The State of the American Workforce

The results from the second annual Inc./Gallup survey provide readers with the skinny on American workers.

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The Inc./Gallup Survey

This year's skinny: workers in the United States say that times are good (still), that local businesspeople are heroes, and that the global marketplace is very scary (though they think the economy benefits when we do business abroad). The survey also reveals that one out of eight full-time employees moonlights; that youth is still wasted on the young (Generation X-ers claim the most job security but the least satisfaction); and that when it comes to praise in the workplace, women like it in writing, boomers like it more than they get it, and small companies are quickest to hand it out.

Those are among the findings of the second annual Inc./Gallup survey of American workers. You'll read about those and other discoveries in the comments annotating the survey results, below. And you'll see reflected in those notes two unmistakable patterns: when it comes to job satisfaction, Americans in smaller workplaces have it better, but Americans who own their workplaces have it best.

The top 10 findings are numbered. For readers who recall last year's survey, the first finding has a history.

1. Economic Anxiety?
What Economic Anxiety?

What a difference a year makes. No, not in the level of workplace satisfaction. That's the same as last year. (See Inc.'s State of Small Business 1996, " The Happiest Workers in the World.") But, ah, how the press has done a dramatic reversal. Take BusinessWeek, for example. On March 11, 1996, "Economic Anxiety" cried out from its cover. By September 23, that headline had evolved to "Whatever Happened to Economic Anxiety?" Indeed.

2. Small Is Big

The smaller the company, the more "extremely satisfied" are its workers--by a long shot (44%, compared with 31% and 28% for midsize- and large-company workers). And also, the more secure workers feel about their jobs.

And why not? After all, small-business workers are more likely to feel that they had the opportunity every day to do what they do best; had the chance to learn and grow over the past year; were fairly recognized for their contributions; were compensated fairly; had opinions that counted; and had jobs that were important because of the mission of their company. Despite the apparent happiness, however, small-business workers are also the most likely by far to say they'll go into business for themselves within the next two years.

3. How to Kill Loyalty (in Three Easy Steps)

Workers who say they plan to start their own business in the next two years are less likely than the average to say that they've had opportunities to learn and grow, that the mission of their employer makes them feel their jobs are important, and that someone at work encourages their development. Gee, why would they leave?

4. Doesn't Anything Make Them Happy?

Compared with the 35-to-49 and 50-plus age groups, Generation X-ers and other young workers (ages 18 to 34) feel more secure in their jobs, are more likely to say that someone at work encourages their development, and are more likely to have had someone talk to them about their progress. And yet 18- to 34-year-olds are far less likely than older workers to be "extremely satisfied" with their jobs.

5. Women's Work

Women are much more likely than men to say they have a best friend at work (61% versus 53%), have the opportunity every day to do what they do best, have someone at work who encourages their development, and in the past six months have had someone at work talk to them about their progress. And in what may be a sad reflection of our times, more women than men hold down a second job--but only 35% of them own the business at which they have that second job, while 57% of the men own their moonlighting business.

6. Department of Complaint

As they did last year, most workers (61%) say that over the past 12 months they've grown more secure on the job--and only a third as many say they've grown less secure. But 20% of all full-time workers is almost 13 million people. And 13 million people are a market. Consequently, at least two Web sites have cropped up to serve the disgruntled: Working Wounded (workingwounded.com) and the aptly named Disgruntled: The Business Magazine for People Who Work for a Living (www.disgruntled.com), whose mascot, Grunty, reminds us that " work is a four-letter word."

7. Bad for Me, Great for Us

Who said that average employees can't see past their personal self-interest? While almost no one believed that reorganization, reengineering, or the global marketplace was good for workers (15%, 10%, and 8%, respectively), comfortable majorities viewed each as good for the economy (66%, 60%, and 69%, respectively).

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