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Many people might assume that a worker's age makes a difference to their level of job satisfaction and what they want from a job.

However, this is not the case, according to new research from Sirota Survey Intelligence, which finds that it is the amount of time an employee has been in their role that makes a difference to their level of satisfaction, not their age.

The study showed that both among workers aged 25 to 34 and those aged 55 and older, a sharp decline in job satisfaction was seen after the first year in employment. Around 69 per cent of workers in both age groups with less than a year's experience said they were satisfied with their jobs, dropping to 54 per cent among the younger group and 53 per cent among the older group among those with two to five years' experience.

President of Sirota Survey Intelligence Douglas Klein said: "Older employees start new jobs with the same hopefulness as younger workers. They have the same fundamental needs as younger employees."

He added: "Their level of enthusiasm depends on how well their needs are met as they move through the various stages of their employment life cycle."

Chairman emeritus of the firm, David Sirota, added that companies were often guilty of treating staff as commodities, or as if they were "disposable as paper clips" with employees frequently reporting inadequate recognition and reward for their contributions.