New Thomson Reuters Survey of Professionals Reveals Emerging Market Optimism; Trust in Social Media; and a Gender Gap that is Muted in the Professional Setting

ASPEN – A new global survey released today from Thomson Reuters at the Aspen Ideas Festival, reveals a workforce that is unified by their power of curiosity and global connectivity rather than by their race, class, gender or age. The survey, “The Professional Revolution,” shares insights from more than 1,000 professionals in Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States regarding today’s professional environment and expectations for the future workforce and identifies opportunities for both corporations and professionals to engage in a new dialogue to inspire better ways to compete and innovate in the post-recessionary age.

“Our research findings demonstrate that today’s professionals desire more than a paycheck – they are in search of a meaningful and purpose-driven professional life,” said Peter Warwick, executive vice president and chief people officer, Thomson Reuters. “We believe that today’s professionals have the knowledge, passion and innovative mindset to build, grow and revolutionize business. However, new solutions are needed to motivate, align and inspire today’s professional to ensure growth and a better future for all.”

The survey highlights five key areas of insight into the mindset of the global professional:

A New Vision of Work: Social Knowledge and the Quest for Purpose. For today’s professionals, true fulfillment comes from much more than simply doing a good job. A sense of purpose, collaboration and impact are key drivers.

• Seventy-seven percent of global professionals say knowledge is what defines a person as a professional followed by skills (76 percent) and work experiences (65 percent).
• Fifty-six percent of respondents want to work for a company that makes a positive impact on the world, even if that means accepting slightly less monetary compensation.
• Fifty-eight percent of satisfied professionals say that a collaborative work environment is very important.

The Gender Gap is Muted in the Professional Setting. Men and women have nearly identical work styles and habits, both expressing a strong desire to solve problems and work in an interactive and collaborative environment. However, professionals in emerging markets have a different vision of equality in the C-suite from professionals in developed markets.

• Fifty-five percent of men and 56 percent of women say having a vision of what they achieve in their careers is very important.
• Equal majorities of men (63 percent) and women (63 percent) say that solving problems is very important to them.
• Fifty-two percent of emerging market professionals and 36 percent of developed markets professionals see an equal number of male and female corporate executives as a trend in the next 25 years.

The American Dream is Alive and Well… in Emerging Markets. Emerging market professionals express a greater sense of optimism and belief that hard work will be rewarded than professionals in developed markets.

• Forty-two percent of emerging market professionals and 17 percent of developed market professionals strongly believe hard work will always be rewarded.
• Fifty-eight percent of emerging market professionals and 30 percent of developed market professionals strongly want to be entrepreneurial in their jobs.
• Fifty-seven percent of emerging market professionals and 29 percent of developed market professionals say that improving the world is very important to them.

Social Media: The Office of Tomorrow. New technologies are transforming the workforce and enabling a more mobile global professional.

• Ninety percent of professionals who telecommute at least once a day use at least one social media platform.
• Fifty-nine percent of satisfied professionals say that their organizations allow them to participate in online groups and/or chat rooms as part of their work compared to 40 percent of dissatisfied professionals.

You: The Worldwide Leader in News. Blogs and social media have become trusted news sources for professionals around the globe.

• Eighty-two percent of emerging market professionals and 41 percent of developed market professionals agree that blogs, information from social media or crowd-sourced information on the Internet are highly useful in helping to understand an issue or news item.
• Eighty-three percent of emerging market professionals and 49 percent of developed market professionals agree that carefully filtered information from blogs, social media or crowd-sourcing can be as accurate and useful as traditional media information.

“We are unwavering in our dedication and commitment to understanding the professional marketplace,” said Eileen Lynch, senior vice president, global brand marketing, Thomson Reuters. “Today’s professionals are our customers and our employees. These research findings will help us to understand how we can better serve them both.”

The full report “The Professional Revolution” is available here. Check back here for future conversations and participate in the dialogue with #professionalrevolution or tweet your thoughts to @aspenideas.

Survey Methodology
Thomson Reuters commissioned a quantitative poll with over 1,000 interviews spanning five countries and five main industries, including finance and risk, legal, tax and accounting, scientific research and development, healthcare and health services. Penn Schoen Berland conducted the interviews between February 28 and March 20, 2013. Professionals from Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States were surveyed, with a margin of error of +/-3.1%.

Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs approximately 60,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.