CONTACTS:
Joy Schneer
Professor of Management
Rider University
908-246-3984
Earle Rommel
Rider University, news office
609-896-5192
Most Executives Would Quit If They Could
Everybody says she would quit her job if she won the lottery. But you also hear stories about people who keep their jobs and enjoy their wealth on weekends. What's the reality? A recent survey of nearly 900 mangement professionals found that 39 percent would stop working completely if they had enough money, 35 percent would continue working--if they could change jobs--and only 26 percent would keep the jobs they have.
Joy Schneer, a professor of management at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., who conducted the study, says: "The results suggest the highest degree of manager disgruntlement in the 40 years in which researchers have been measuring the work ethic and company loyalty of employees."
The data comes from a survey of 1,232 working professionals who received their MBAs from two large northeastern business schools between 1972 and 1990. Eight hundred and seventy-two responded--426 men and 446 women--with an average age of 42 years and an average annual income of $90,000.
The relatively low level of job satisfaction among this well-educated and well-paid group contrasts sharply with similar studies conducted in the 50's--when 89 percent of professionals said they would continue to work in the absence of financial need--to the early 80's--when 88 percent said they would continue.
Schneer noted three changes that may have affected workers' attitudes. Women were slightly less likely than men to work when the need disappeared. More self-employed workers also said they would carry on if they came into windfall, as would people who worked for small companies as opposed to large ones. Women, the self-employed, and workers for small companies are all growing categories of workers, but apparently not growing fast enough to forestall a major drop in employee loyalty.
For more information contact Joy Schneer at Rider University at 609-896-xxxx, at home at 908-246-3984, or try Earle Rommel in the university news office at 609-896-5192.
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