American Workers most likely to feel well-paid and to like their boss.

A new International Herald Tribune/France 24/Harris Interactive survey finds that, overall, in the United States and the five largest European countries, people are mostly satisfied with their jobs. At least two-thirds of each country’s workers say they are satisfied, with Italy having the lowest satisfaction numbers (67%) and Spain having the highest (83%).

In their current jobs, the top two most important aspects are the interesting nature and the salary. In Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, the interesting nature of the job comes ahead of salary for importance. For Spanish and American workers, however, salary is more important than the interesting nature of their jobs. The working hours are third for each of the countries in importance.

These are some of the results of an IHT/France 24/Harris Interactive Survey conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,473 adults aged 16 to 64 within France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States, and adults aged 18 to 64 in Italy, between September 6 and 17, 2007.

Pay Conditions

Looking specifically at pay, over three in five US workers (63%) say they are well-paid, and this is the highest of the six countries. Just half of British workers (52%), German workers (51%) and Spanish employees (50%) say they are well-paid. Over half of workers in France (54%) and half of Italian workers (50%) say they are badly paid. In fact, one in five (20%) Italian workers believe they are very badly paid.

In fact, at least a plurality of workers in five of the six countries say they would prefer to work and earn the same amount as they currently do showing how they do feel about their pay. Italy is the one exception as just over a third (36%) of Italian workers feel the same while half of them (50%) would prefer to work more and earn more than they currently do. Working less and earning less is not something workers want. While one in ten Spanish workers (11%) would want this, they are the highest of the six countries.

Attitude Towards Bosses

While it may be the theme of many a television show and movie, on average, most workers do not dislike their bosses. Just under one-quarter (23%) of Italian workers say they dislike their current boss and they are the highest of the six countries. On the flip side, two-thirds of U.S. workers (65%) like their current boss with almost half (46%) saying they like their boss very much. Majorities in Great Britain (56%) and France (52%) also like their boss and just under half of Italian workers (48%) and German workers (47%) feel the same. Spanish workers are a bit more mixed. One-third like their boss (34%) and 16 percent dislike their current boss, while 38 percent of Spanish workers neither like nor dislike their boss.

Vacation Days

Like with pay, on the most part, people believe the number of holidays workers (i.e. vacations) have in their respective countries is sufficient. Almost three-quarters of French adults (74%) believe the number of days is sufficient as do seven in ten (71%) of Germans and two-thirds (66%) of Italians. Just over half (55%) of Spaniards also feel this way about vacation days. Feelings are more mixed in the U.S. as 42 percent of Americans believe vacation days are sufficient and the same number believes they are insufficient. Great Britain is the only country where more think the number of vacation days is insufficient – 45 percent say insufficient and 37 percent believe the number of days is sufficient.

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