Age influences on the job satisfaction of construction workers: evidence from South Africa

Abstract

Using descriptive statistics from the South African Construction workers, this paper investigates the impact or influence of age on various aspects of job satisfaction and its subsequent effects on outcomes such as indifference, lack of alertness, motivation and dejection. Controlling for type of work done and length of service in current employment, poor recognition of abilities, job dissatisfaction and indifference are found to be the key drivers of job satisfaction for younger construction workers whereas lack of alertness, dejection and lack of confidence for the older construction workers. The factors leading to positive worker satisfaction in both old and younger workers are relationship with workmates, relationship with supervisor and personal health whereas negatively are personal development, quality of life and satisfaction with occupation. Overall the findings suggest that although both younger and older workers ranked the relationship with workmates as being poor, age did not have an influence on the effects of the aspects of work , however the differences were significant for one of the job satisfaction effects with younger workers reporting higher scores on "Indifference" whereas the younger workers ranked poor recognition of abilities as the most effect in comparison to the older workers who reported suffering from a lack of alertness as the most ranked effect.