Working Women’S Motivation Evolves As They Grow Older

Working women’s career objectives change dramatically over time, with younger women focusing on opportunity and their older counterparts savoring job satisfaction.

Those are among the findings of a study of professional women in Washington state by Deloitte & Touche. The study is part of the firm’s Top Rung program, which highlights the concerns of women in the workplace today.

The survey showed that women in their 20s are looking for opportunity, those in their 30s are looking for job stability and flexible hours, the 40s age group wants income and those in their 50s value job satisfaction.

Women in their 20s and 40s who responded to the survey share many common values (eager to change positions and not as likely to be following a career plan, while women in their 30s and 50s share many similar values (not as eager to change positions and more likely to be following a career plan).

Women in each age group rated compensation as the most important factor in their current position, but considered job satisfaction to be most important when evaluating a new opportunity.

Other findings:

Among women in their 20s, 77 percent are very willing and eager to change jobs.

Nearly 30 percent of women in their 30s rate a “flexible work schedule” as the most important factor in their career.

Thirty-six percent of women in their 40s indicated income is their top career consideration.

Women in their 50s are most contented, with 87 percent saying they are satisfied with their current job.

Pink slip fades

The pink slip, the decades-old symbol that an employee’s services will no longer be required, may be passe, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an employment consulting firm.

The company says that a growing number of employers are notifying workers by e-mail that they’re being laid off, including an Oklahoma firm that did a mass e-mailing to 1,450 employees last month.

Challenger Gray theorizes that companies may take this approach because it’s easier to deliver bad news electronically, than face-to-face or by telephone.

Office getaway

People who joke about going to work to escape the routine stresses of everyday life might not be kidding after all.

A recent poll by RealLemonade, the beverage company, showed that working is less stressful for many people than other common situations.

In fact, sitting in heavy traffic (21 percent) and paying the bills (20 percent) topped the list of stressful situations among survey respondents.