Women Say They Want Meaningful Work and They Are Getting It

Women are more likely than men to say they value meaningful work–and more likely to say that they are doing meaningful work at their jobs.

Both men and women place a high value on meaningful work, according to the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness survey. Thirty-five percent of respondents said finding working meaningful is their top priority, followed by 21 percent who said being well paid was the top priority.

Sixteen percent said that having opportunities to advance mattered most. Sixteen percent said having control over how they do their work as the top priority. Just 11 percent said having colleagues who valued their work mattered.

Women were more likely than men to put meaningful work in the top spot. Thirty-nine percent of women placed the highest importance on meaningful work, while just 31 percent of men did.

Women were also more likely than men to say they found their work very meaningful, 67 percent versus 59 percent.

Men were somewhat more likely than women to say being paid well was more important, 23 percent versus 18 percent.

Men were also more likely to describe themselves as very well-paid, 26 percent versus 22 percent.

In other words, the American labor market seems somewhat aligned with the preferences of workers. Forty-seven percent of workers say they are very satisfied with their jobs, with no difference between men and women. Another 38 percent said they are somewhat satisfied, with women one percentage point higher than men.