Not Just a Job: New Evidence on the Quality of Work in the ... · Full-time jobs are rated better...

Not Just a Job: New Evidence on the Quality of Work in the United Statesand California

Copyright © 2019 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

The median household income has risen only slightly as income inequality has grown. The median income increased 0.6% per year from 1979 to 2016, while the top 1% of household incomes increased at an average rate of 3.2% per year during that time (using CBO data).

2

Median and top 1% household labor income growth, adjusted for inflation using PCE Index (1979-2016)

1.29 1.27

3.733.16

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Income growth, median household Income growth, top 1% household


Labor force participation rate for U.S. residents aged 25-54 (1980-2018)

3

84.1

82.1

75.0

76.0

77.0

78.0

79.0

80.0

81.0

82.0

83.0

84.0

85.0


Percentage of workers and people aged 18-64 who had health insurance coverage and retirement plan benefits through their employer from 1978-2018

4

49.142.3

57.753.3

71.4

60.9

Participation in employer-retirment plan (CPS) Coverage through own job (CPS)Coverage through own or partner's job (National Health Interview Survey)

Copyright © 2019 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.5

Why job quality needs to be measured


The dimensions of job quality consist of more than income and benefits.

6

0 1 L E V E L O F P A Y

0 2 S TA B L E A N D P R E D I C TA B L E PAY

0 3 S TA B L E A N D P R E D I C TA B L E H O U R S

0 4 C O N T R O L O V E R H O U R S A N D / O R L O C AT I O N (e.g., ability to work flexible hours, work remotely)

0 5 J O B S E C U R I T Y

0 6 E M P L O YE E B E N E F I T S (e.g., healthcare, retirement)

0 7 C A R E E R A D VA N C E M E N T O P P O RT U N I T I E S (e.g., promotion path, learning new skills)

0 8 E N J O YI N G YO U R D AY- TO - D AY W O R K (e.g., good coworkers/managers, pleasant work environment, manageable stress level)

0 9 H AV I N G A S E N S E O F P U R P O S E A N D D I G N I T Y I N YO U R W O R K

1 0 H AV I N G T H E P O W E R TO C H A N G E T H I N G S A B O U T YO U R J O B T H AT YO U ' R E N O T S AT I S F I ED W I T H

Job Quality = Satisfaction with Dimension 1 + Satisfaction with Dimension 2 + …

T H E Y I N C L U D E :


D AT E S

M E T H O D S A M P L E P O P U L AT I O N

Great Jobs Demonstration Survey

7

F U N D I N G

February 8–April 1, 2019

Address-based sampling with encouragement to respond online

R E S P O N S E

Adults aged 18 and older from across all 50 states and the District of Columbia

9,671 individuals

919in California

R E S P O N S E R AT E

14.5%C O N T E N T

81 items on a variety of topics connected to work

6,633 workers

638workers in California


Defining a good job using the 10 dimensions of job quality

8

N O T AT A L L S AT I S F I E D

E X T R E M E LY S AT I S F I E D

B A D J O B M E D I O C R E J O B G O O D J O B

2 3 4 511 2 3 4 5

Copyright © 2019 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.9

Highlights of the findings


Less than half of California workers are in good jobs. Job quality is closely related to income.

10

Percentage of California workers in good, mediocre and bad jobs by income level

34%

7%

7%

19%

16%

36%

48%

39%

40%

44%

30%

45%

53%

41%

40%

Bottom 40% income

Middle 41%-79% income

Top 20% income

All CA workers

All U.S. workers

Bad Job Mediocre Job Good Job

Unless otherwise indicated, all data refer to CA workers


Most California workers in good and even mediocre jobs are thriving in their life evaluation. Most in bad jobs are struggling or suffering.

11

Percent of workers with high life evaluation by whether they are in a good, mediocre or bad job situation

77%

64%

26%

Good Job Mediocre Job Bad Job



There is a noticeable gap between what California workers find important for a good job and how satisfied they are with those dimensions

12

Career advancement opportunities

Level of pay

Having the power to change things

Employee benefits

Enjoying your day-to-day work

Job security

Having a sense of purpose

Stable and predictable pay

Stable and predictable hours

Control over hours and/or location

83%

90%

75%

88%

95%

95%

91%

91%

88%

66%

31%

29%

42%

44%

58%

58%

61%

59%

61%

56%

Bottom 40%

82%

86%

83%

89%

92%

95%

94%

94%

86%

76%

52%

61%

53%

68%

75%

78%

80%

83%

79%

67%

Middle 41%-79%

75%

95%

91%

90%

92%

85%

89%

90%

79%

74%

62%

84%

46%

77%

63%

84%

74%

87%

73%

72%

Top 20%

◼◼Satisfaction ◼◼Importance ◼◼Satisfaction ◼◼Importance ◼◼Satisfaction ◼◼Importance

80%

89%

81%

88%

93%

93%

92%

90%

84%

73%

45%

54%

47%

59%

66%

71%

70%

73%

70%

64%

All CA Workers

◼◼Satisfaction ◼◼Importance


Employee benefits are closely tied to income level. Workers in the bottom 40% income bracket lag in all forms of benefits.

13

83%

88%

80%

90%

66%

75%

83%

82%

86%

89%

74%

89%

47%

72%

84%

77%

71%

63%

55%

64%

25%

40%

50%

64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Paid sick leave

Paid vacation

Paid maternity or paternity leave

Health insurance

Tuition assistance

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Disability insurance

Percent of California workers with each benefit by income level

Bottom 40% Middle 41%-79% Top 80%Unless otherwise indicated, all data refer to CA workers


Workers in counties with smaller metropolitan areas are in bad jobs at greater rates than those in Southern California and the Bay Area.

14

26%

9%

19%

29%

45%

45%

45%

46%

36%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Other Californian counties

San Francisco Bay Area

Southern California

Percent of California workers in good, mediocre and bad jobs by region


Regions were defined using the California Employment Development Department’s Economic Markets and Sub-Markets for Regional Economic Analysis Profiles.Unless otherwise indicated, all data refer to CA workers

https://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/Publications/REA-Reports/Map-EconMarkets-2015.pdf


Female workers in California are in good jobs at greater rates than male workers.

15

16%

37%

47%

Female


22%

42%

35%

Male




Job quality in California tends to rise with age, then decline for older workers.

16

34%

48%45%

38%

24%

14%18% 17%

Age 18-34 Age 35-49 Age 50-59 Age 60-85

Percent of California workers in good jobs and bad jobs by age

Good Job Bad Job



Those with a bachelor’s degree have bad jobs at much lower rates than those whose education is less than a bachelor’s degree.

17

9%

46%

45%

Bachelor's degree or higher


25%

38%

37%

Less than bachelors degree




California workers who were immigrants to the U.S. are in good jobs at higher rates and bad jobs at lower rates than workers who were not foreign-born.

18

21%

40%

39%

Not foreign-born


6%

43%51%

Foreign-born




The difference in rates of good and bad jobs between California workers who were immigrants and those who were not foreign born is particularly notable when considering education level.

19

11%

38%

48%

59%

41%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Foreign-born

Not foreign-born

Bachelor’s degree or higher


Percentages below 5% are not shownUnless otherwise indicated, all data refer to CA workers

13%

26%

49%

37%

38%

38%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Foreign-born

Not foreign-born

Less than a Bachelor’s degree



California workers are more likely to be in a good job when they strongly agree that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day.

20

Percentage of California workers in each type of job who strongly agree that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day.

Copyright © 1993-1998, 2017 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. The Gallup Q12 items are Gallup proprietary information and are protected by law.You may not administer a survey with the Q12 items or reproduce them without written consent from Gallup.

67% 21% 12%G O O D J O B M E D I O C R E J O B B A D J O B


Unsurprising Confirmations

National Analysis: Factors that do and do not predict job quality

21

Control variables: age, race, ethnicity, immigration status, family characteristics, education

Benefits and income predict higher job quality.

Younger workers and African American workers exhibit significantly lower job quality.

Workers rate their job lower when they work too many or too few hours.

Full-time jobs are rated better than part-time jobs.

Permanent jobs are rated much higher than temporary jobs.

Workers in production jobs tend to have lower job quality ratings, but those in the manufacturing sector more broadly do not have lower job quality.

Working multiple jobs out of need predicts lower job quality.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


Unsurprising confirmations

Benefits and income predict higher job quality.

Younger workers and African American workers exhibit significantly lower job quality.

Workers rate their job lower when they work too many or too few hours.

Full-time jobs are rated better than part-time jobs.

Permanent jobs are rated much higher than temporary jobs.

Production jobs have low quality.

Working multiple jobs out of need predicts lower job quality.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

National Analysis: Factors that do and do not predict job quality

22

Control variables: age, race, ethnicity, immigration status, family characteristics, education

Geography, gender and union status do not matter.

Republicans have higher job quality than Democrats and those with no party affiliation.

At least some measures of vulnerability to automation or trade don’t matter:

• no effect from “face-to-face interactions with clients, customers, partners or students”

• no effect from “a machine, computer or robot could do my job”

Education attainment has only a weak effect.

Surprising Non-results

1

2

3

4


The Most Important Predictors of Job Quality Nationally:

23

Engagement + Income + Benefits + Tasks + Right amount of hours

Engagement and Tasks

• My opinions count at work.• I have the opportunity to do my best work.• Someone encourages my development.• I have the opportunity to learn new skills that will be valuable to my career.• I am expected to be creative or innovative at my job.• I take risks at my job that could lead to new products, services or solutions.

• I manage others.• I solve problems with math.• My job does not involve repetitive tasks.• I have remote interactions with clients, customers, partners or students via email,

phone or another device.• I don’t perform physical tasks.

M O R E P R E D I C T I V E T H A N I N C O M E O R B E N E F I T S


Copyright Standards

24

This document contains proprietary research, copyrighted materials and literary property of Gallup, Inc. It is for the guidance of your organization only and is not to be copied, quoted, published or divulged to others outside your organization. All of Gallup, Inc.’s content is protected by copyright. Neither the client nor the participants shall copy, modify, resell, reuse or distribute the program materials beyond the scope of what is agreed upon in writing by Gallup, Inc. Any violation of this Agreement shall be considered a breach of contract and misuse of Gallup, Inc.’s intellectual property.

This document is of great value to Gallup, Inc. Accordingly, international and domestic laws and penalties guaranteeing patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret protection safeguard the ideas, concepts and recommendations related within this document.

No changes may be made to this document without the express written permission of Gallup, Inc.

Gallup® is a trademark of Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

Not Just a Job: New Evidence on the Quality of Work in the ... · Full-time jobs are rated better...

Documents

Transcript of Not Just a Job: New Evidence on the Quality of Work in the ... · Full-time jobs are rated better...