Are U.S. Workers Satisfied With Their Jobs? Yes and No

Most Americans surveyed for a new Pew Research Center report said they feel good about their job security, but not their pay. Relatively few expect to look for a new job in the coming months.

Only half of American workers said they were extremely or very satisfied with their job overall, with 38 percent saying they were somewhat satisfied and 12 percent not satisfied.

White workers were most likely to say they were extremely or very satisfied with their jobs (55 percent), and older workers were more likely than younger workers to express job satisfaction—67 percent of those 65 and older were satisfied, compared to 43 percent of those 18 to 29 years old. Across incomes, workers with middle or upper family incomes were more likely than those with lower incomes to express high satisfaction levels (53 percent vs. 42 percent).

What’s driving satisfaction? Majorities of workers said they are highly satisfied with their relationship with their coworkers, their relationship with their manager or supervisor, and their commute. Flexibility is also notably important—more workers said they are satisfied with their flexibility to choose when they work their required hours (49 percent) than with their flexibility to work remotely (37 percent).

What’s driving dissatisfaction? Pay is a big factor for 29 percent of workers. Among that group 80 percent said that their pay has not kept up with increases in the cost of living, and 54 percent said they don’t earn enough to pay their bills. Large shares of the respondents also said their pay is too low for the quality (71 percent) or quantity (70 percent) of work that they do.

Despite pay problems, 69 percent of workers overall said they have at least a fair amount of job security. Upper- and middle-income workers felt the most secure (78 and 71 percent, respectively), compared to 54 percent of lower-income workers. But only 26 percent said they are highly satisfied with their opportunities for promotion at work.

Lower-income workers also feel less connected to their job as a potential profession—58 percent said their job is just something to get them by, compared with 31 percent of those with middle incomes and 17 percent with higher incomes.

Half of workers said they think of their current job as a career, not a stepping stone. Workers with a postgraduate degree were more likely to view their job as a career (75 percent) compared to those with a bachelor’s degree only (59 percent), those with some college education (44 percent), or those with a high school diploma or less education (35 percent).

Most workers (76 percent) said they do more than what is expected of them at work, compared to 23 percent who do only what’s expected and 2 percent who do less than what’s expected. Workers ages 18 to 29 are more likely to say they only do what’s expected of them (33 percent) compared to other age groups.

Similar to Pew’s numbers in 2022, 63 percent of workers said they are unlikely to look for a new job in the next six months.

Do workers have the skills they need to get ahead in their job or change careers? Nearly a third say they need more education and training, but 70 percent said they have the education and training they need to get ahead.

Among the workers who said they need more training, 28 percent said that learning on the job would be best, 24 percent said they should complete a certificate program, and 24 percent said they should get more formal education.

Why aren’t they getting this training? It’s a challenge of time (43 percent), cost (38 percent), and employer support or cost-coverage (28 percent).