Survey: Only 39 Percent of Workers Feel Fulfilled at Their Jobs

A lot of people are far less happy with their jobs than they were a year ago.

Only 39 percent of workers find their jobs fulfilling, a new Salary.com survey of more than 2,000 people says. Just over half feel totally committed to their employers.

“These figures are way down from the same survey conducted last year, when 59.2 percent of respondents said they were fulfilled by their jobs and 71.4 percent claiming to be totally committed,” TheStreet.com says. (Last year, nearly 3,000 people participated.) Here are some other stats from the new survey:

• Last year, 83 percent were extremely proud of their work. This year, 64 percent said they were.
• Fewer people want the next generation to follow in their footsteps. Last year, 36 percent said they would recommend their line of work to their kids, but only 29 percent would now.
• More people feel constantly overworked: 52 percent this year versus 45 percent last year.
• Only 20 percent said they are willing to take on extra hours, while last year about half did.
• More would quit if they won the lottery. Last year, 42 percent said they’d still come to work the next day, but less than a third feel that way now.

In some ways, the shift seems intuitive. Since the recession hit, people across the country have been asked to make do with less. You probably know people who’ve had to take on more responsibility, work longer hours, and not necessarily get more pay for it.

And many of the new jobs created in the past few years don’t pay so well. “Low-paying and part-time jobs have made up the bulk of job gains not only in the past year, but since the economic recovery began,” TheStreet.com says.

Has your attitude about work changed in the past year? Comment below or on our Facebook page.