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The scoop on professionals’ satisfaction

A global survey released on November 17 details how professionals feel about their futures. An overview of the current situation, which ranges from satisfaction and optimism to caution.

In mid-November, in a still gloomy economic context, professional networking site LinkedIn released the results of a survey about professionals’ satisfaction with their current jobs. Survey results of the more than 12,000 professionals worldwide are encouraging, finding that 63% of respondents across all nationalities are “happy” or “very happy” in their current jobs.

While the international average is well above 50%, implying a relatively positive situation, large disparities exist between countries. Professionals in the Netherlands ranked as most satisfied, with 80% saying they are “happy” or “very happy” in their jobs, far ahead of the Japanese, at the bottom of the list with 31%. The US was in sixth place, with 66% of professionals feeling fulfilled, similar to the global average.

Relative optimism
In addition to assessing the degree of job satisfaction, the survey also quantified workers’ optimism with respect to their future with their current employer. Once again, results show a relative optimism, with 52% of respondents saying that they would be rewarded if they worked hard, although there are significant disparities between countries. Brazilians are the most optimistic, with 63% saying that if they work hard and demonstrate results, they are likely to advance in their company. Only 44% of Spaniards are as confident in the future. US professionals, in seventh place, are in line with the global average.

Respondents were also asked to pick which applied to them from a list of seven career ambitions. The top objectives US professionals selected were the following: get promoted, I’m happy where I am, and retire early. Desires ranged from a desire to get ahead to peace at all costs, revealing the paradox of the overall survey—while employees are globally satisfied, they remain cautious about their futures.

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