The relentless drudgery of working nine 'til five is a common gripe all over the world, but according to a survey by recruitment website Monster.com, U.S. workers hate going to the office the most.
The survey, which was sponsored by Monster.com and conducted by market research firm GfK, found that 15 percent of American workers said they disliked or hated their jobs. This was the highest level of job dissatisfaction among workers surveyed in seven countries.
GfK interviewed 8,000 people as part of the survey over the telephone, including 1,007 respondents based in the U.S. For the countries profiled – Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, UK and U.S. –respondents were asked to choose one of five options when asked how they felt about their jobs: love it, like it a lot, like it, don't like it, don't love it at all.
Of the U.S. candidates, just over half said they liked or loved their jobs, while 31 percent said they were merely satisfied. However, despite having the highest level of dissatisfied workers, the U.S. also clocked the highest amount of workers who said they loved their jobs so much they would do it for free, at 22 percent.
Canadians are the happiest workforce, according to the findings of the survey, with 64 percent liking or loving their jobs and only 7 percent saying they disliked or hated work.
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Other happier workforces included the Netherlands and India, where 57 percent and 55 percent of the respondents said they were happy in their jobs, respectively. India had the lowest level of respondents saying they hated their jobs, at 5 percent.
"What is striking about the findings is that the strength of a country's labor market doesn't necessarily correlate with workforce contentment," said Chris Moessner, vice president for public affairs, GfK. "While workers in challenged markets may have had fewer opportunities to advance in terms of promotions or salary during the recent downturn, it has not necessarily affected their happiness," he added.
The survey also delved into possible links between monetary compensation and job satisfaction and found that U.S. workers with the lowest salary were the most likely to be unhappy at work. More than one in five paid less than $50,000 per annum said they either disliked or hated their jobs.
"Regardless of what a worker's priorities are – being challenged, feeling valued or even making more money – it's important for anyone who is not in love with their jobs to remain vigilant about finding [a] better [job]," said Joanie Ruge, employment industry advisor and senior vice president of Monster.
From a regional perspective, workers in the Northeast of the U.S. are most satisfied with their jobs, with 60 percent saying they liked or loved their jobs. Only 48 percent in the Mid-West and 45 percent in the South said the same.
On average, U.S. workers have longer working weeks and a smaller allotment of vacation time compared with other countries worldwide.
According to economic research website FRED, the average employee in America works around 1,700 hours per year, while the average employee in France worked around 1,480. Workers in Asia work much longer hours, with Singaporeans putting in a whopping 2,300 hours a year.
This article originally appeared in CNBC.
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