Satisfied at Work, Despite Retirement Worries

September 3, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A Labor Day survey conducted by StrategyOne indicates that while the vast majority of American workers are satisfied with their jobs, nearly two thirds doubt they will ever be able to retire.

The positive results found by StrategyOne would make any employer happy:

  • Eighty-two percent of respondents said they are satisfied with their jobs.
  • Almost three quarters said they look forward to going to work every day.
  • Eighty-three percent said they felt respected by their bosses.
  • Three out of four said their colleagues/co-workers were the best part of work.

Unfortunately, the economy has caused an equal number of negative results to surface as well:

  • Nearly two out of three American workers believe they will never be able to completely stop working and retire in the traditional sense.
  • Almost half of those in the survey have either had their salaries reduced in the past few years, and almost half are also afraid of losing their jobs altogether.

Despite a majority of workers saying they are satisfied with their jobs, one-third also say they do not feel connected to the company’s mission.  Perhaps most alarming to employers, more than half of the workers in the survey said they would be willing to work elsewhere for equal compensation and not think twice about leaving their current company.

“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.

By Nicole Bliman 

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