Before Michael Phelps captured eight gold medals, some American workers had already had a case of Olympic mania, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com. About 12% of workers said they plan to watch some of the Summer Olympics while at work.
The survey, conducted before the Beijing games stared, shows that younger workers are more interested in obtaining 24/7 coverage of the Olympics, compared to their older counterparts.
The online job site provider found that 6% of workers age 18-24 admit they will catch some part of the Beijing games while working, compared to 13% of workers age 25-34, 11% of workers in both age groups 35-44 and 45-54, and 9% of workers 55 and older
Conducted by Harris Interactive, the survey also offers a snapshot into how the games reflect employees' own Olympic dreams and workplace environment. The poll was conducted online among 7,960 U.S. workers employed full-time.
For example, when asked in which of the Summer Olympic sports they would most want to compete and win a gold medal, workers said: swimming (37%), baseball/softball (29%), gymnastics (26%), track and field (23%), volleyball (23%), cycling (20%), basketball (19%) and soccer (19%).
Workers also were asked which Summer Olympic sport most represents their current jobs. Twenty percent of respondents said volleyball, citing that "it's a team sport." Another 14% indicated the hurdles, saying that "there are a lot of obstacles in the way" at their workplace.
Other sports that are metaphors for the workplace included: the marathon (13%), "slow and steady"; wrestling (11%), "I feel like I am in a holding pattern"; weightlifting (8%), "You're bearing all the weight"; and synchronized swimming (7%), "My co-workers and I are all on the same page."
Related EBN coverage:
