Many Would Keep Jobs After Winning Lottery

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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Not everyone would quit a job, leave on extended vacation, and never come back. According to a new poll from Gallup, people who like their jobs would keep working–perhaps after a brief break.

The research firm reports:

The $648 million Mega Millions jackpot this week had many Americans dreaming about how their lives would change if they had won. For U.S. workers whom Gallup classifies as “engaged” in their jobs, these dreams do not include quitting them. Nearly two-thirds say they would continue to work in their current job if they won a $10 million lottery prize.

The data indicate that, perhaps counter-intuitively, people who live their jobs, love them whether rich of poor.

This commitment is unique among engaged workers, whom Gallup defines as involved in and enthusiastic about their work and their workplace. Less than half of those who do not have the same level of engagement with their workplace would keep their same job. Forty-two percent of U.S. workers categorized as “not engaged” with their workplaces and 20% of “actively disengaged” workers say they would continue to work in their current job upon winning $10 million in the lottery.

So, perhaps years of training, camaraderie, and being treated well mean as much, or more, than money

Extensive Gallup research shows that when employees are engaged they are less likely to leave their employer. This poll reinforces the high value people place on a good career. Even when provided with a hypothetical scenario that would provide financial security for life, those who are engaged at work are much more likely than less engaged workers to say they would continue in the same job.

 

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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