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Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1956: Orientation on Moral Issues in a Metropolis and The Meaning of Work (ICPSR 7320)

Released/updated on: 2010-07-28
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

This study of 797 adults in the Detroit metropolitan area provides information on their attitudes toward work and their motivations for working, as well as their orientation toward many social and political issues. The study was a combination of two separate studies: ORIENTATION ON MORAL ISSUES IN A METROPOLIS by Robert Angell, and THE MEANING OF WORK by Robert Kahn and Robert Weiss. Respondents were asked about the importance of work in their life, the things in their job that made them feel important, the things they wanted from their job that it did not provide, the other areas of their life that made them feel useful, and the people in their lives that influenced their choice of occupation. A number of questions that focused on women working outside the home probed respondents' feelings about how a husband was affected by a working wife, and if there were kinds of jobs that women should not have. Other questions probed respondents' views about what the United States should do in the event of an attack by the Soviet Union on a western European country, a parent not allowing a child to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school, the proposed racial integration of schools, appointment or election of government officials, effecting changes in the United States Constitution, trial by a jury or a judge, ways to effect world peace, the most important problem for the United States in the future, and a Communist revolution in a Latin American country. Additional items explored respondents' opinion of the Detroit newspapers and the Detroit newspaper strike, and their satisfaction with their neighborhood. Respondents were also asked about their political party preference, as well as their use and ownership of telephones. Demographic variables specify age, sex, race, education, place of birth, marital status, number of children, nationality, religious preferences, occupation, family income, length of residence in the Detroit area, home ownership, length of time at present residence, and class identification.

Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1960: Labor and Leisure in the Urban Community, A Study of Social Order and Social Change (ICPSR 7399)

Released/updated on: 2010-12-10
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

This study of 678 adults in the Detroit metropolitan area in 1960 provides measures of their job satisfaction and use of leisure time, as well as information on their friendships, buying patterns, and political preferences. Questions on job satisfaction queried respondents about job preferences, hours worked at current job, preference for self-employment, type of supervisors at workplace, chances for promotion, and the work culture and environment at respondents' current jobs. Questions on leisure time elicit information on time spent watching television and the programs watched often, newspapers and magazines read regularly and favorite columnists, books read, time spent on other hobbies and crafts such as photography, music, and sports, vacation time, use of spare time, memberships in clubs and organizations, and time spent socializing with friends, relatives, colleagues, and neighbors. Other items probed respondents' opinions about causes of unemployment, their feelings about their standard of living, and their future plans, financial obligations, buying patterns, use and ownership of telephones, self-perceived social class, political party preference, and choice of gubernatorial and presidential candidates in the last election. Additional items probed respondents' attitudes toward Blacks as neighbors and co-workers. Demographic variables specify age, sex, race, education, place of birth, length of residence in the Detroit area, home ownership, length of time at present residence, marital status, number of children, original nationality of paternal family, income, occupation, religious preferences, and class identification.

Curated

National Survey of the Aged, 1975 (ICPSR 7945)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States
This survey was conducted during the spring and summer of 1975 under a grant from the Administration on Aging and with supplemental funding from the Social Security Administration. It surveyed noninstitutionalized Americans aged 65 and older with a special focus on developing national estimates of the economic needs and social concerns of the elderly. The survey attempted to describe the aged population and to indicate the degree of health, financial independence, and familial support of 2,143 older Americans. Also studied were the work status of respondents, their past and present attitudes toward work, their desire for gainful employment, their income and assets, their evaluation of their own financial status, and their reported use of health and welfare services. The data collection comprises three files. Part 1 contains the general survey, Part 2 is a survey of proxy respondents, and Part 3 supplies information on persons who could not complete an interview.
Curated

Quality of Employment Survey, 1972-1973 (ICPSR 3510)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1972-01-01--1973-01-01
This study contains data on the working conditions of 1,455 workers aged 16 and older who were working for pay for 20 or more hours per week in the United States in the period 1972-1973. This survey is the second undertaken by the investigators to provide an overview of working conditions in the American labor force. The aims of this survey and many of the questions that were asked were comparable to those of the related collection, SURVEY OF WORKING CONDITIONS, 1969-1970 (ICPSR 3507). Among the major aims of this survey were: (1) assessment of the frequency and severity of work-related problems experienced by employed people in general and by major demographic and occupational subgroups, (2) identification of major demographic or occupational groups that were most affected by these problems, (3) development of valid measures of job satisfaction suitable for use with samples of workers in heterogenous occupations and under a variety of conditions, (4) assessment of the impact of working conditions upon the well-being of workers, especially their physical and mental well-being, and (5) establishment of normative statistics that might permit other investigators to compare their data from more limited subsamples of workers with national norms. The major measures used in both surveys were the frequency and severity of labor standards problems, the quality of employment indicators that were shown to be predictors of job satisfaction, the job satisfaction indices themselves, and the ratings of important job facets. Respondents were asked questions about many facets of their job situations and other areas of their lives that might be affected by their jobs in order to assess the impact of work on them. Questions included job tension, security, physical health, job satisfaction, and financial well-being. A series of questions regarding job expectations were also asked. Additional questions probed respondents' feelings about their relationship with their supervisors and their overall contentment with their jobs and with life in general. This survey differs from the earlier survey in the greater emphasis that was placed on questions related to respondents' physical health, drinking habits, and career development. The structured interview schedule contained both closed and open-ended questions. Many of the open-ended questions were directed at estimating the frequency and type of labor standards problems, such as those with unions, discrimination, physical working conditions, wages, and work schedules. Demographic variables provide information on age, sex, race, education, and income.
Curated

Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, Fall 1953: Human Relations (ICPSR 3635)

Released/updated on: 2005-12-15
Geographic coverage: United States
This study comprises the Human Relations Program Study of Attitudes Toward Work survey. It provides information on the attitudes of employed men and women and housewives toward work, including the meaning and value of work in the workplace, at home, and in voluntary activities outside the home. The survey is one of two surveys carried out at the same time in the fall of 1953 (see also SURVEY OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR, FALL 1953: PURCHASE DECISIONS [ICPSR 3634]). Many questions were common to both and some questions were exclusive to each. In this survey, data are provided on how respondents valued work and hard work, the level of their satisfaction with their work, their expectations of promotion at work, job and pay satisfaction, and motivations for working, including housework for women. Data are also provided on respondents' evaluations of self-defined non-work activities, alternative roles, marriage and family, and male spouse's job. Demographic variables provide information on age, sex, race, marital status, education, family income, and religion.