Older Workers Are the Happiest Workers, Survey Finds

Employees 65 and over report the most job satisfaction in Pew poll

Kenneth Terrell,

AARP

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En español

Published August 31, 2023

cheerful co-workers smile at one another during a meeting in an office setting

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Experience makes a difference, at least when it comes to job satisfaction. According to a recent survey, the older a worker is, the more likely they are to find their job fulfilling and enjoyable.

The Pew Research Center surveyed 5,902 workers nationwide, most of whom were not self-employed, to gauge how they really felt about their jobs. People age 65 and older expressed the most enthusiasm, with 67 percent saying they were extremely or very satisfied with their jobs. By contrast, only 55 percent of respondents between the ages of 50 and 64 said the same. The levels of job satisfaction dipped even lower for those ages 30 to 49 (51 percent) and those 30 and younger (44 percent).

The Pew survey, conducted in February, offers more evidence that people age 65 and older continue to work later in life because they find employment fulfilling. Their satisfaction is especially noteworthy, because the share of people 75 and older who are working is projected to grow significantly over the next seven years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Many older workers have reprioritized how their job fits into their life,” says Carly Roszkowski, AARP vice president for financial resilience programming. “They want work that is meaningful along with work-life balance and flexibility. The high job satisfaction rate found among older workers seems to indicate that they feel respected, included, and that their opinions are valued — attributes that older adults have repeatedly told us they look for in a work environment.”

Majority of older workers like their job responsibilities, managers

Pew surveyed only people who were currently employed, which means the results don’t include older adults who were unemployed due to health issues, disability, age discrimination or other factors. It also means that the older workers surveyed may have careers in which they are established and comfortable.

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Nevertheless, across a number of questions in the Pew survey, older adults expressed the most enthusiasm for the engagement that working adds to their lives.

While workers 65 and up topped the list of those who said their jobs were fulfilling (68 percent) and enjoyable (65 percent) most or all of the time, respondents age 50 and younger were the most likely to say their jobs were stressful and overwhelming.
Workers 65 and older also are the group most likely to say they are extremely or very satisfied with their manager or supervisor (73 percent), their daily responsibilities (70 percent) and their promotion opportunities (43 percent).
Sixty-one percent of workers age 65-plus said their employer cares about their well-being a great deal or a fair amount. In each of the other three age groups, only half the respondents said the same.
In both the 65-plus and 50–64 age groups, roughly one-third of workers said they currently had a mentor on the job. Nearly half (46 percent) of the 30–49 age group said they had mentors, while 56 percent of the youngest age group had mentors.
Workers of all ages value paid time off highly. Among all respondents, 62 percent said having paid time off for vacations, doctor’s visits or minor illnesses was extremely important to them. That percentage outranked employer-paid health insurance (51 percent), an employer-sponsored 401(k) or other retirement program (44 percent), and paid parental, family or medical leave separate from their other paid time off (43 percent).

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Kenneth Terrell covers employment, age discrimination, work and jobs, careers, and the federal government for AARP. He previously worked for the Education Writers Association and U.S. News & World Report, where he reported on government and politics, business, education, science and technology, and lifestyle news.