Millennials value leisure time more than Gen X or Baby Boomers did when they were teenagers, according to a study published in the Journal of Management.
Unlike most generational research, this study attempted to factor out opinions due to age and career stage, by collecting data from high school seniors in 1976, 1991 and 2006.
Almost twice as many Millennials rated having a job with more than two weeks of vacation as “very important” than Gen X’ers. More than half of the 2006 respondents wanted a job “which leaves a lot of time for other things in your life.”
While only 23 percent of Boomers agreed that “work is just making a living,” 34 percent of Millennials agreed. Three-quarters of Boomers surveyed in 1976 said they expected work to be a central part of their lives, but only 63 percent of Millennials said the same.
This study does provide a more concrete basis for generational comparison; however, lifestyle and technology changes definitely make an impact, and have to be considered when interpreting the data.
For instance, the International Labor Organization cited in 2007 that workers in the United States work more hours a year than workers in any other industrialized nation and more hours than workers in all but two developing nations. Not only did Generation X and Generation Y respondents grow up seeing these trends, they saw both parents start working those longer hours. That would undoubtedly impact both Gen X and Gen Y’s emphasis on leisure time.
In addition, Generation Y is increasingly global. Social media has made it common for them to have friends all over the world. These relationships likely have some bearing on their views of the current American workaholic culture.
The study also found that Millennials value extrinsic rewards (income, material wealth, prestige, etc.) more than Boomers did, but less than Gen X. This is not entirely shocking, given inflation. For a comparison, a gallon of milk cost $1.65 in 1976, $2.80 in 1991 and $3.04 in 2006. The need for two-income households has become commonplace.
Many publications are drawing a hard conclusion that Gen Y’s placement of high value on leisure and money proves they really are an entitled generation. But, other studies, such as one by University of California Berkley published in The Baby Boom Americans Born 1946 to 1964, illustrate that Generation Y values hard work more than Boomers.
Whichever way you choose to look at it, remember the respondents were only 18. By the time they are actually a viable part of the workforce, most will do some serious growing up and become a little more realistic. It will be interesting to see if Millennials will be able to achieve their goal: working less, but still reap the financial rewards.
Consider the way Millennials use technology to multi-task and be efficient. This is likely how they intend to work less and still have the financial rewards. Millennials might not want to work harder than previous generations, but will attempt to work smarter.
For more information: The full report, "Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing" is available for free download, for a limited time at http://jom.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0149206309352246v1.
Comments
Work/life balance is always a struggle regardless of what generation you are in or gender you are. We do need to take more time off, a topic I addressed last July in my blog title No Vacation Nation.
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