Do You Work for Love?

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We recently surveyed over 500 people to find out who loves their job and, more importantly, why. It seems that there’s a unique relationship between love and work. It turns out, love may be the secret sauce that motivates people in their jobs.

What does love have to do with it?

While paying the bills is an obvious reason people seek employment, it’s interesting to see that there are other motivating factors that encourage people to punch the clock. Our survey revealed that the highest percentage of people work for two main reasons: to give their kids a better life (28%) and to pursue activities they love (23%).

Women love their work

Gender played a statistically significant role in job satisfaction. While the majority of respondents claim to love their jobs (65%), an impressive 71% of women said they love their job. Compared to their male counterparts at 59%, women seem happier with their work.

While 16% of people may claim they “don’t know” if they love their jobs, there is a clear division among genders for those who claim with certainty that they do NOT love their work. Twenty-three percent of men claim they do not love their jobs compared to only 14% of women. Maybe the answer to this conundrum lies in this next finding: 22% of women find their jobs emotionally fulfilling, while only 14% of their male counterparts said the same.

Work hard, play hard

Aside from paying their bills, the highest proportion of respondents (at 28%) work to give their kids a better life – if that isn’t the most shining example of love, then we don’t know what is! And 23% work to afford doing things they love: traveling, dining out, and pursuing hobbies.

Age isn’t just a number

We see that depending on your age, your reason for working shifts. Generation X, for example, works to provide a better life for their kids (41%). On the other hand, Millennials’ biggest motivator for work is being able to afford activities they love – like dining out, traveling and pursing hobbies. (29%).

Those who claim to love their jobs most often are in Gen X (72%). Millennials are the most likely (at 32%) to say that they do not love their jobs. So what does that mean for the future of the workforce? Are we coming into a time of greater job dissatisfaction, or does the love for your labor grow as you do? Is there a correlation between job level and career happiness? We’ll dive into questions like these as we continue to explore trends amidst the changing face of talent.

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