Hate Your Job? Wait Until You’re 50

The AP-NORC survey found significant minorities of people reporting unwelcome comments at work about their age, being passed over for raises and promotions, and other negative incidents related to being older. But it was far more common to note the positive impact of their age.

Six in 10 said colleagues turned to them for advice more often and more than 4 in 10 said they felt they were receiving more respect at work.

A survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 9 out of 10 workers said they were “very or somewhat satisfied with their job.” When we’re younger, it’s easier to become dissatisfied with our jobs for various reasons, but it often has to do with unhappiness with salaries, slow job growth at a company, toxic work environments, and most often, just not knowing what you want your career to look like yet. Workers over 50 are generally more content because they’ve already worked through much of this — they’ve worked long enough to see their salaries increase, and they tend to have reached positions of respect and have some sense of job security. I’m looking forward to being that happy old person at work.

Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives

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