It’s not exactly whistling while you work, but it’s close.
A bit of positivity as we skate into the holidays pops out of a new report from The Pew Research Center on how Americans view their jobs.
Overall, US workers are upbeat about their level of job security, and relatively few expect to look for a new job in the coming months.
I was pleased to discover that it's the older workers who are the happiest. Two-thirds of those 65 and older say they are highly satisfied with their jobs, compared with 4 in 10 of those 18 to 29 and just under half of those 30 to 49.
“Older workers have expressed higher job satisfaction levels overall, and they are more likely to feel respected at their job,” Luona Lin, a co-author of the report, told Yahoo Finance. “Plus, they don’t feel left behind — the vast majority of older workers say they have the education and training they need to get ahead.”
You might attribute that rosy view to the U-Curve of Happiness theory, which suggests that young and old adults are happier than middle-aged adults.
Whatever the root of that upbeat vibe, it’s merry news.
Need the money vs. want to work
The majority of workers 65 and older say they work both because they need the money and because they want to work. A little over one-quarter of this age cohort say they work mostly because they want to, while 17% say it’s mainly because they need the money, according to the data.
The truth is many Americans are not financially ready to retire, and they do enjoy what they do. A twofer.
These older workers are re-envisioning the workplace and work-life balance through flexible opportunities and that’s key to their ability to enjoy healthier, longer lives.
A contributing factor to the high satisfaction levels is autonomy. Workers ages 65 and older are the most likely to express high levels of satisfaction with flexibility around when and how much to work and with the amount of feedback they receive from their manager, according to the report.
Doing more than required
And when you’re happy at work, you’re engaged. Older workers are more likely to say they do more than what’s expected of them, according to the data. On the other hand, about a third of workers ages 18 to 29 are the most likely to say they do only what’s expected of them. Ouch. That lack of get-up-and-go doesn’t bode well for their careers in my opinion.
Adding to that malaise: Young workers are less likely to see their jobs as a career. Some 28% of workers ages 18 to 29 view their job as a career, while about half of workers 65 and older do.
The upside for workers and for employers
Continuing to work after 65 helps people stay sharp mentally and feel valued and relevant. Work can provide a purpose and a social network and community too.
However, you can’t ignore the upside of continuing to earn, even if it’s to stave off dipping into retirement accounts and allow those funds to keep growing. Or, importantly, it makes it possible for some folks to push back on Social Security benefits until age 70 when the checks are the heftiest for the rest of their lives.
The number of older workers on the job has been inching up for a while now. Roughly 1 in 5 Americans ages 65 and older were employed in 2023, four times the number in the mid-1980s. That adds up to around 11 million workers.
Read more:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/older-workers-are-the-happiest-workers-study-finds-110021452.html
