Are older employees more stress resistant and younger employees more versed in technology?

Statistics Netherlands announced today that older employees are generally believed to be more stress resistant, while younger employees appear to be more keentoadopt new technologies. Opinions about younger and older employees are strongly affected by the observer’s age. In general, people tend to be more positive about persons in their peer group. Most younger and older people agree on subjects like accuracy and the willingness to study.

Younger employees think older colleagues are less productive

Younger and older people disagree with respect to productivity. More than half of young people think that employees under the age of 35 are more productive than those aged 55 and older, but less than a quarter of older people think that that is true. 
The group who think that there is no difference in productivity between younger and older employees is somewhat smaller among young people (38 percent) than among over-55s (44 percent). More than one threein the older population think that older employees are more productive than their younger counterparts. In the younger population, this ratio is less than one in ten.

Opinions on productivity by age of the observer, 2013

Younger employees believed to be less stress resistant

More than 40 percent of people think older people can cope better with stress than young people. A slightly smaller group think there is no difference. Older people are more outspoken on this subject: more than half of over-55s think that older employees are better able to cope with stress than younger employees. Only one in eight think the reverse is true. Younger people are more moderate with respect to the ability to deal with stress: 40 percent think that there is no difference betweenyounger and older employees.  

Opinions on the ability to cope with stress by age of the observer, 2013

General agreement about accuracy and the ability to adopt new technologies

Younger and older people agree on various qualities. Older employees, for example, are believed to be more loyal and accurate and younger employees are considered to be more keen to study and adopt new technologies.

Being employed or unemployed makes little difference for people’s opinions on older and younger employees. Employed and unemployed people and managers largely share the same opinions regarding productivity and the ability to cope with stress of younger and older employees.