65
1985 1992 1995
SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: Who do you think makes a better boss, a man or a woman? Man 44% Woman 18% Gender makes no difference 35%
Jan. 1991 SOURCE: PSRA.
QUESTION: For each of the following that I read, would you say you prefer to have a man or woman, or does it make no difference?...As your boss. Prefer man 17% Prefer woman 6% No difference 77%
Jun. 1992 SOURCE: Wirthlin Group.
QUESTION: If you could fire your current boss, would you do so, or not? Yes 24% 21 No 70% 74
1997 2002
Gallup/USA Today Maritz
QUESTION: Would you want your bosss job? MayJun. 2001 SOURCE: Harris Interactive. QUESTION: I am going to read you a series of statements about your job. For each series, please tell me which statement comes closer to your own view, A or B. Statement A: It is difficult to work with my immediate supervisor. Statement B: I have a good working relationship with my immediate supervisor. Difficult to work with my immediate Supervisor 15% Good working relationship with my immediate supervisor 81% Yes 24% No 73%
Feb. 2005
SOURCE: Zogby International/Public Service Research Foundation.
61
OTHER WORK AND JOB ISSUES:

Here we compile several questions that cover a broad range of work- and job- related issues.
QUESTION: Here are three different kinds of jobs. If you had your choice, which would you pick? A job which pays quite a low income, but which you were sure of keeping, or a job which pays a good income, but which you have a fifty-fifty chance of losing, or a job which pays an extremely high income if you make the grade, but which you are sure to lose if you dont? Low income/ will keep job 55% 47 42 48 22 22 28 Good income/ 50-50 chance of losing 27% 32 26 33 34 34 32 High income/ could lose job 15% 19 26 14 36 38 32
1943 Fortunea 1948 Fortune 1957 Roper GfK-NOP 1962 Gallup 1981 Roper GfK-NOP 1988 Roper GfK-NOP 1993 Roper GfK-NOP
a. Sample is factory workers. NOTE: In 1939, when Roper asked, If you had your choice, which would you prefer, 87 percent of executives answered a job that pays a high wage, but with a fifty-fifty chance of getting promoted or fired, and 8 percent chose a steady job earning just enough to get by on, but with no prospect of advancement. Among factory workers the responses were 53 and 45 percent, respectively. National results were 61 to 33 percent. SOURCE: Roper for Fortune, Roper GfK-NOP, and the Gallup Organization.
In March 2000, The New York Times asked, Would you keep your job if your salary were cut 25 percent, or not? Thirtyone percent said they would, 55 percent said they would not. QUESTION: Most people spend at least a small part of their waking hours daydreaming and thinking about different things. Some of those daydreams may be complete flights of fancy, others just s imple, like a hungry person thinking about lunchtime. Heres a list of some things people might be expected to daydream about from time to time. Would you look it over and call off the things, if any, that you ever daydream or think about? Being rich 41% 52 49 53 54 50 Having a better job 32% 33 29 36 32 29 Being elected to political office 6% 6 4 6 5 4
1979 1984 1989 1992 1997 2001
NOTE: Only selected categories shown. SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. QUESTION: If you were free to do either, would you prefer to have a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay home and take care of a house and family? ---Prefer to stay home----Prefer to have a job--Total Men Women Total Men Women 60% 35% 45 49 51 46 47 48 35% 21% 47 58 72 45
1974 Roper GfK-NOP/VS 1978 Roper GfK-NOP 1979 Roper GfK-NOP/VS 1982 CBS 1983 NYT
62
1984 LAT 1985 Roper GfK-NOP/VS 1989 (Jul.) CBS/NYT 1989 (Aug.) Roper GfK-NOP/VS 1991 Roper GfK-NOP 1992 (Oct.) CBS/NYT 1994 Roper GfK-NOP 1994 (Dec.) Roper GfK-NOP/VS 1996 LAT 1997 (Sep.) Roper GfK-NOP 1997 (Sep.) CBS 1999 Roper/VS 2000 Roper GfK-NOP 2001 Gallup 2002 Gallup 2003 Gallup 2005 Gallup 2007 Gallup 2008 Gallup 2009 CBS/NYT 2012 CNN/ORC 2012 Gallup
23 37 37 35 31 37 39 30 36 35 36 37 41 37 34 38 28 33
14 12 13 19 21 19 15 26 25 17 21 24 24 27 29 23
34 45 51 51 53 51 50 47 50 52 42 44 47 45 53 45 45
72 59 56 61 62 57 57 62 59 58 54 58 63 59 66 63
81 86 81 77 72 78 78 65 71 74 73 68 68 74
60 51 35 42 43 42 45 46 48 44 50 48 42 50 52
SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP for Virginia Slims, CBS News, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Roper GfK-NOP and the Gallup Organization. QUESTION: If you had enough money to live as comfortable as youd like, would you prefer to work full -time, work part-time, do volunteer-type work, or work at home caring for the family? Work at home Full time Part-time Volunteer work caring for the family Apr. 1992 23% 29% 19% 25% SOURCE: Harris Interactive. QUESTION: How do you think things are going for most Americans these days? Would you say _____ are/is better, worse, or about the same these days? Jun.Jul. 2006 Job opportunities The amount of leisure time Family life Health care Housing Education Work life NOTE: Sample is employed adults. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. QUESTION: Do you work from home, either often or sometimes, or dont you do this? Primarily from home 6% Often or sometimes from home 26% Better 26% 16 18 20 31 34 20 Worse 43% 43 45 52 38 34 39 About the same 26% 36 33 24 26 27 34
Jun.Jul. 2006
Do not 68%
NOTE: Sample is employed adults. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center.
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ATTITUDES ABOUT LEISURE: University of Virginia historian Cindy Aron argues

that the idea of leisure has not come easily to Americans (Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States, Oxford University Press, 1999). For most of the 19th century, vacations were limited to privileged elites. After the Civil War, when vacations were becoming more widely available to the middle class, the new-found leisure time was often used for work of other kinds (educational self-improvement, religious instruction, etc.). The work ethic is still strong in America. In 1973, 68 percent said they would continue to work if they were able to live as comfortably as they would like for the rest of their lives. In 2008, 71 percent gave that response. Survey data suggest that attitudes about leisure are changing. In 1975, 48 percent told Roper GfK-NOP interviewers that work is the important thing and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge peoples batteries so they can do a better job. In 2000, 34 percent gave that response. In 1975, 36 percent agreed with the statement: Leisure time is the important thing and the purpose of work is to make it possible to have the leisure time to enjoy life and pursue ones interests. Today, 43 percent give that response. Forty-five percent told Peter D. Hart researchers that they had more leisure time than their parents at the same point in their lives, 27 percent less, and 25 percent about the same amount. Thirty percent of eighteen-to-sixty-four year olds with children at home said they had more leisure time than their parents, 35 percent less, and 32 percent about the same amount. Still, more Americans than a quarter century ago say they have not quite as much or not nearly as much leisure time as they would like. Views about leisure time are strongly related to where one is in the life cycle. Seniors often say they have too much leisure time, parents of young children, too little. Recent surveys suggest that when people are asked if they would prefer more money or more time, people generally respond more money. But when choices are narrowed (a weeks vacation or a weeks salary) time often trumps money.
QUESTION: If you were to get enough money to live as comfortably as you would like for the rest of your life, would you continue to work or would you stop working? Continue to work 68% 64 68 69 76 72 74 69 74 70 71 72 66 68 Stop working 30% 35 31 30 23 27 25 30 25 29 27 27 33 30
1973 1974 1976 1977 1980 1982 1984 1985 1987 1988*** 1989*** 1990*** 1991*** 1993***
64
1994*** 1996*** 1998*** 2000*** 2002* 2004** 2006 2008** 2010**
65 67 69 68 68 69 70 71 68
34 32 30 31 31 31 30 28 31
NOTE: Asked of those who were either working or temporarily not working at the time. *Asked of a 1/3 sample. **Asked of 1/2 sample. ***Asked of a 2/3 sample. SOURCE: National Opinion Research Center. QUESTION: Which way do you tend to look at the relationship between work and leisure time: That work is the important thing and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge peoples batteries so they can do a better job or the other way around That leisure time is the important thingand the purpose of work is to make it possible to have the leisure time to enjoy life and pursue ones interests? Work is important thing 48% 48 46 36 30 38 31 37 35 39 34 34 Leisure is important thing 36% 36 33 41 36 40 42 36 40 57 40 43 Both about equal (vol.) 13% 15 17 20 24 17 25 25 22 -24 20
1975 RASW 1980 RASW 1985 RASW 1989 RASW 1991 RASW 1992a RASW 1993 RASW 1995 RASW 1996 RASW 1997 US News 1998 RASW 2000 RASW
NOTE: a. Roper for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Question wording varied slightly. In 1980, when the Los Angeles Times survey asked "Which do you think is more important in life: working hard and doing what is expected of you or doing the things that give you personal pleasure," 59 percent of registered voters said working hard and 34 percent said doing things for pleasure. The question has been asked five times since then. In 1989, the responses (among a national adult sample) were 49 and 44 percent respectively. In 1990, the last iteration of the question, the responses were 46 and 46 percent respectively. SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP and US News and World Report. QUESTION: Which do you enjoy morethe things you do in your work (on your job) or the things you do in your leisure time? Work 35% Leisure 36% Equal 25%
Feb. 1948
NOTE: Survey asked of half sample. Source: The Gallup Organization (AIPO). QUESTION: Generally speaking, which do you enjoy morethe hours when you are on your job, or the hours when you are not on your job? On the job 39% 20 18 18 22 Not on the job 48% 68 60 68 70
Jun. 1955 Sep. 1988 Sep. 1990 Jul. 1991 May 1993
65
Oct. 1998 Aug. 1999 Aug. 2001 Aug. 2006 Sep. 2006 Oct. 2006
23 16 19 13 14 19
69 77 76 81 80 78
NOTE: In 1948, Gallup asked which do you enjoy morethe things you do in your work (on your job) or the things you do in your leisure time? Thirty-five percent of the respondents chose work, 36 percent leisure and 25 percent said they were equal. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization and Ipsos. QUESTION: Do you enjoy your work so much that you have a hard time putting it aside? Yes 51% 33 23 No 45% 67 77
1955 Gallup 1988 Gallupa 2001 Ipsos-Reida
NOTE: a Sample is employed people. SOURCE: The Gallup Organization and Ipsos-Reid. QUESTION: On the whole, would you say that you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the amount of leisure and free time that you get to yourself? Satisfied 76% 62 80 70 87 87 68 73 72 66 64 80 66 77 65 79 Dissatisfied 22% 32 17 28 11 13 32 26 27 33 36 15 33 23 35 16
1963 1978 1984 May 1988 Sep. 1988 Oct. 1988 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2004 2005
Gallup Cambridge Reports Gallup Times Mirror Gallup Gallup Gallup Times Mirror Times Mirror Roper GfK-NOP Gallup Pew Hart/Teeter Roper GfK-NOP ABC/20-20 Pew
NOTE: Question wording varied. Some questions use the word leisure. Others use the words free time outside of work. A separate question from Hart/Teeters April 2000 poll asked, Comparing yourself with your parents when they were your age, do you think that you have more leisure time, less leisure time, or about the same amount of leisure time as your parents had?. Forty-six percent answered more leisure time, 27 percent less leisure time and 25 percent about the same amount. SOURCE: The Gallup organization, Cambridge Reports/Research International, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (formerly the Times-Mirror Center), Roper GfK-NOP, Hart/Teeter Research, and ABC News 20/20.
66
QUESTION: And how about how many hours each week do you estimate you have available to relax, watch TV, take part in sports or hobbies, go swimming or skiing, go to the movies, theater, concerts, or other forms of entertainment, get together with friends, and so forth? (Harris) QUESTION: About how many hours of leisure time would you say you have on a typical weekdayby that I mean hours when youre free to do what you want to do? And how about on a typical Saturday? And finally, Sunday. How many hours of leisure time do you usually have? (Roper GfK-NOP) Harris Median Hours 1965 1973 1975 1980 1984 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2007 2008 RASW Mean Hours a Robinson Time Diaryb 34.8 38.7 39.6 41.0c -
26.2 24.3 19.2 18.1
37.2 39.0 38.2 36.6 35.5 -
17.7
16.6 18.8
18.8 19.5 19.2
19.5 19.4 19.8 20.0 20.0 20.0 19.0 19.0 20.0 16.0
NOTE: a. Total weekly hours derived by using the following calculation: (Average weekday x 5) + (Saturday and Sunday). b. Hours per week, for those aged 18-64. C. The methodology for this survey was different from the 1965, 1975, and 1985 surveys. SOURCE: Surveys by Harris Interactive, Roper GfK-NOP, and Americans Use of Time Project (University of Maryland, John Robinson). In the 2004 ABC News 20/20 poll, 55 percent of full-time workers said they were satisfied with the amount of free time they had in an average week and 45 percent said they were dissatisfied. Sixty-eight percent of part-time workers said they were satisfied and 32 percent were dissatisfied. Sixty-one percent of married persons were satisfied and 39 percent were dissatisfied. Seventy-one percent of unmarried persons were satisfied and 29 percent were dissatisfied. Fifty-one percent of persons with kids under 12 were satisfied and 49 percent were dissatisfied. Seventy-one percent of persons with no kids at home were satisfied and 29 percent were dissatisfied. QUESTION: About how much leisure time do you estimate you have each week to relax, engage in hobbies, go to movies and concerts and other forms of entertainment, take part in sports, or get together with friends and so forth? Jan. 1973 No leisure time 4% Associated Council of the Arts/Philip Morris 10 hours or less 18% 11-20 hours 27% 21-30 hours 17% 31-40 hours 8% over 40 hours 17%
NOTE: Responses of students and housewives are included.
67
QUESTION: Now I would like you to consider some specific aspects of your personal life. For each one that I read, tell me how satisfied you are, if at all, with itthe amount of leisure time you have? Completely satisfied 23% Mostly satisfied 47% Mostly dissatisfied 21% Completely dissatisfied 7%
May 1988
SOURCE: Times Mirror/Gallup. QUESTION: Here are some statements about why people work. Irrespective of whether you have a job or not, which of them comes closest to what you think? I enjoy working but I dont let it interfere with the rest of my life. Mentioned 41% Not mentioned 59%
May 1990
SOURCE: World Values Survey. QUESTION: How well does the term workaholic describe you? Very well 24% Somewhat well 53% Not well 33%
1991
SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.
QUESTION: Which of the following statements comes closest to how you feel? I would rather earn more money, even if it requires more of my free time, OR I would rather have more free time even if it means making less money. (US News) QUESTION: If you had a choice, would you prefer to have more money or more time? (Harris/Radcliffe) QUESTION: If you had the choice between either an extra day off from work every two weeks or an extra day s wages or salary every two weeks, which would you preferthe extra time or the extra money? (Hart-Teeter) QUESTION: Which would you rather havea salary increase, OR more free time out of work? (Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates) QUESTION: If you could have more of one thing, which would you choose, time or money? (Roper GfK-NOP) Extra time 51% 64 30 58 32 35 Extra money 35% 34 63 40 57 56
Dec. 1995 Feb. 2000 Mar. 2000 Apr. 2000 June 2000 Dec. 2002
US News Harris/Radcliffe Penn-Schoen Hart-Teeter Penn-Schoen Roper GfK-NOP
SOURCE: Surveys by Roper GfK-NOP, KRC Communications/Research for US News & World Report, Harris Interactive for Radcliffe Public Policy Center/FleetBoston Financial, Penn, Schoen and Berland and Hart-Teeter Research. QUESTION: Please say, for each of the following, how important it is in your life. Would you say extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all? How about...? Extremely important Your leisure time 2001 14% 2002 15 2005 11 Your work 2001 19 2002 21 2005 17 Very important 50% 44 46 55 52 58 Somewhat important 30% 34 35 23 25 21 Not too important 4% 5 6 2 2 2 Not important at all 1% 2 2 1 0 1
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NOTE: In 2002, your work ranked third out of nine item in terms of extremely/very important and your leisure ranked seventh. The other categories were your family (96 percent), your health (90 percent), your friends (70 percent), your money (67 percent), your religion (65 percent), your hobbies or recreational activities (46 percent), and your communit y activities (32 percent). SOURCE: The Gallup Organization. QUESTION: How satisfied are you withconfidence that you will be able to continue to enjoy your favorite leisure time activities in the future? Very Somewhat Not very Not at all satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied Aug. 2001 IPSOS-Reid 55% 33% 8% 3% QUESTION: I would be willing to give up one days pay per week in exchange for one day off per week to spend more time with family and friends? Jul. 2004 Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Dont know All 23% 30 21 19 7 Men 19% 26 23 25 7 Women 27% 34 18 14 8 Parents 28% 32 18 17 6
SOURCE: Center for a New American Dream. QUESTION: I would rather have more time off work than get a raise. Jul. 2004 All Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree 12% 28 26 28 Men 8% 32 24 32 Women 15% 25 27 24 Parents 13% 33 23 26
SOURCE: Survey by Center for a New American Dream. QUESTION: How much less in salary or pay, in terms of percentage, would you accept in order to have more free time? Would you say...? Jul. 2004 0% 1%-5% 6%-10% 11%-15% 16%-20% More than 20% All 30% 30 19 3 1 3 Men 33% 30 21 1 2 3 Women 26% 31 18 4 1 2 Parents 27% 33 22 2 2 2
SOURCE: Center for a New American Dream. QUESTION: After a long weekend, vacation, or a few days off from work, what best describes how you usually feel about going back to work? Do you: Feel ready to go back to work 51% Wish you could have a longer break 49%
Aug. 2004 SOURCE: Ipsos.
69
QUESTION: Are you regularly scheduled to work in the evenings or on the weekends, or not? Yes Jun.Jul. 2006 34% NOTE: Sample is employed adults. SOURCE: PSRA/Pew Research Center. No 61% No set schedule (vol.) 5%
QUESTION: Would you say you get more satisfaction from the things you do in your leisure time or the work you do? Leisure time 50% Work 30% Both 19%
May 2008
NOTE: Survey asked of working adults. Source: Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the John J. Heldrich Center at Rutgers. QUESTION: Would you like to work more hours than you currently work, the same number of hours, of fewer hours than you currently do? More 14% 17 29 Same 52% 61 45 Fewer 33% 22 25
May 2008 May 2009 Nov. 2009
70
Many pollsters in the United States regularly supply us with their data. This report could not have been done without their assistance, and we thank them for it. The data in this report come from the archive of public opinion polls at the American Enterprise Institute and from The Roper Centers archive at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. The Roper Center is the oldest and largest archive of public opinion data in the world. To learn more about the Roper Center, visit http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/. Compiled by Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow Andrew Rugg, Research Assistant For comments or questions contact Karlyn Bowman at kbowman@aei.org or Andrew Rugg at Andrew.Rugg@aei.org
This document first appeared on the AEI website in August 2001.
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The State of The American Worker 2013: Attitudes About Work in America

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The State of The American Worker 2013: Attitudes About Work in America

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AEI Public Opinion S Studies

Jul. 1989 Jul. 1991 May 1993 June 1994 Aug.1997

1955 1988 2001

Gallup Gallupa Ipsos-Reida

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978

Jul. 1989 Jun.Jul. 2006 Jun.Jul. 2008

1989 1992 1993 1998 1999 2001 2003 2006 2010

Dec. 1995# Dec. 1996# Jul. 1999# Mar. 2005

Jul. 1997 Jun.Jul. 2006

Aug. 1997 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005 Aug. 2013

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Love it Like it Dislike it Hate it

Aug. 2004 Mar. 2011

Aug. 2004 SOURCE: AP/Ipsos.

Aug. 2004 SOURCE: AP/Ipsos.

Somewhat satisfied 30%

Jun. 2006 Jun. 2008

Jul. 2006 SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.

Aug. 2008 Aug. 2010

Jan. 2010 Jan. 2011

NOTE: Survey asked of those employed. SOURCE: Gallup/USA Today, *Gallup.

Feb. 2010 NOTE: Sample is of employed adults. SOURCE: Marist Poll.

Very satisfied 45%

Oct. 2010 Mar. 2011 Dec. 2011

Aug. 1997 Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004 Aug. 2005

Aug. 2003 Aug. 2004

Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup

Nov. 2001 Feb. 2002 Apr. 2003

Gallup Gallup Gallup

Gallup/Newsweek Gallup Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today

Gallup/Newsweek Gallup Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today Gallup/CNN/USA Today

Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup Gallup

Very concerned 31% 33 28 30 22 20 21 22 29 28

Somewhat concerned 20% 25 27 26 24 18 25 27 27 26

CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS

Mar. 2008 Mar. 2009 May 2009 SOURCE: CNN/ORC.

CBS CBS/NYT CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT

AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK AP-GfK

CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS/NYT

Oct. 2011 Apr. 2012 May 2012

CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT

Oct. 2011^ Apr. 2012^ May 2012*

CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT

1973 1974 1976 1977

Lots of free time 5% 5 4 4

SOURCE: National Opinion Research Center.

1999 2001 SOURCE: Roper GfK-NOP. Your current job security

Very satisfied 36% 38 37 36 37 38 41 40 45 46 49 35 32 30 36 33 33 35 35

Somewhat satisfied 37% 37 39 38 40 36 37 38 33 35 33 35 36 30 30 34 32 29 32

Somewhat dissatisfied 14% 12 10 13 12 12 10 11 10 9 8 14 13 15 16 14 15 15 13

Very dissatisfied 12% 12 13 12 11 13 11 10 11 9 9 15 17 24 17 18 19 20 18

SOURCE: NBC and The Wall Street Journal.

Somewhat satisfied 35% 28 29 32 32 36 40 38 37 34 40

Somewhat dissatisfied 16% 19 21 21 21 20 21 25 24 26 23

Completely dissatisfied 16% 18 20 17 18 13 12 12 14 13 9

Somewhat satisfied 39% 37 39 46 37 41 38 40 40 37

Somewhat dissatisfied 20% 20 21 18 23 17 18 20 14 15

Completely dissatisfied 16% 18 17 16 16 17 18 15 12 14

Somewhat satisfied 39% 22

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied -22

Somewhat dissatisfied 13% 16

Very dissatisfied 11% 14

May 2008 Feb. 2009* Jul.Aug. 2010 Mar.Apr. 2012