Survey: Older Workers Score Highest on Employee Engagement

A study conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence of cross-generational attitudes of more than 300,000 workers in over 50 organizations shows relatively small differences among the generations regarding their attitudes toward work and their engagement in their jobs, with those 63 and older showing the highest levels of engagement. Specifically, employees of the "Traditionalist" generation reported an 84% employee engagement level, while the engagement levels of the other groups were within a relatively narrow range of 77-80%: Baby Boomers (aged 43 to 62) 77%, Generation X (aged 28 to 42) 78%, and Generation Y (aged 27 and younger) 80%.

According to Douglas Klein, President of Sirota Survey Intelligence, the Traditionalists may be an overlooked resource for employers:

“They consistently have higher employee engagement levels than other employees with comparable tenure.” For example, Traditionalists with between 2-5 years tenure have an engagement level of 85% – 10 percentage points higher than that for Generation Y and Baby Boomers (75%), and 9 percentage points higher than that for Generation X (76%).

“With more people living healthy, active lifestyles, and so many Traditionalists uncertain whether they will have the financial resources to enable them to retire, they may want to stay in the workforce longer. Employers may want to consider part-time and/or flexible work arrangements to keep more of these loyal, enthusiastic workers onboard,” Klein added.

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence Press Release (March 31, 2008)