Young Workers Express Lower Levels of Job Satisfaction 

Written by Parriva — May 30, 2023
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From a COVID-19-era trend of “quiet quitting” to the rise of the #quittok hashtag on TikTok, young workers in the United States have reportedly grown disengaged from their jobs and traditional “hustle culture.” But while young workers are less likely than their older counterparts to express the highest levels of job satisfaction, most (85%) are at least somewhat satisfied with their job overall, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Older workers offer especially positive assessments of their job. Among those who are not self-employed, U.S. workers ages 50 to 64 (55%) and 65 and older (67%) are significantly more likely than young workers ages 18 to 29 (44%) to say they are extremely or very satisfied with their job overall. Mid-career professionals also express more positive views than young workers: About half (51%) of those ages 30 to 49 say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their job.

Still, young workers express general contentment with many aspects of work that the survey asked about, such as their relationships with colleagues and their daily assignments. Personal connections stand out as the highest-rated measures of job satisfaction among young workers: About two-thirds of employed adults ages 18 to 29 (65%) say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their relationship with their co-workers, and 62% say the same about their relationship with their manager or supervisor.

A substantial share of young workers (46%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with their day-to-day tasks at work, while the same share say this about the benefits their employer provides, such as health insurance and paid time off. And about four-in-ten (41%) are highly satisfied with the opportunities for training or ways to develop new skills at their workplace.

Young workers are more evenly split on other factors, such as their compensation. They are about as likely to say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their pay as they are to say they’re not too or not at all satisfied with it (31% vs. 32%). The group is similarly divided in their satisfaction with the opportunities for promotion at their workplace.

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