Job site survey finds few achieve their goals

Good intentions on set goals weren’t followed through as the majority of people in a recent study admitted they were underachievers.

A survey of 546 office workers by the employment portal Job Korea on their “goal achievement rate” found most failed their aim of achieving a foreign language.

Among respondents, 87.4 percent said they set up an average of three goals at the beginning of this year.

The three most popular goals were exercise (41.9 percent), studying a foreign language (41.1 percent) and dieting (39.8 percent). Other responses included job-related self-improvement (31.4 percent) and money saving and investment (28.5 percent).

Of those aims, 25.6 percent responded that they were successful at working out, followed by self-improvement (16.1 percent) and foreign language study (11.7 percent).

Meanwhile, 30.6 percent reported a failure on foreign language study, 28.9 percent on diet and 21.8 percent on working out. And more than 10 percent answered they haven’t achieved any of their goals.

When asked about the overall goal achievement rate for the year, the highest percentage of people, 32.7 percent, chose 31 to 50 percent. The result implies that people perceive themselves to be below average but to have tried. Still, 1.9 percent said they kept 100 percent of their early resolutions.

The biggest reason given for underachievement was “lack of willingness,” according to nearly half of the 279 respondents who reported their goal achievement results to be below 50 percent. Busy work schedule recorded 35.1 percent.

Looking ahead to next year, almost seven out of 10 people expressed positive prospects, saying that if they put in more effort, a better outcome was due. Some 15.5 percent said 100 percent achievement is possible.

BY LEE SO-AH [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]