Results of a new survey. How the generation gap affects working conditions.
When young people start working, they face many problems and try to find their place in the workplace. Many feel stressed and lonely, while others feel their contributions are under-recognised, a new survey shows.
According to the researchers, these feelings are indicative of the difficulties they face in their adjustment. This is to be expected given the changing demographics of workplaces and longer working lives. Thus, many young people are called to work with older people, and bridging the generation gap is not always easy.
New poll It was conducted by scientists of the American Psychological Association (APA).. 2207 workers from all age groups participated. Younger workers say they feel more comfortable working with people their own age.
In fact, 62% of workers aged 18-25 said they work better with their peers. This percentage gradually decreases in the remaining age groups. It ranges from 57% in the 26-43 age group to 27% in the 65+ age group.
48% of young people said that older workers do not see the value of their ideas. The corresponding percentage in all ages was 32%. Especially among workers over 65 years of age, it was 16%.
In addition, 43% of young workers said they felt bad about their age and inexperience. The corresponding percentage for the rest of the employees is 29%.
Adjustment difficulties
45% of workers aged 18-25 said they feel lonely in the office. 48% said that they feel stressed by the workload assigned to them.
At other ages, loneliness steadily declines, from 33% among 26-43-year-olds to 15% after 58. On the contrary, stress at work is something that accompanies many workers throughout their lives. It drops below 40% only in the over 58 age group.
“More and more workers are retiring later. Workplace demographics are changing, and young workers are having the most trouble adjusting.” said Dr. Arthur Evans Jr. General director of APA.
In addition to the generation gap, changing working conditions also play a role. Remote work and artificial intelligence are creating new challenges at work.
In order for businesses to cope, they need to invest in strategies that support the mental health and well-being of their employees. They need to be able to manage new conditions.
And job burnout
The survey also found that many workers, young and old, feel they don’t have enough control over their work. 33% said this they don’t work in the field they wantbecause they prefer:
- Remote work
- Office work
- A combination of the two
Almost six in ten (59%) said they worked just for a living. However, only 38% said they preferred to work for life. Accordingly, 17% only work remotely, but 28% of employees would like it.
It is equally disturbing that there are more two-thirds of employees (67%) they said they felt job burnout during the last month. This is manifested by the following symptoms:
- Loss of interest or motivation to continue working
- Low energy
- A feeling of loneliness or isolation
- A waste of power to try
Finally, the survey confirmed that when someone feels safe at work, they are happier. Employees who say they feel safe are 10 times less likely to report working in a toxic environment. For those with low job security, the percentage was 30%, but for those who felt secure it was only 3%.