StrategyOne Labor Day Public Opinion Survey on the American Worker: Nearly Two-Thirds of Working Americans Seriously Doubt They'll Be Able to Ever Retire

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Sep 03, 2010, 12:01 ET

Americans are mostly satisfied with their work, but many fear taking time off from their jobs and feel disconnected from their companies

NEW YORK, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most American workers are satisfied with their jobs, but nearly two in three have strong doubts about being able to eventually stop working and retire, according to a recent StrategyOne public opinion survey of 1,043 Americans, including 613 who work either full- or part-time.

The vast majority of 613 employed Americans who were surveyed describe themselves as satisfied with their jobs (82%) and report they get satisfaction from their work (80%). About three out of four (72%) also said they enjoy where they work and look forward to coming to work every day.

Equally high percentages of workers said they feel respected by their bosses (83%) and feel their boss respects their work (82%). Co-workers also got high marks, with three out of four Americans (74%) saying their colleagues are among the best things about where they work.

But this rosy picture of the workplace belies underlying concerns, many related to the unsettled economy.

Nearly 2 in 3 (64%) believe that realistically they won't ever be able to stop working and retire, and the uncertainty of the long-term picture may help explain the divide among American workers over whether they believe they labor at a job (52%) or in a long-term career (48%).

The current economic downturn has produced a situation where almost half (46%) of workers have had their wages or salaries reduced over the past couple of years, and a similar segment are concerned about losing their jobs (44%) or having their hours cut back (48%).

About four in 10 workers (37%) describe themselves as underemployed and say they are not working as many hours as they would like because there is not enough work available at their current jobs. Meanwhile, a similar percentage of workers (40%) say that their bosses expect them to work extra hours without raises or additional compensation.

"While employed Americans on the whole enjoy their work and get satisfaction from it, there is a real sense that the retirement 'light at the end of the tunnel' may not be there for them," said Bradley Honan, senior vice president of StrategyOne.

The StrategyOne survey also found that a surprising number of workers are disconnected from the mission of their company. One-third of American workers (35%) report not caring much about their company and say they are mainly there to get a paycheck, and 38% report not knowing what the main mission of their organization is, other than making money. More than half (56%) say they would be interested in leaving their job if they could get the same compensation elsewhere.

"With extensive market competition in every industry, it's absolutely imperative that companies engage their entire workforce in their mission to achieve their business goals and objectives," said Honan. "Employees must see their jobs as more than just collecting a paycheck, and it's up to their employers to make sure that's the case."

The StrategyOne Labor Day American Worker survey also provides several other insights into Americans and their work:

Work Vs: Life

The vast majority of the workforce (78%) describes themselves as working to live — compared to 22% who say work is their top priority in life – the so called "workaholics" in our society.

Taking a day off:

One-quarter of workers (26%) say they fear being fired if they take a day off, although nearly half strongly disagree with that suggestion.

Web surfing at work:

While they may not be taking days off, many American workers admit to surfing the Web while at work: 40% for at least one hour a day and 28% for at least two hours a day. Social media is a big draw, with 29% saying they spend at least one hour of their day using such sites and checking on what other people are doing.

Communications with their boss:

Almost 82% of workers say they communicate well with their bosses, but companies have some work to do. Almost half (44%) say their companies put corporate "values" on the wall that are mostly meaningless to them.

Company meetings:

Close to half (49%) agree with the following statement: "Most meetings that I go to at the company where I work are a waste of time."

Survey Methodology:

StrategyOne conducted 1,043 online interviews among a representative sampling of Americans between August 20 and 23, 2010. 613 of those interviews were conducted among full-or part-time employees. The margin of sampling error at the 95% level of confidence for the worker population is = +/- 3.96% overall and larger for subgroups. Statistical weights were designed from the United States Census Bureau statistics.

About StrategyOne:

StrategyOne, a Daniel J. Edelman company, employs custom public opinion research and secondary research methodologies to deliver strategic counsel to corporate, organizational and governmental clients globally. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, New York, Paris, San Mateo, Washington, D.C. and Abu Dhabi we provide global clients with evidence based stakeholder insights, analysis and measurement. Visit www.strategyone.net for more information

Full Question Texts & Survey Data:

Question: How satisfied are you with your current job?


Answer	August 2010
*Total Satisfied*	*82%*
Very satisfied	36%
Somewhat satisfied	46%
*Total Not Satisfied*	*19%*
Not very satisfied	14%
Not at all satisfied	5%