Not It

Remember that time you called in sick to work and then went shopping or just vegged out in front of the TV…. Well apparently you’re not alone because almost 1 in 2 employed Americans are complicit in a similar breach of work conduct.

And remember the time you hoarded those new Sharpie pens that your office manager just bought from Staples only to bring them home to use in your kids’ latest art project. Well, here you’re among a smaller, more select group of peers who have similarly transgressed….

And remember the time you had one too many martinis at that client lunch and you came back to work only to stare at your computer screen for hours a little unhinged. Well here you might want to keep that story to yourself because few American workers have committed that particular “work crime” and even fewer probably admit to it.

In the workplace, there appears to be some sort of continuum for what’s acceptable (at least in terms of what we own up to) and what’s not. For example, among American workers:

• Almost 5 in 10 have… called out sick when they weren’t (46%)
• About 3 in 10 have… taken office supplies for personal use (30%) or have given a positive reference to someone who performed poorly (27%)
• About 2 in 10 have… had a romantic relationship with someone at work (23%) or yelled at their boss (16%)
• Nearly 1 in 10 have… hired someone they knew wouldn’t be successful in a position (8%); plagiarized something (7%); been drunk during the day at work (7%); or fired someone they thought didn’t deserve it (7%).
• And only 1 in 20 have… treated a friend at work poorly to get ahead (5%)

What’s most compelling is that only about 3 in 10 American workers (29%) say they have done a sum total of zero things on the list above – which means that most of us are guilty of at least one work offense at some point in our career.

What’s your number?

American Workers Who Have...

Forever Is an Awfully Long Time

More than half of employed Americans (51%) say they will work forever. And before this latest run of high unemployment, I would have said that’s good news….

Why? Because…

• the baby boomer in me says yes, let’s not stop contributing to society or ever give up on our dream, and
• the adventurer in me says yes, let’s continue to reinvent ourselves and find new positions that fit our lifestyle, and
• the technocrat in me says yes, let’s embrace how now we can do what we want when we want to, and
• the pragmatist in me says yes, let’s make sure we create our own safety net and don’t rely on the government.

But now, I’m not entirely sure if this vision of “working forever” espouses good news.

• Nearly half of Americans have experienced a job loss in their household (either themselves or someone else) in the past six months (20%) or are worried that they will experience a job loss in the coming six months (26%).

So perhaps the plan to work forever is not a choice but a fact of life. Approximately 3 in 4 working Americans say they are working now not because they want to, but because they have to…. And that data alone may be the strongest underlying explanation of why we plan to work forever.

Rose-colored Work Goggles

Given that we have been in a state of near-record unemployment for three years running and the only silver lining is measured in decimal points, the good news is that cheerfulness on the part of those who actually have jobs is still rock-solid.

A majority of us working Americans want to reassure the rest of the country that (even though we may be working because we have to), we also happen to:

• Love our job (71%)
• Respect our boss (82%)
• Be well-regarded by our company (76%)
• Be friends with our colleagues (73%)
• Have a career that is on the right path (67%)
• Be free to be creative in our position (67%)
• Be intellectually stimulated (67%)
• Be paid what we deserve (56%)

And in case that’s not enough for you, most of us employed adults also do not believe (contrary to what you might think) that:

• Our job requires too many hours (67%)
• Our colleagues are less intelligent than we are (67%)
• Our work interferes with our personal life (66%)
• Our current career does not offer room for growth or further accomplishment (61%)

And would you believe that by and large, young people are no different than older people and men are no different than women, in terms of expressing high levels of job satisfaction as described above.

Now my water cooler and my Twitter feed and the Wall Street Occupiers suggest otherwise. In fact, I feel like I am consistently reading that we workers are getting stretched, being paid too little to take on new responsibilities from bosses who don’t appreciate us and colleagues who are out to lunch.

So…. is that a squeaky but loud minority? Or, do most of us not want to admit in a survey the truth of what we feel and say to our close friends? Are some things just fun to complain about, but when it really comes down to it, we actually appreciate what we have? Maybe we feel a whole lot more love for our jobs when we are afraid we might lose them?

More on the employment fear factor next week.

Employee Respondents Who Strongly Agree / Somewhat Agree with the Statement

Charity Begins at Home – or Does It?

It might be hard to even start thinking about your will because it means you have to start thinking about your own mortality and that can be uncomfortable. But, let’s imagine you had to divide up your assets right now and give them all away.

24% of Americans say that would be impossible, because they have nothing to give. But for those who do, the average pie looks something like:

• 38% plan to give to charity
• 19% plan to give to friends
• 71% plan to give to spouse
• 68% plan to give to kids
• 34% plan to give to other family
• 38% plan to give to someone or something else

Now, keep in mind that this is an average, meaning some Americans may be offering all 100% to their family while others are giving a big chunk to “someone or something else”… a pet perhaps? We’re also looking at all Americans adults, not just the married ones, which explains why only 71% plan to give to a spouse. Among those who are married 86% plan to leave assets to their spouse.

Based on our data, it looks like less than 2 % of the U.S. population will be donating at least half of the assets in their will to charity. Notably similar to the Giving Pledge signed by Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, David Rockefeller, Ted Turner, and many well-known affluent others, in which the majority of one’s wealth is promised to philanthropy.

Do you think every family has a responsibility to bequeath some of their assets to charity? Or, is this commitment only the obligation of the wealthy elite? How much do you personally plan to give to charity? And is there any part of you that would rather just spend it all before you go?

Respondents Who Plan to Leave at Least Something