Job preferences (What makes a job good or bad?)

Abstract

Over a 30-yr period, 57,000 job applicants of a public utility ranked the importance of 10 factors that make a job good or bad. The order for men is security, advancement, type of work, company, pay, co-workers, supervisor, benefits, hours, and working conditions. Women consider type of work more important than any other factor, followed by company, security, co-workers, advancement, supervisor, pay, working conditions, hours, and benefits. Preferences attributed to others differ markedly from self-preferences, with both men and women believing that pay is important to others. Data were analyzed by sex, age, marital status, dependents, education, and occupation. Some major differences exist, but by and large the effects were small. Although changes during the 30-yr period are relatively inconsequential, there was an increase in importance of benefits, pay, and type of work, and a decrease in importance of advancement and security. Type of work has gradually replaced security as the most important factor for men. Differences between applicants and employees are relatively minor, as also are differences between public utility workers and employees of other types of companies. (15 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)