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Is it more important for a child to be considerate or well-behaved? Obedient or self-reliant? On recent Economist / YouGov Polls, we asked Americans about these characteristics and other topics related to both parenting and work — results that show how views can differ widely by both politics and age.
Liberals are more likely than conservatives to value kids being self-reliant, considerate, curious, and independent, while conservatives are more likely to prize being obedient, well-behaved, good-mannered, and respectful of elders.
The value preferences come from a series of questions asking Americans to choose between two contrasting characteristics as the more important one for a child to be or have. Americans overall are more likely to prefer self-reliance over obedience (58% vs. 42%), being considerate over being well-behaved (54% vs. 46%), having good manners over being curious (61% vs. 39%), and having respect for elders over independence (65% vs. 35%).
Age, gender, and education are also associated with these parenting values.
Unsurprisingly, older Americans are more likely than younger adults to prize respect for elders: 80% of those 65 and older say this is more important than independence, compared to 53% of adults under 30.
This is also true across the ideological spectrum: Among liberals, moderates, and conservatives, those 45 and older are more likely than younger adults to value respect for elders over independence.
Americans without college degrees are evenly split about whether it's more important for children to be self-reliant or obedient (51% vs. 49%), but most college graduates prefer self-reliance (70% vs. 30%). Women are more likely than men to prefer self-reliance (62% of women and 53% of men pick it).
On the topic of work, the Economist / YouGov Poll found that younger or more liberal Americans are more likely to prefer a shorter work week than are older or more conservative Americans.
Overall, 13% of Americans say the normal work week for a healthy work-life balance should be less than 30 hours, while 40% say it should be 30 to 35 hours, 43% say it should be 36 to 40 hours, and 4% say it should be more than 40 hours.
But 69% of adults under 30 say the ideal work week is 35 hours or less, compared to 36% of those 65 and older. 75% of very liberal Americans think a shorter work week is better, compared to 65% of Americans who are liberal but not very liberal, 53% of moderates, 43% of those who are conservative but not very conservative, and 32% of very conservative Americans.
Remote work is highly popular. 72% of Americans strongly support (43%) or somewhat support (29%) requiring employers to let people work from home when their job can be done remotely; only 15% oppose this.
Support for remote work is higher among parents of young children than among other adults, among women than among men, among college graduates than among non-graduates, and among liberals than among moderates or among conservatives.
Americans are closely divided about whether it's better to work a job that pays well, or one that you're passionate about (48% vs. 52%). Older Americans and college graduates are more likely than younger adults and non-graduates to value passion over pay. So are those out of the workforce: 46% of those who work full-time say passion is more important than pay, as do 53% of part-time workers, 56% of the unemployed, and 58% of retirees.
See the toplines and crosstabs for the September 4 - 8, 2026 Economist/YouGov Poll.
See the toplines and crosstabs for the September 11 - 14, 2026 Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The September 4 - 8, 2026 Economist / YouGov poll was conducted among 1,616 U.S. adult citizens, including 1,469 Election Day registered voters: those who reported that they were currently registered to vote or planned to register before the election in November. The September 11 - 14, 2026 poll was conducted among 1,596 U.S. adult citizens, including 1,461 Election Day registered voters. Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent's most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the September 4 - 8 sample of Election Day registered voters is approximately 3.4%, and the margin for the September 11 - 14 sample of Election Day registered voters is approximately 3.3%.
Image: Getty (Studio4)
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