Remarkably, job satisfaction varies little by demographic group. Other surveys echo America's love affair with its jobs. Still, most Americans don't define themselves by what they do. Seven in 10 in a 1997 Gallup survey for USA Today and CNN said they would not fire their current boss if they could, though 24 percent said they would give their boss the boot. Perhaps that's because most Americans don't envy their supervisors.
Surveys document a significant shift in the balance of work and play.
Today, only a third say leisure is to recharge for work, while 40 percent say leisure for its own sake is more important. One reason for this change is that Americans seem to be enjoying their leisure time more. Seventy-seven percent of those interviewed last year said they enjoyed the hours they spent away from work more than the time on the job, and only 16 percent preferred to be at work. Bowman notes that longer commutes and changing expectations may erode job satisfaction in the future. Older Americans entered the work force expecting lifetime job tenure, something that younger workers don't expect and many companies no longer promise.