According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, only about half of U.S. workers say they are extremely or very satisfied with their job. Work satisfaction is correlated with compensation—workers with higher incomes tend to like their situation more than workers with lower incomes—but in general, there’s considerable room for improvement on the happy-at-your-job front right now.
“We found an interesting disconnect in terms of how workers are experiencing their jobs,” says Kim Parker, Pew’s director of social trends research. “Most say they are highly satisfied with the human side of work—their relationships with their coworkers and supervisor. They are much less satisfied with their compensation and with the opportunities they’re given for promotion or advancement.”