Younger employees seem to have taken more of an emotional hit during this economic crisis, compared with older workers who tend to be more resilient, report researchers from Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work.

The recession has created a much gloomier outlook when it comes to job security, productivity and employee engagement. Yet, [s]ome older workers have seen it all, and that gives them experiential resilience,” says Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the center.

Older Americans have already been resilient through harsh conditions both economically and otherwise. They see the similarities between previous tough experiences, and the current climate we are seeing now, so weathering the storm is much easier, according to the report "The Difference a Downturn Can Make."

“Younger workers just don’t have the depth of experience, which leaves them feeling less engaged in their jobs” Pitt-Catsouphes says. There is a way, however, for employers to boost dwindling morale with both younger and older workers.

Christina Matz-Costa, a research associate at the center and co-author of the study, advises employers to provide strong training and development opportunities, encourage work team inclusion, and promote a culture of workplace flexibility and supervisor supportiveness.

Other key findings from the study included:

• Those whose job security decreased or stayed the same experienced a slight increase in work overload after the onset of the economic downturn, whereas those whose job security increased experienced a slight decrease in work overload.
• While younger workers felt the effectiveness of their work team as a whole dropped as their job security declined, older workers felt the effectiveness of their team held steady even though they too reported a decreased sense of job security.

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