Survey Shows Workers Would Rather Be Happy in Jobs Than Merely Secure

Employers take heed: It’s love--not money--that workers want.

Love of work, also known as job satisfaction, is the No. 1 worker concern today, ranking ahead of job security, money, challenge and promotion, according to a national survey of 100 companies undertaken by the Costa Mesa-based Personnel Journal.

“The No. 1 ranking of job satisfaction represents a significant change in worker attitudes in the past six months,” said Margaret Magnus, editor and associate publisher of the journal. “As recently as last July, a nationwide survey of corporate personnel officers . . . showed that more than seven out of 10 ranked job security as the foremost worker concern.”

The magazine’s current survey ranked worker concerns from greatest to least importance and showed the following results: Job satisfaction was most important to 36% of the respondents; job security, 18%; more money, 17%; better benefits, 12%; new projects and challenges, 8%; promotional opportunities, 6%, and miscellaneous, 3%.

Magnus attributed the attitude shift--from security and salary to satisfaction--to the rising expectations of today’s workers, coupled with changes in the work force as a result of the economy’s switch from manufacturing to high-tech service.

Increasing numbers of people are turning to their work as a source of personal fulfillment, social relationships and community responsibility, Magnus said.

“The workplaces that cannot offer this job satisfaction will find it increasingly difficult to attract the high-caliber employees they want,” she said.