Young workers most satisfied at job; yet more likely to quit

New Delhi: The young workers seem to be a real big enigma for their employers -- They are among the most satisfied lot at the workplace, yet more likely to quit their job when compared to their older peers, a survey has found.

The survey, conducted by global staffing consultancy major Mercer`s, found this enigmatic trend among the young employees to be more prominent in India and Singapore than the other countries. As per the study, the level of satisfaction was high among younger employees on a host of fronts including pay, performance management and career advancement. At the same time, their desire to leave the organisation was also found to be higher than the others. Mercer`s said that the survey results indicate towards workers aged 34 and younger being more likely than their older colleagues to be pondering an "exit" from their current job. In India and Singapore, the average figure of young workers in the age group of 16-24, who are seriously considering leaving their organisation, is twelve and fourteen percentage points higher than the overall global scores. "This pattern of higher satisfaction among younger workers held true for many other key issues addressed in our survey, including pay, performance management and careers, making their desire to leave their organisations all the more at odds with traditional views of loyalty, retention and engagement," Mercer`s Asia Pacific Leader for Talent Management Consulting, Human Capital Brenda Wilson said. Yet despite this propensity to leave, when asked about overall satisfaction with their organizations, younger workers registered satisfaction scores higher than the overall workforce in most markets, Mercer said. This trend was also found to be particularly prominent in India and Singapore, where employees aged 16-24 scored seven and twelve percentage points, respectively, higher than the overall market scores across all age groups, when asked about overall satisfaction with their organisations. The survey was conducted among nearly 30,000 workers in 17 major geographic markets, including approximately 10,000 workers in five Asia-Pacific markets -- Hong Kong, Singapore, India, China, and Australia. PTI