Millennials (ages 20 to 33) and Gen X (ages 34 to 51) workers now make up the majority of the workforce. With the retirement rate for Baby Boomers accelerating, there is a new dynamic occurring in the workforce.
“The Truth About Ageism in the Tech Industry” was recently released by Visier – a workplace analytics company.
One of the main purposes of their research was to identify issues related to ethnic and gender equality. It does a good job. But at VAR Staffing, we identified some interesting tidbits that have direct correlation to our MSP and VAR clients, specifically addressing retention, worker performance, and compensation.
Below is a summary of the highlights from the full Visier report we believe you will find interesting:
- From age 40 onwards, non-manager Tech workers are increasingly likely to receive a Top Performer rating as they age, mature, and gain experience, compared to non-tech workers.
- The average Tech worker is 5 years younger than the average Non-Tech worker, yet older workers are more valued in Tech.
- Millennials comprise 42.6% of the Tech workforce, compared to 26.1% of the Non-Tech workforce.
- The average manager in the Tech Industry is 42 years old, compared to 47 for Non-Tech industries.
- While individual cases of ageism in pay does exist, workers in the Tech industry do not experience a salary lifecycle that is different than that in Non-Tech industries.
- The Tech industry hires a disproportionately higher ratio of workers than Non-Tech until the age of 48.
- And mostly good news for the older Tech Workers, Visier’s research indicated older workers in Tech are not systemically hired at lower salaries.
- The resignation rate for workers 40 years or older is substantially less than the resignation rate for Millennials (approximately 40% vs 10%)
One final interesting viewpoint is offered by New York Times best-selling author, Dan Lyons. Dan chronicled his time as a new tech worker at age 52, says there are other savings tech companies are overlooking: Older workers are ambivalent about office perks. “Most people my age [in tech] are likely happy to take the same pay that a 35-year-old gets, they just don’t want it held against them that they are 55,” he said. “But also, we don’t need ping-pong tables, espresso machines or tequila tasting seminars. Really all we want is a job with a decent salary, stability and health benefits.”
VAR Staffing wishes you great success navigating the always challenging task of managing and growing your business. If increasing your staff or upgrading the quality of your technical staff is on your strategic set of goals to accomplish, VAR Staffing welcomes the opportunity to discuss your needs. Call us at 972-996-0966 or complete this form to get started.
