WASHINGTON–For the first time since 2011, American workers under 35 report being happier with their paychecks than people over 55, according to a new report from the Conference Board.
The Conference Board is a business-research organization that polls U.S. employees about workplace satisfaction. The survey also found a split along gender lines when it comes to how work is viewed.
According to the findings, the share of workers satisfied with their paychecks rose to 46.4% in 2018, from 43% in 2017, an increase that mirrors federal data showing that wage growth accelerated in 2018, noted the Wall Street Journal in reporting on the new survey. The biggest leap came from Millennials and Generation Z, whose enthusiasm for their compensation shot from 36% in 2017 to nearly 46% a year later, the Journal sated.
The Conference Board survey found that despite the change in salary perceptions, no age group reported that a majority of people were content with their pay. But, in all, nearly 54% of U.S. workers said they were satisfied with their jobs in 2018, the highest share reported in more than two decades, said the Conference Board, which has been polling about workplace satisfaction since 1987, the Journal reported.
Job Security Satisfaction
With unemployment low, the share of people who said they were satisfied with their job security jumped to 59.2% in 2018, from 53.8% the prior year.
“The components that improved the most are directly related to labor-market conditions,” Gad Levanon, chief economist for North America at the Conference Board, told the Conference Board. The survey involved approximately 2,000 workers surveyed on 23 separate topics, from promotion policies to whether they like their co-workers.
“Young workers may report greater happiness with pay because people tend to change jobs more in the early years of their careers, data show, and switching to a new position or employer often comes with a raise,” the Journal said in its analysis. “With the demand for labor prompting many companies to lure workers with higher salaries, younger people are reaping the benefits.”
Overall, median weekly earnings rose 5% from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the same quarter in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For workers between the ages of 25 and 34, that increase was 7.6%, the Journal added.
A Gender Split
The survey did find a split between how men and women perceive their work situations. Men had a slightly higher level of overall job satisfaction than women, and were more likely to report they were happy with wages, bonuses, promotion plans and retirement benefits. Women were substantially happier than their male counterparts with their commutes, performance-review processes and physical environments, the Journal reported.
The Conference Board said workers reported they were least happy with some of the factors the survey found most influence their overall satisfaction, including communication from managers, potential for growth and recognition for their work.