For the first time in modern history, we have at least four generations working together. While you’d like to believe that there shouldn’t be a difference based solely upon age, it seems that there are significant differences between the groups.
A GoodHire survey of 4,000 Americans—consisting of an equal weighting of Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen-Xers and Gen-Zers—set out to shed light on the “true feelings about what work means” and find out if they are happy and meaningfully engaged.
The thesis for the study is based, in part, on the current themes dominating the present job market. “Remote work, increased autonomy, daily flexibility, layoffs and decreases in pay have all led to a shift in mindset for the American workforce.” People are tired of the nine-to-five, five-days-a-week grind. As a result, “employees are now pondering the meaning of work.” The Great Resignation is one of the results. Millions of workers are “vocalizing unhappiness at work and connecting workplace unhappiness to issues in their personal lives.” With this context, the study asked each generation if they are “truly happy at work.”
Here are the highlights of the study:
Millennials
- 57% of Millennials are very happy at work—making them the happiest generation.
- 60% of Millennials find great meaning and purpose at work—making them the most-fulfilled generation.
- Millennials lead the charge in searching for a new job in the next 12 months, with 46% of them planning to do so.
- 68% of Millenials are happier working remotely.
Gen-Z
- 22% of Gen-Zers said they are either unhappy or hate work, making them the most unhappy generation.
- Gen-Z is the least fulfilled with just 41% finding great meaning and purpose.
- Gen-Z is the least satisfied with work-life balance.
Baby Boomers
- Only 30% of Baby Boomers are completely happy with their pay, followed by Gen-Z (32%), Gen-X (42%) and Millennials (47%).
- Baby Boomers are the least likely to be on the job hunt next year (19%).
- Baby Boomers are the least happy with remote work (37%).
- Only 41% of Baby Boomers and Gen-Z respondents claimed to be very happy at work.
Gen-X
- Slightly over 50% of Gen-Xers said that they are happy.
- Gen-Xers, Millennials and Gen-Zers are most bothered by their boss or manager, while Baby Boomers are most bothered by insufficient pay.
At first, it seems hard to believe that Millennials are the most happy at work. They’re carrying the burden of college debt, started out their careers in the financial crisis and many were derailed by the virus outbreak.
Despite the challenges, this group may see light at the end of the tunnel. Bank of America found that people purchasing pregnancy tests hit new highs recently. This piece of data is telling.
Starting a family is a statement that you feel positive about the future. With more couples considering having babies, BofA contends that this optimistic decision will bode well for the overall economy. The Millennial baby boom will make parents purchase diapers, cribs, clothes and toys. It’s likely that they’ll buy a home to offer more room for a growing family.
Gen-Xers have always been on an island by themselves. They’ve been greatly overshadowed by their larger Baby Boomer and Millennial bookends. The oldest of the group, at around mid to late 50s, can start thinking about retiring. The younger part of the spectrum have enough experience in the workforce to be in mid or high-level positions, earning a reasonably comfortable level of compensation. They also have the luxury of time, especially as we are living longer, to keep growing in their careers or pivot to something new and different.
Gen-Z had a bad start—born around Sept. 11, living through the financial crisis, watching their parents get fired, coping with acrimonious politics ripping people apart, social media making them feel inadequate and then undergoing the pandemic. These challenges could either make them feel as if the workplace sucks, or motivate them to push forward in the face of headwinds.
With the fast advancement of technologies and remote work, Baby Boomers may feel out of their element. A record number of older workers left the job market. Some did so because they did well financially with the stock boom starting in late 2020 to now, coupled with soaring home prices. Feeling flush with funds, the well-to-do Boomers felt they could call it a day and retire or coast along until things become too unpleasant to remain working.
A large segment of this demographic did not own stocks or own their homes and did not benefit in the appreciation of both asset classes. Ageism worked against them, and so did the trends of relocating jobs to lower cost locations around the world. This pushed out older workers. Many simply gave up working. The ones who remained, may feel cheated that they have to keep working, as they don’t have the financial wherewithal to retire. This would understandably put them in the unhappy camp.
The results also clearly indicate that business leaders have a lot of work to do. Overall, all generations aren’t loving work. To be fair, it’s hard to love working, compared to sitting on a beach or skiing down your favorite slope. There seems to be a lot of room for increasing the happiness quotient.
Corporate executives need to look at surveys, such as this one. Human resources and managers need to ask their employees how they really feel, actively listen to their answers and take appropriate actions.
If they ignore the needs and desires of their employees, in the Great Resignation and war-for-talent environment, the best and brightest will jump ship to competitors. They will not be able to replace them, as word spreads that they don’t care about their team.
One thing that nearly all groups agree on: 83% of all American workers would prefer a four-day workweek.
Source: Forbes
