ABSTRACT
The dominant goals question, to be sure, misses many dimensions of the complex of attitudes surrounding one's job. This chapter reviews the four national survey series focusing on the years relevant to the claims of the workplace critics. These are: the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) series 1972-1980; the Gallup series, 1949-1973, with special analyses covering 1963-1973; the research centers' series, 1958 to 1973; and the Quality of American Life series, 1971 and 1978. Many workplace critics are aware of at least some of this survey evidence. The workplace critics have placed particular emphasis on the orientations of young workers. It is the young who are said to manifest the distinctively high levels of dissatisfaction. The levels of satisfaction increase in linear fashion through to the age 65-and-over category, the relationship on the whole being a rather strong one. The result in the chapter shows the mean scores given each aspect of life by a representative sample of the American adult population.
