Americans & Europeans Feel Well-Paid...and Like the Boss

ROCHESTER, N.Y. –A new International Herald Tribune/France 24/Harris Interactive survey finds that, overall, in the United States and the five largest European countries, people are mostly satisfied with their jobs. At least two-thirds of each country’s workers say they are satisfied, with Italy having the lowest satisfaction numbers (67%) and Spain the highest (83%), according to Harris Interactive. 

TABLE 1
JOB SATISFACTION
“Thinking about your current job, how satisfied would you say you are with it?”
            Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults who currently work

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding
"*" = less than 0.5%

In their current jobs, the top two most important aspects are the interesting nature and the salary. In Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, the interesting nature of the job comes ahead of salary for importance. For Spanish and American workers, however, salary is more important than the interesting nature of their jobs. The working hours are third for each of the countries in importance. 

TABLE 2
MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF JOB
“Of the following aspects relating to jobs, which one is the most important to you in your current job?”
Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults who currently work

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Pay conditions

Looking specifically at pay, over three in five U.S. workers (63%) say they are well-paid, and this is the highest of the six countries. Just half of British workers (52%), German workers (51%) and Spanish employees (50%) say they are well-paid. More than half of workers in France (54%) and half of Italian workers (50%) say they are badly paid. In fact, one in five (20%) Italian workers believe they are very badly paid, according to Harris Interactive.

TABLE 3
PAY CONDITIONS
“And now, thinking about your current pay conditions, would you say that you are…?”
   Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults who currently work

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

In fact, at least a plurality of workers in five of the six countries say they would prefer to work and earn the same amount as they currently do showing how they do feel about their pay. Italy is the one exception as just over a third (36%) of Italian workers feel the same while half of them (50%) would prefer to work more and earn more than they currently do. Working less and earning less is not something workers want. While one in ten Spanish workers (11%) would want this, they are the highest of the six countries.

TABLE 4
PREFERRED WORK SCENARIO
“The issue of working hours is often a regularly debated subject in some countries. Thinking about your current personal situation, if you had a choice, which of the following work scenarios would you prefer?”
Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults who currently work

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding 

Attitude toward bosses

On average, most workers do not dislike their bosses. Just less than one-quarter (23%) of Italian workers say they dislike their current boss and they are the highest of the six countries. On the flip side, two-thirds of U.S. workers (65%) like their current boss with almost half (46%) saying they like their boss very much. Majorities in Great Britain (56%) and France (52%) also like their boss and just under half of Italian workers (48%) and German workers (47%) feel the same. Spanish workers are a bit more mixed. One-third like their boss (34%) and 16 percent dislike their current boss, while 38% of Spanish workers neither like nor dislike their boss.

TABLE 5
ATTITUDE TOWARDS CURRENT BOSS
“Using the scale below, how much do you like or dislike your current boss?”
Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults who currently work

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Vacation days

Like with pay, on the most part, people believe the number of holidays workers (i.e. vacations) have in their respective countries is sufficient. Almost three-quarters of French adults (74%) believe the number of days is sufficient as do seven in ten (71%) of Germans and two-thirds (66%) of Italians. Just over half (55%) of Spaniards also feel this way about vacation days. Feelings are more mixed in the U.S. as 42% of Americans believe vacation days are sufficient and the same number believes they are insufficient. Great Britain is the only country where more think the number of vacation days is insufficient—45% say insufficient and 37% believe the number of days is sufficient.

TABLE 6
HOLIDAY SATISFACTION
“Overall, would you say that the number of days of holiday employees have in [Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, The United States] is…?”
Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

For more information, see www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1255