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Americans Over 60 Are Among The Happiest, While Young Adults Fall Behind
The United States is no longer one of the happiest countries in the world, citing issues including the nation’s economy, according to Gallup’s recent World Happiness Report. This marks the first time in 12 years, since the report was launched, that the U.S. did not rank among the world’s 20 happiest countries.
Americans reported a significant decline in happiness, dropping the U.S. eight slots from the previous year to No. 23. The Gallup research highlights that global happiness inequality has risen by more than 20% over the past 12 years across various regions and age groups. The data reveals a drop in well-being among American adolescents and young adults. This cohort reports feeling less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices and more stressed and less satisfied with their current living conditions.
People aged 60 and older in the U.S. reported high levels of well-being compared to younger Americans. In fact, the U.S. ranks in the top 10 countries for happiness in this age group. By 60, life can feel more secure, especially for people with good health, financial stability and strong social connections.
The Nordic countries continue to top the happiness rankings, highlighting strong social support and high standards of living. The top 10 happiest countries in the Nordic region include Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, with Finland topping the list. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Finland is leading in education, work-life balance, environment quality, social connections, safety and life satisfaction.
10% Of U.S. Workers Are In Jobs Most Exposed To Artificial Intelligence
About 10% of US workers are in jobs that face the greatest risk of disruption from rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, according to a White House analysis.
The report represents the most in-depth analysis to date by the White House on the impact of AI on the US workforce. It finds that workers with less education and lower income are especially exposed to AI, raising the risk that the technology could amplify inequality.
The findings are part of the Council of Economic Advisers’ annual Economic Report of the President, which devotes an entire chapter to AI and how policymakers should respond.
White House economists analyzed the impact on workers by identifying 16 work activities with high exposure to AI. Researchers then tried to determine which occupations have AI-exposed activities that are central to the job itself.
The report found that about 20% of workers are in these high-AI exposure occupations. That finding is similar to one from Pew Research Center that concluded 19% of American workers in 2022 were in jobs most exposed to AI.
The researchers found that 10% of workers have high AI exposure and low performance requirements.
The report said those workers “perform the tasks that are most likely to change as a result of AI.” It did not identify specific occupations or industries that fall into this category.
However, researchers stressed that this does not mean 10% of workers “will inevitably lose their jobs” as the implications for workers may be “quite nuanced.”
The Lowest-Paid U.S. Employees Are Seeing Their Compensation Increase More Than Any Other Group Of Workers
The lowest-paid workers in the U.S. economy have seen their wages surge in the past four years, outpacing gains for any other group of earners, according to a new report from Economic Policy Institute — but their wages remain “grossly inadequate.”
Real wages of the lowest-paid workers grew 12.1% between 2019 and 2023, researchers found, surging faster than the wages of any other group of earners. That number is adjusted for inflation.
The trend is “a notable reversal of fortune for lower-wage workers in the U.S. labor market,” researchers wrote in the report, released Thursday.
Those gains were driven by state-level minimum-wage increases, pandemic-era stimulus payments and a tight labor market, researchers wrote. Wages grew particularly fast for Black men, young workers and working mothers.
Despite the “exceptional” wage increases, the country’s lowest-paid workers still don’t earn enough to meet most families’ basic needs, the report said.
More Than Half Of Workers Around The World Say Increasing Work Stress Is Their Top Concern
More than half of workers (54%) around the world identify increasing work stress as their top concern, according to the Deloitte 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report, while technology advancement is second on the list, according to a quarter of workers, who worry about the significant changes that technology advancement brings, such as creating the need for new skills and new jobs. Other workers’ concerns include employers’ new ability to digitally monitor their work without their consent (22%) and the lack of connection and belonging due to more remote or hybrid work (20%).
Lawyer Warns Employees Against Accepting Unlimited PTO If It's Presented As An Option
Samy Harmoush, a workers' rights employment lawyer on TikTok, revealed the reasons why employees should be wary when it comes to the PTO policies offered by their jobs. According to him, employees should be most apprehensive about unlimited PTO.
While it may seem a bit bizarre to refuse unlimited PTO — which in theory allows employees to take off endless days at any time during the year — his reasoning boiled down to the wishy-washy promises that come with unlimited time off.
"Not only does [the definite number of PTO days] allow me to increase year over year and ask for that as a form of compensation, but if I'm in the state of California where I get to get paid out any PTO that I have accrued, I'm gonna get a nice fat check along with my final check when I resign from that job," he explained.
Most Americans with unlimited PTO feel as if they don't utilize it fully.
According to data compiled by Zippia, 43.7% of employees with unlimited PTO don’t feel like they take enough vacation time.
Similarly, 37% of employees with unlimited PTO work during vacations and 42% always log on to their work email during their time off.
Still, as it stands, most employees refuse to use the PTO that's offered to them, whether it's unlimited or not. According to the Pew Research Center, about half of those who don’t take all their time off (52%) say they don’t feel they need to take more.
A similar share (49%) say they’d worry about falling behind at work if they took more time off. Some 43% of workers who don’t take all their PTO say they’d feel bad about their co-workers taking on additional work.
The Wealth Gap Between Union And Nonunion Workers
There's a massive wealth gap between workers in unions and nonunionized workers, across education levels, finds a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.
Typically, unionized workers earn about 10%-20% more than their nonunion peers, but these wealth gaps are far wider, an indication that the benefits of union membership accrue to workers over time.
College is still one of the best paths to accumulating wealth, this and other data show. But CAP's numbers point to an alternative for those who might not want to spend the time or money on a college education: union membership.
Aside from higher pay, union members have more job security. Members are also likely to have defined benefit retirement plans, i.e. pensions, and access to better health care — so are less apt to go into debt when they're sick.
Overall, those in unions had a median wealth of $338,482 compared to $199,948 for nonunion workers.
Union workers had a higher homeownership rate (71% versus 65% for nonunion), and 60% had a defined benefit pension versus 24% of the nonunion group.
Unionized workers with no high school diploma have more than three times the wealth of their nonunion peers.
How To Get A Job In Tough Times: All The Advice You Need To Succeed From A Top Executive Recruiter
There’s an old saying, “Tough times make tough people.” In this book, Jack Kelly will help guide you every step of the way in your job search to ensure that you stay strong, resilient and positive, and get that great, new job.
