Up to 80% of people would keep working after a big win
Even a seven-figure payday wouldn't keep many Americans from showing up to work.
Anywhere from half to 80% of workers in America say that they'd keep working even if they won the lottery, according to a survey of 1,000 adults released Tuesday by cloud computing company Adobe Systems Inc., as well as surveys from both Gallup (2013) and CareerBuilder (2014).
These high percentages of people who plan to keep working have remained relatively constant over the years: A study published in 2010 in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that from 1980 to 1993, an average of 73% of workers in the U.S. said they'd keep working even if they no longer needed to for financial reasons; from 1994 to 2006, roughly 68% said the same.
Whether or not you keep working may depend, in part, on the type of job you have. "Individuals with psychologically and financially rewarding jobs continued working regardless of the amount they won, while people who worked in low-paying semi-skilled and unskilled jobs were far more likely to quit the labor force," writes H. Roy Kaplan, the author of a study on nearly 600 lottery winners published in the Journal of Gambling Behavior.
Many people continue to work after winning the lottery because their jobs give them a sense of purpose in life, says Denver-based career coach Leila Hock. "We all need something outside of ourselves to stay focused on," she says. Indeed, more than three in four workers who would keep working after a lotto win say they'd do it because work gives them "a sense of purpose and accomplishment," according to CareerBuilder.
Others keep working because they're still learning on the job and feel they're making an impact, says Jeff Vijungco, the vice president of Global Talent for Adobe. Socialization also matters: Nearly one in four workers say they'd keep working because they'd miss their coworkers if they weren't working, the CareerBuilder survey found. as does Simply filling your time was also a factor: Roughly three in four said they'd keep working because they'd be bored if they didn't, the CareerBuilder survey found).
Furthermore, many lottery winners would keep their current jobs (rather than work for themselves/start their own business or find another job). Around half of the workers surveyed by Adobe who said they'd keep working if they won the lottery said they'd remain at their current jobs; in the CareerBuilder survey of 3,300 workers, roughly one in three agreed.
This isn't just people paying lip service to working: Research on past lottery winners shows that most of them do keep working. A study of nearly 200 lottery winners (average earnings: $3.63 million) published in 2004 the Journal of Psychology found that more than 85% of the winners continued to work, and of those, roughly two in three kept working at the same organization. And an earlier study of nearly 600 lottery winners published in the Journal of Gambling Behavior found that nearly nine in 10 lottery winners continued to work.
Of course, you can't discount the role that money plays in whether or not people will quit. Indeed, the amount you win matters, with those who win more money being more likely to stop working, both studies found. (However, even among those who won a lot of money "a sizeable number still continued working" with the average amount won among those who chose to continue working at $2.59 million, not an insignificant sum, the authors of the 2004 study found.)
Not even a valid question=hell yes I'd quit. When you work in healthcare ICU setting with pediatric patients you realize how precious and short life is. It is saddening/sickening to see what some of my patients endure. Some people say you only work 3 days/week, 12 hours each. I say 'you do it, long days but the emotional part is what gets to you'. Sorry for my rant but I'd be out of there sooner than my planned retirement in 19 months, God willing.
This decision depends upon the size of the amount won. You will be in the highest tax bracket.
Your colleagues could become jealous if they know about your win. They may ask for gifts and loans.
When I win I will be able to find some constructive thing to do.
Meaningful Post Todd,
Most people are unable to project the changes that will occur after a major windfall. Sure, Sure many of these winner's don't welcome major upheavals in their lives, right & very understandable; the thing is even if they don't change their personal or professional lives, what they can't foresee is how the people who are interactive with them will change their attitude & behavior towards the winners.
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future!"
~Yogi Berra
Fortes Fortuna & Harmonia
Eddessa_Knight with Light
Of course I would quit my job as soon as the check clears my bank. I would be D-O-N-E and retired for the rest of my life if it's anything over $4 million. At $2.59M I don't know, lol... I probably would continue working a couple more decades when I get into my 50s or at least take a small portion to start a company on my own. You would have to live a regular low-mid class lifestyle to make $2.59M it work at my age.
...and the best for you in Ohio is you can remain anonymous in your state.
Maryland also allows winners to be anonymous, and I would be OUTTA-HERE job wise
TOO many other things I would want to do!
At my age, I would quit. I may not just up and leave, to try not to arouse suspicions, but ultimately, out of there.
Those people are either nuts or have very cushy jobs. I work construction and can't wait to get out! Come on lotto!
It depends on the amount. 1 million, I'd keep working. 5 million or more, I'd quit without a second thought. 3 million, I could quit, but might stick around for a few more years, no more than 4 years.
My thoughts exactly. What's the point of winning the lotto jackpot if ur gonna stay in the rat race?
I couldn't wait for 2 weeks, I'll give them an instant 2 word notice - I quit!
There's just to much I'd want to do on my own personal time to hold down a 9 to 5 especially if I have the money to do whatever I want when I want
that's right, they'd find their Cisco phone sitting there.
This is an awesome topic and thank you for I guess Todd that posted this one. First it depends how much was the lottery amount. It comes down to taxes, accountant, lawyer, financial planner. Many people will spend, spend, spend. I had brought up a topic or two of how much anyone might spend on tickets. Would I quit my job at the pizza shop? Absolutely. Would I work on other projects? You betcha. Remember something else ladies and gentleman. You don't owe anything to anyone just remember that.
I would find a decent looking future queen and get married. Maybe have kids. Someone of a partner I can trust.
I also have a search engine, waiting for this script company to figure out how more people will click pay per click for amazon and hostupon. Once that happens I still can leave my job. But many people out there not so lucky. People at least 90% of the public would still not know what to do with it.
Setup a trust fund. Setup a spread sheet. Pay off whatever debts, house, mortgage whatever it is and do planning.
But I would pay a hot looking chick to doing a video and if she wanted to mystery play with the media. The whole part is she knows nothing. Just like in hogans heroes. Sergeant shultz I know nothing. If the girl had schooling I would pay it off for her.