Economy Doesn’t Change Workers’ Definition of the Perfect Job
Eighty-three percent of U.S. adults wouldn’t change their personal definition of the perfect job once the economy improves, Randstad World of Work survey reveals. While the majority would not change their definition, it should come as no surprise that the most important attributes listed by Americans are good pay (81%), interesting and challenging work (66%) and health insurance (65%).
“It would be easy to peg the economy for a shift in the definition of the perfect job, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” comments Eric Buntin, managing director of operations for Randstad. “The survey revealed that just over 61% of Americans would be doing what they are currently doing or would be staying in the same field, which indicated that most enjoy their jobs, regardless of the impact that economy has made on their jobs.” When asked what factors will become more or less important in an improved economy, it is no surprise that pay rises to the top, with half of those surveyed stating that pay will become more important. With the country paying close attention to President Obama’s current healthcare proposal, health insurance is another top factor, with 44% reporting that medical benefits would become more important, while 6% say it would become less important.
Fewer cited commute time (25%), working for a company with a strong corporate social responsibility platform (25%), and perks and incentives (23%) as factors that will increase in importance when the economy rebounds. In fact, about two in 10 respondents felt that perks and incentives (23%), commute time (20%) and location flexibility (18%) will become less important.
While the economy has impacted many Americans’ workloads, morale and paychecks, 31% say that in their perfect job, they would have more responsibility than they currently have, while just 6% would want less responsibility. Men (36%) and GenY (43%) respondents are the most eager for more responsibility. When asked what would best describe the type of work they would best describe the type of work they would be doing in their perfect job, 39% report they would be doing the same thing. |
