Majority of U.S. workers would pick another career

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, February 11, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A majority of U.S. workers would pick a different career if they could choose over again, according to research released on Wednesday.

Fifty-six percent of the full-time or self-employed respondents to a survey conducted for Adecco Group North America, which provides temporary and permanent employment and placement, said they would switch careers.

Adecco also found 78 percent of all respondents to the survey said they loved what they do as much or more than they did a year ago.

The online survey was conducted among 2,158 U.S. adults, two-thirds of whom were employed full- or part-time or self-employed. The balance included unemployed workers, retirees, students and unpaid homemakers.

A huge majority -- 90 percent -- said their confidence in their companies' executive teams had been negatively affected by the current economic situation.

Those with feelings of appreciation for having a job outnumbered those who dreaded starting a new work week by 41 percent to 9 percent, while 26 percent said they felt indifferent.

Women were more appreciative of having a job at the start of the work week than were men, 46 percent to 38 percent.

The random online survey was conducted for Adecco by Harris Interactive February 3 to 5, The research was not based on probability samples and thus no estimates of theoretical sampling error could be calculated, Adecco said.