Younger Workers Experiencing More Anxiety
A new MetLife Mature Market Institute study, conducted in partnership with Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work, indicates that the economic downturn has had a greater psychological effect on younger workers than it has on workers of the Baby Boomer and Traditionalist generations. The results of the study are summarized in the report, Engaging the 21st Century Multi-Generational Workforce.
The primary focus of the study was on whether generational differences matter when it comes to employee engagement. In short, the answer is yes. Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Ph.D., director of the Sloan Center says, “We found that different factors drive the levels of engagement of different groups of employees.” While the insight into engaging the different generations is reason enough to download the report, it is particularly interesting to read the findings related to how different groups of employees are weathering the economic storm.
Employees from both Generation Y (age 26 and younger) and Generation X (age 27 to 42) reported a drop in engagement, while employees in the Baby Boomer and Traditionalist generations reported almost no change in engagement. This phenomenon may be because employees of the first two generations have never experienced tough times, whereas older employees have. Having lived through previous downturns, Boomers and Traditionalists have learned that things ultimately do get better. As a group, workers over the age of 43 may therefore have developed more resiliency.
The study echoes a recent Business Week article about how the recession is impacting the country’s youth. According to Business Week’s “Age of Anxiety” piece, “They [the millennial generation] are entering the workplace at a terrible time, and their first career decisions could have financial implications that last for years.”
Both the MetLife study and the Business Week article indicate that managers need to do more to help younger workers cope with the anxiety of living and working in a recession.
You may feel that you don’t have time to “coddle” younger workers, given all of the other demands you face. However, my own research and that from Harvard professor Bob Sutton shows that when employees become paralyzed by anxiety, there are likely to be resulting decreases in productivity.
If you are a Baby Boomer or Traditionalist boss, find time to have conversations with your younger workers about how they are feeling and coping. Taking some time to share your own stories of recovering from previous downturns and suggesting strategies that helped you cope in the past may ultimately improve the your younger workers’ productivity and your team’s results.
I recently worked with a vice president from a defense company to create a town hall meeting that allowed and encouraged her more tenured team members to connect with the newer folks. The experienced employees shared their suggestions for dealing with chaos, anxiety, and overwork. The immediate result was a palpable sense of relief in the room and a heightened level of energy across the team.
Good leaders recognize that when anxiety is running high, employee communication is not optional, it’s imperative. Focusing a little extra time on helping younger employees cope is worth the investment.
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