KSU study: GenY workers want it all
Youngest generation of workers wants both pay and leisure, says management professor
in…
Georgia
(May 18, 2010) —
Youngest generation of workers wants both pay and leisure, says management professor
in new study
Much has been written and reported on the altruistic aspirations of GenY –– those
born between 1982 and 1999. The notion that they value interesting, fulfilling jobs
that provide them with an opportunity to “give back” has influenced how corporate
America recruits and retains the younger generation of workers.
But according to a new study co-authored by Stacy Campbell, assistant professor of
management at Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business, forthcoming in
the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Management, GenY (also known as GenMe or Millennials) is actually a bit more focused on both pay
and leisure.
“Many times the media make it seem like GenY is the first generation to want a meaningful
job, but according to our findings, that is not the case,” Campbell says in the study,
titled “Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing,
Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing.” “Our study found that the most important
thing to GenY workers is finding a job that pays well and gives them more free time
to do what they want outside of work.”
Campbell, an expert in organizational management and human resources, has written
extensively on leadership, employee attitudes and generational differences in the
workplace. In this study, Campbell and her co-authors –– psychologists Jean Twenge of San Diego State University
and Brian Hoffman and Charles Lance of the University of Georgia –– looked at the
generational attitude differences toward five key work values: extrinsic rewards (compensation
and status); intrinsic rewards (meaningful and interesting work); altruistic rewards
(volunteerism and caring for social issues); leisure rewards (flexibility and time
off); and social rewards (need to connect socially at work).
According to the comprehensive study –– the first to provide hard, empirical data
to support how work values differ among GenMe, Generation X and Baby Boomers –– these
surprising results have significant implications for companies as Baby Boomers continue
to retire and the youngest generation of workers populates the work force.
What makes Campbell’s study unique is that the data were collected across time, allowing
for the isolation of generational differences from age differences, unlike one-time
studies. The study was done with a nationally representative random sample of 16,507
U.S. high school seniors in 1976, 1991 and 2006. The data were collected from a larger
data collection effort, Monitoring the Future, which has surveyed a nationally representative
sample of high school seniors every year since 1976.
“Up until now, the differences seen in the younger generation have been largely anecdotal,
but now we have data to support the stories,” Campbell says. “We found that the younger
generation places a much higher value on leisure time. Almost twice as many young
people in 2006 rated having a job with more than two weeks of vacation as very important.
But while Generation X valued money highly, they were willing to work hard for it.
GenY has the high expectations of getting paid well and having more leisure time.”
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
