Canadians top job satisfaction survey

Canadian workers are among the happiest in the world, with nearly two-thirds saying they love or like their job a lot, according a study for job website Monster.ca.

The survey found that 24 per cent of Canadians love their job so much they’d do it for free and 40 per cent say enjoy what they do, but "could like it more." About 29 per cent said they like it "well enough for now."

That level of job satisfaction was well ahead of workers in the Netherlands, India, the U.S., U.K, France and Germany. Workers in the Netherlands were the next happiest nation, with 57 per cent saying they either love or like their employment

Only two per cent of Canadians said they hate their job and another five per cent answered that they don’t like it. That compares to 15 per cent of U.S. respondents who said they hate or don’t like their jobs. In the U.S., the number satisfied with their jobs is about 53 per cent.

The results, based on research by GfK's Globobus, are based on surveys of 8,000 workers in seven countries.

Canada's younger workers are most likely to be unhappy at work, with 13 per cent of people under the age of 25 confessing that they dislike their jobs and think they could do better.

"Young Canadians are ambitious and eager to succeed, so it's not surprising that a significant proportion of them are feeling frustrated in their current jobs and think they can do better," said Sheryl Boswell, director of marketing for Monster.ca.

The survey found those in higher income brackets (over $100,000) were more likely to say they were happy with their work situation, while the number who say they like or love their job falls as income falls. Among those earning less than $50,000, only 44 per cent said they loved or liked their jobs.

"It's natural that for many of us, getting a healthy pay cheque is a primary motivation for work, and being well-compensated lends itself to contentment," Boswell said in a press release.