Happy at Work - Possible at Any Age?

With the growing attachment of older workers to the labor force and their engagement in alternative work arrangements, it is important to investigate the characteristics of older cohorts of individuals who are in the labor market and the factors that influence job satisfaction, as job satisfaction may be a predictor of which older individuals are likely to continue to work and in what type of work arrangement. This study uses several recent years of the General Social Survey to both explore the characteristics of older workers and investigate what contributes to job satisfaction, controlling for both gender and work arrangement. It splits the sample of workers into two cohorts to test for differences in job satisfaction between those who are nearing retirement age (55-64) and those who continue to work post the traditional retirement age (65-80). For the sample as a whole, and similar to other studies, we find that job satisfaction is higher for women and for those who work in alternative work arrangements as compared to those in regular jobs. We also find that there are differences in what contributes to job satisfaction between the two groups of older workers. These outcomes may inform firms about what they might do in order to keep these workers as well as informing the government on whether it is necessary to rethink how some benefits are both provided and paid for.