Are You Happy? The Standard's first-ever review of compensation, culture and job satisfaction in the Internet workplace.
By Maryann Jones Thompson
Once upon a time, a gig in the Internet Economy was about as good as it got. Employers fought over you, perks were lavished upon you - and, naturally, there was the ever-present potential for big, big money.
For the past two years, this workforce utopia has held the attention of everyone from Wall Street to Main Street. It was the original Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with John Doerr as Regis, and the risk-takers, young and old, lining up to compete for the jackpot.
But it wasn't all about money. It was fun. What other job could a college graduate walk into at 10 a.m. wearing shorts and sandals? And spend days with his dog at his feet, working on projects that required real brainpower - then leave at 9 p.m. with a belly full of free food, a few happy-hour beers and a big fat check?
It wasn't just twentysomethings having all the fun, either. Older execs escaped offline giants and joined dot-coms flush with millions in venture capital and unencumbered by expectations of profitability. The dot-com draw was so powerful that many Fortune 500 companies were forced to alter their compensation plans, dress codes and hours to keep staff from defecting to the Web.
The tech world was suddenly cool. No longer was the industry a bunch of nerds making obscure technical products that no one understood. Net workers were changing the world, making life easier, even setting fashion and music trends. Volkswagen cruised San Francisco's South Park for hipsters to star in its TV commercials.
In some ways, the popularity of dot-com employment may have been a response to the mass-layoff mentality of the late 1980s and early '90s, when Big Business viewed workers as expenses rather than assets. Workers witnessed this and began to hold no particular sense of loyalty to a firm past the point where it served their needs. The nation was ready for an industry to emerge that recognized the importance of its workers and treated them fairly. Today, 2.5 million people are employed by America's Internet firms.
The Standard wanted to find out how these Net workers deal with all this fame and fortune. We conducted a study of a cross section of Internet Economy employees in online and offline firms. The study gathered data about each respondent and their compensation package, job satisfaction and benefits.
What makes workers happy? A statistical analysis revealed that "challenging work" had the biggest impact on job satisfaction for Net workers. Salary was close behind. Not options - cash money. And this workforce demonstrated a true work-hard-play-hard ethic: Paradoxically, working weekends and receiving lots of vacation time were equally strong predictors of happiness at work.
Money, though No. 2 as a factor of happiness, was still extremely important. These employees are among the best paid in the nation. While in some occupations, it's true that more money equals more grief, we found the more money Net workers made, the happier they were.
But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. The market downturn in April slammed many Net businesses. Some firms laid off workers, while others closed entirely. And stock options for the employees that remained were sometimes worth no more than the dreams they were printed on.
The Net businesses that survive face new challenges. Rapid growth means moving from warehouses to office towers - where there's a dress code, and no room for Fido and Foosball - and transitioning from an anything-goes culture to one with company rules and organizational charts.
Demands for profitability have put young execs on the spot. Many are at a loss to manage their firms without a steady flow of cheap and easy venture capital. Some managers find they don't know how to motivate employees without free massages and designer cocktails. Workers who've been satisfied with vision are now looking for action plans.
The glamour is fading. As investors have soured on money-sucking consumer-focused Web businesses, they've moved on to optical-networking firms or business-to-business applications service providers - nothing the average American cares about or can relate to. And nothing 60 Minutes is planning a segment on anytime soon.
Fading, too, is stamina. Until now, working long hours was fun. Most Net workers are young - 31 percent are under 30 years old - and they love their co-workers and their workplace. But as these workers mature, as they grow disillusioned and burn out, this passion will turn to resentment. This will leave Net businesses to face more complicated issues: How to deal with unionization efforts; how to structure benefits for a mature workforce; how to uninvite dogs to the office; and how to cancel the free lunch.
This report examines the impact of these changes on Net workers today. Our research found that most employees are realistic about the Internet Economy: Most know their chance to retire at 30 may not materialize but still feel fortunate to be working for a company that values its employees. Surprisingly, more survey respondents say they are very satisfied at work this year (51 percent) than last year (34 percent).
To date, most laid-off Net workers have simply jumped from a sinking ship to one that's just leaving the dock. Eventually, though, the power will lie with employers once again, and applicants will have to compete with each other for jobs. Other workers will tire of technology and move on to trendier fields.
Still, billions in venture capital funding keep on flowing to Net startups. For now, with so much money at stake, the chance to become a millionaire will most likely continue to attract the best and brightest of the world's workers to this still brand-new Internet Economy.
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Topline Findings From The Standard's "Internet Workforce Compensation Study 2000"
The Standard surveyed a cross section of Net workers about their compensation, job satisfaction and benefits. For a detailed analysis of the findings, see page 217. Read the full report for on-the-ground stories of worker satisfaction and the changing dot-com culture. Here are the key statistics you need to know.
Compensation: Net workers average $84,700 per year in salary. Including bonuses and commission, that total jumps to $104,000. Fifty-five percent receive stock options (a median of 6,000 shares).
Satisfaction: Fifty-one percent of Net workers are very satisfied with their jobs, up from 34 percent last year. Top managers are most happy (64 percent). Employees are most happy with their co-workers (70 percent) and least happy with their stock options (29 percent). Challenging work is the best predictor of overall job satisfaction.
Benefits and Perks: Nine out of 10 Net employers offer health insurance, 54 percent offer 401(k) matching, 25 percent offer health-club memberships, 8 percent allow pets at work and 7 percent offer child care.
Retention: Twenty-eight percent of Net workers are very likely to quit and join a new employer in the next year. Only 20 percent say they're not doing anything to hunt for a new job.
Work Life: Net workers average a 10.1 hour workday. Fifty-eight percent work at least one weekend per month. Sixty-two percent get at least three weeks of vacation per year.
Demographic Profile: The average age of the Net worker is 33.8. Two-thirds of Net workers are men, 83 percent are white and 88 percent are college graduates.