Trouble Finding The Perfect Gift For Your Boss - How About A Little Respect?

- Ajilon Finance Survey Finds 8 out of 10 American Workers Respect Their Boss a Great Deal -

SADDLE BROOK, NJ (October 14, 2003) - Will you give your boss a gift on National Boss Day? Chances are good if you are like most American workers. According to a survey released today by Ajilon Finance, a global leader in accounting and financial staffing, eight out of 10 (79%) American workers respect their boss a great deal. However, a gift for National Boss Day, Thursday, Oct. 16, may be merely a gesture from some, given that one-third (32%) of working Americans feel they could do a better job than their boss. The survey, conducted for Ajilon Finance by Opinion Research Corp., polled full- and part-time workers age 18 and older.

Most people agree they want a boss they can respect. In fact, when asked to select one trait that is the most important for a manager to possess, more than one-quarter of American workers selected "leading by example." Of all qualities from which they could choose, employees ranked the most important as follows:

1) Leading by example (26%)
2) Strong ethics or morals (19%)
3) Knowledge of the business (17%)
4) Fairness (14%)
5) Overall intelligence and competence (13%)
6) Recognition of employees (10%)

"How an employee feels about his or her boss is often reflected in job performance, and frequently shapes an employee's decision to stay at or leave a job," said Neil Lebovits, CPA, president and chief operating officer of Ajilon Finance. "It's critical that employers know what qualities are important to their staff. Similar to a good coach, an effective boss will show people how to be successful in their job and will treat employees with fairness and respect. With so many people looking to their boss to set an example, it is absolutely critical for management to lead the way."

Not all workers are alike. While 30 percent of workers age 18 through 34 want a boss who leads by example, just 8 percent of those 55 and older find this important. More than any other age group, older American workers are the most likely to agree that strong ethics (27%) and fairness (25%) are the most important qualities in a boss.

Overall, men and women are in close agreement when it comes to important managerial traits. Interestingly, many more men than women feel they could outperform their boss (37% men, 26% women). Regardless of whether or not they approve of their boss' performance, men's loyalty seems to run deeper - 51 percent of men say they would cover for their boss if their boss made a mistake, while just 40 percent of women say they would do the same. In addition, slightly more women than men feel it is important that their boss possess strong ethics and morals (21% women, 17% men), and fairness was another quality found to be more important to women (17% women, 12% men). Men felt it was more important that their boss be intelligent and competent (15% men, 11% women).

"Bosses are often pulled in many directions when trying to meet the needs of their employees, whether they lead a staff of five or 500," explained Lebovits. "While some employees, especially those in the early stages of their careers, are looking to their boss to set an example and teach them about business, others just want to feel confident that their boss will make sound and ethical business decisions."

The current results are based upon telephone interviews with a representative sample of 600 adults, 18 years of age or older, who are employed either full- or part-time. Participants included 267 women and 333 men. Interviews were conducted by Opinion Research Corporation's Caravan between September 18 and September 21, 2003. The margin of error is approximately plus or minus four percent. A copy of the survey questionnaire is available upon request.

ABOUT AJILON PROFESSIONAL STAFFING, NORTH AMERICA
Ajilon Professional Staffing is a leading specialty staffing and recruiting services firm and is part of the Adecco Group (ADO) - the world's largest human resource solutions provider. The North American professional staffing division has three focus areas: Ajilon Finance, Ajilon Office and Ajilon Legal. Ajilon Finance - previously AOC Accountants On Call - specializes exclusively in the temporary and permanent placement of premier accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Ajilon Office, previously Millennium Staffing, offers clients executive administrative professionals on a temporary and permanent basis. Ajilon Legal, previously Co-Counsel, places highly qualified candidates in a wide range of specialized positions including attorneys, paralegals and legal support professionals.

ABOUT AJILON WORLDWIDE
Worldwide, Ajilon has professional staffing and managed services divisions in several disciplines including finance and accounting, legal, high-end office support, information technology, communications, sales and marketing, engineering and more. Ajilon has more than 450 offices operating in 19 countries in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information can be found on the World Wide Web at www.ajilon.com.

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