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Workplace preferences of Gen Y and Gen Z

by | Oct 27, 2014 | Hispanic/Latino Millennial

GenYandGenZ

Millennial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm, and Randstad, the third-largest HR services and staffing company in the United States, announced results from the first worldwide study to focus on the workplace preferences of both Generation Y (ages 21 to 32) and Generation Z (ages 16 to 20). Entitled “Gen Y vs. Gen Z Workplace Expectations,” the study queried approximately 1,000 individuals from each generation across 10 countries: the United States, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Key takeaways from the findings:

  • Gen Z has more of an entrepreneurial spirit
    17% of Gen Z vs. 11% of Gen Y wants to start a business and hire others.
  • For Gen Z, it’s not about the money … yet
    Only 28% of Gen Z said money would motivate them to work harder and stay with their employer longer, as opposed to 42% of Gen Y.
  • Gen Z prefers face-to-face communication over technology
    Gen Z grew up with technology, yet 53% percent prefer in-person communication over tools like instant messaging and video conferencing.
  • Gen Z appears to be more realistic instead of optimistic

The following are detailed results from the survey:

If you’re the leader, be honest 

  • Take note business leaders: One-half (52%) of both Gen Z and Gen Y state that honesty is the most important quality for being a good leader.
  • The generations agree that after honesty, leaders should exhibit a solid vision (Gen Z 34%, Gen Y 35%), followed by good communication skills (Gen Z 32%, Gen Y 34%).

Let’s talk. In person.

  • Contrary to the assumption that younger workers want “constant connection” to technology, a majority of Gen Z respondents say they prefer in-person communications with managers (51%), as opposed to emailing (16%) or instant messaging (11%).
  • The same trend applies to Gen Y: in-person (52%), emailing (18%), instant messaging (11%).
  • And few believe that technology actually enhances personal relationships with co-workers (Gen Z 13%, Gen Y 14%).

Technology is a distraction

  • Slightly more than one-third (37%) of Gen Z ranked instant messaging as the biggest work distraction, followed by Facebook (33%) and email (13%).
  • Gen Y reports being most distracted by email (31%), Facebook (28%) and instant messaging (25%).

And not all of us like to multitask, after all

  • When asked if they like to multitask, just over one-half (54%) of Gen Z responded in the affirmative, while two-thirds (66%) of Gen Y said yes.
  • Gen Z is not as inclined to work in a fast-pace environment: 59% of Gen Z report liking a fast pace, while 68% of Gen Y says the same.

Lifers aren’t the norm anymore

When asked about the number of companies they expect to work for during their lives, both generations clearly expect to switch employers several times, but Gen Z indicates that they plan to work for four companies compared to Gen Y’s five.

But then again, maybe I’ll stick around

Employers have an opportunity to build employee retention and loyalty by addressing the different factors that motivate each generation to work hard and stay on board with their employer.

  • For Gen Z, one-third (34%) are most motivated by opportunities for advancement, followed by more money (27%) and meaningful work (23%).
  • Gen Y is primarily motivated by more money (38%), opportunities for advancement (30%) and meaningful work (15%).
  • Least important for both groups is having a good boss (7%) or working for a fast-growing company (6%).

Getting the work done 

  • According to the research, approximately four-fifths of both Gen Z and Gen Y like to work with technology to help them accomplish their goals (Gen Z 77%, Gen Y 81%).
  • Both state a strong preference for being hands-on with projects (Gen Z 76%, Gen Y 81%).
  • Gen Z and Gen Y both selected a corporate office space as their top work environment; however Gen Y (45%) has greater preference for a traditional office than Gen Z (28%).
  • Notably, the generations’ second choice of work location is a co-working space that operates independently of the employer (Gen Z 27%, Gen Y 26%), and Gen Z shows a slight preference for a home office (Gen Z 19%, Gen Y 13%).
  • Gen Z (61%) has stronger desire for managers to listen to their ideas and value their opinions over Gen Y (56%), and Gen Y (58%) has a stronger desire for managers to allow them to work independently than Gen Z (46%).
  • Both Gen Z (65%) and Gen Y (69%) say the people whom they work with would enable their best work. While facility location is more important to Gen Y (47%) over Gen Z (36%), Gen Z (38%) has greater interest to personalize their own work space than Gen Y (34%).       

What I like about you

When asked to associate certain stereotypes with their peer group, both feel their own generation is creative, open-minded and intelligent.

However, when asked to rate stereotypes of the other generation, the groups show a difference of opinion:

GenYZ 

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