When asked "Would you take a pay cut for the job of your dreams?", 82% of U.S. respondents in the global poll answered "yes," as did 76% of European respondents.

"We see a general consensus among workers around the globe that people are open to pursuing more fulfilling careers, not just a fuller wallet," said Norma Gaffin, Monster's director of career content, in a press release announcing the poll results. "It's interesting to note that despite some notions of a skittish economy, U.S. workers are still willing to be compensated less for a job that they are really passionate about."

The poll of over 34,000 individuals from 19 countries found that workers in Ireland were most likely to take less pay if given a chance to get their dream job, 84% of whom reported that they would. Workers in the United States, Italy and Switzerland were also highly likely of taking a dream job for less pay (82% of workers for each). The country whose workers were most cautious, according to Monster, was Hungary, where 38% of workers said they would not forgo pay to take such an opportunity. Other countries less willing to make such a trade off were France (34% responded 'no') and Germany (27%).