Job satisfaction of American workers is up from a low reached in late summer last year but hasn’t recovered to the peak hit just before the financial crisis, a Gallup survey shows.
In April, the survey found, 87.5 percent of employees were satisfied with their jobs. The low was 86.9 in July and August last year and the peak of 89.4 percent was set in February 2008.
The results get more interesting the further one goes into detail. Those whose job satisfaction eroded the most from the high point were Latinos, those lacking a high school diploma and those with vocational educations. People living in western states, Asians and young adults had steep declines, too.
Is anyone happier? Only blacks, the survey found. However, blacks are still comparatively unhappy; the demographic is least likely to enjoy its work.
Most happy with their jobs are people older than 65, those who have advanced degrees and those who make more than $90,000 a year.
How do these findings square with your observations?
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That doesn't leave much room for interpretation. If your job is terrible, you'll pick "dissatisfied." If you generally find going to work bearable, your only option is "satisfied."
Consider that another organization reported just last year that overall job satisfaction was *half* what Gallup suggested:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/job_satisfaction_at_record_low.html?ft=1&f=103943429
If you really want to measure how much people enjoy their work, you need a true Likert scale with a range of options. One also needs to present secondary questions that provide context: after all, there's a reason why people work, and without knowing these reasons any questions about satisfaction aren't exactly meaningful.