Job Security Less Vital For ‘Emergent’ Class

Waves of layoffs over the past 15 years have changed attitudes about job security.

Today’s workers are more concerned about “career security” than traditional job security, according to a survey by Interim Services Inc. and Louis Harris and Associates.

The national survey showed that 22 percent of workers are “emergent,” meaning they have adopted the new perspective. Twenty-nine percent cling to traditional notions, while 49 percent are “migrating.” The latter have both traditional values and emergent ones.

Here are some survey highlights:

* Some 95 percent of traditional workers, but only 57 percent of emergent ones, agreed that “an employer has a moral obligation to keep long-term employees, as long as they meet the requirements in the job description.”

* While 94 percent of traditional thinkers agreed that “loyalty is being willing to stay with an employer for the long haul,” only 40 percent of emergent employees shared that viewpoint.

* Eighty-five percent of traditional workers, but only 16 percent in the emergent category, believe that “long-term career advancement depends on staying with an employer for a long time.”

Working at finding work

Getting a job is Job 1 for students nearing graduation, many of whom devote nearly as much time to their job search as they do to studying.

A new survey by WetFeet.com, a career-research organization, found that college seniors and MBA candidates spend an average of 18 hours a week over four months researching career opportunities and interviewing before accepting a job offer.

The survey of more than 50 colleges nationwide showed that class of ‘99 undergraduates and MBA candidates spent an average of 2.6 hours a day doing career research and interviewing when looking for a job. The only activities students spent more time on were studying (2.9 hours), attending class (3.2 hours) and sleeping (7 hours).

Students surveyed spent more time on the job search than they did working and commuting (2.2 hours), socializing (2.1 hours) and participating in sports and recreation (1 hour).

Workaholic’s paradise

Think you’ve got it bad? Consider this:

Japanese who work in and around Tokyo live up to their reputation as workaholics.

A new survey by Citizen, the watchmaker, showed:

* Forty-two percent of 368 respondents now spend more than an hour commuting — up from 30 percent during a similar survey a quarter of a century ago.

* Fourteen percent skipped breakfast entirely, while another 23 percent gulped it down in five minutes.

* Only 8 percent said they got eight hours of sleep or more. About 23 percent got five hours or less of sleep, while 50 percent settled for six hours.