Engineers Rank Low On Disability Anxiety

Although labor groups have made headlines in recent years by publicizing some engineers’ worries about being replaced by lower-paid immigrants or by outsourcing arrangements with overseas firms, engineers reported suffering from less anxiety than the other professionals interviewed about disability.

When engineers asked about how they would feel if they were unable to work for 6 months as the result of an accident, only 48% said they would feel anxiety about their future finances, compared with 52% of the accountants, 61% of the professional services executives, 70% of the attorneys, and 71% of the advertising and marketing professionals.

About 61% of the professionals surveyed said they would tap their retirement accounts to cope with the results of a prolonged disability.

When asked about the expenditures the professionals would give up if they had to cut expenses, 41% named “savings in general”; 38%, leisure travel; 36%, retirement constructions; and 36%, dining out. Only 32% said they would give up cable or satellite television.