The Find: The much ballyhooed differences between Gen Y and older workers are largely a myth, claims extensive new research.- The Source: Research from PricewaterhouseCoopers entitled “Millennials at Work“
The Takeaway: The media storm over the supposedly revolutionary Gen Y (also known as the Millennials) kicked up a giant debate (in the pub, apparently, for the BNET UK team) about whether all the talk was actually backed up by facts: is Gen Y really all that different from older cohorts? To find out PwC spoke to 4,200 recent graduates in 42 countries and found that:
The perception that the new generation of workers, the ‘millennials’, are disloyal and will reject traditional work practices is a myth
On the contrary, Gen Y workers “expect to be predominantly office-based, work regular office hours and have a small number of future employers,” or in short to be much like the rest of the workforce.
What’s the takeaway? If your company is expending scarce resources on special programs intended to attract and retain Gen Y workers than it might be worth reconsidering if that’s money well spent. This conclusion is reinforced by other research due to be published next year by PwC that has found “61% of CEOs say they have challenges recruiting and integrating younger employees.”
Check out the complete study for much more on Gen Y’s attitudes towards globalization and working abroad, technology, corporate social responsibility and compensation and other rewards.
The Question: Gen Y exceptionalism: myth or reality?
(Image of Gen Y guy by personeelsnet, CC 2.0)
