30 Aug, 2012
U.S. Office Workers Say Promotions Depend More On Politics Than Hard Work
NEW YORK & SUNNYVALE, Calif.- 29 August 2012-(BUSINESS WIRE)–PARADE Magazine teamed up with Yahoo! Finance for the Job Happiness Survey to discover how Americans view their jobs, working cultures, career priorities, and prospects. Based on the findings, it is clear that Americans are putting more value on every penny earned.
Below are some of the key findings; the full survey is available by request, or to read more about this survey, please visit: Yahoo! Finance Daily Ticker or Parade Online.
Retirement Age: Americans Think They’ll be Working Past 65
When asked what age they expect to retire, more than a quarter of respondents (28 percent) said they’d finish up at age 66 to 70; only 15 percent think they’ll actually retire at 65.
| ● | 66–70 | 28% | ||
| ● | 60–64 | 20% | ||
| ● | 65 | 15% | ||
| ● | Younger than 60 | 13% | ||
| ● | Older than 76 | 13% |
Career Rewind: Most Americans Would Choose a Different Career
If respondents could do it all over again, a whopping 59% say they would NOT choose the same career they work in now.
| ● | New career | 59% | ||
| ● | Same career | 41% |
Inside the Workplace:
Better workspace or commute?
| ● | Workspace | 62% | ||
| ● | Commute | 38% |
5 percent raise or two weeks vacation?
| ● | 5 percent raise | 56% | |||
| ● | More vacation | 44% |
Would you be friends with your colleagues if you didn’t work with them?
| ● | Yes | 51% | ||
| ● | No | 49% |
The Safety Net: 53 percent of American Workers Have Three Months of Savings … or Less
It seems that American workers may not be saving their hard-earned money. If those employed lost their jobs tomorrow, 27 percent of respondents say they’d have no savings to tide them over. Twenty-six percent have only 1 to 3 months of savings.
| ● | I have no savings | 27% | ||
| ● | 1–3 months | 26% | ||
| ● | 4–6 months | 15% | ||
| ● | More than 2 years | 13% |
How To Get Ahead: Americans Think They Get Ahead at Work by Playing Internal Politics
More than half (51 percent) of respondents say workers get ahead because of internal politics, while 27 percent believe it is hard work and initiative that move them forward. Cynicism seems to grow over the course of a career, with 45 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 noting hard work as the greatest means of getting ahead in their careers; only 28 percent said internal politics.
| ● | Internal politics | 51% | ||
| ● | Hard work | 27% | ||
| ● | Initiative | 18% | ||
| ● | Creativity | 4% |
About the Survey:
Yahoo! Finance and PARADE’s recent Job Happiness Survey was conducted online April through June 2012 among a sample of more than 26,000 respondents.
Yahoo! is focused on creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
PARADE, the most widely read magazine in America, has a circulation of 33 million through its distribution in more than 640 of the nation’s finest newspapers, and a readership of 63 million each week. For more, visit http://www.parade.com.
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