Study: Gen Y and late Baby Boomer grads share attitudes about work

October 17, 3:46 PMEntry Level Careers ExaminerHeather Huhman

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Current new college graduates and those who graduated in the early 1980s are remarkably similar, not only in the economic climate and job market they face as new graduates but also in their attitudes about work, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

• 87 percent of 2008 graduates expect to work more than 40 hours a week, as did  87 percent of Class of 1982 graduates
• 40 percent of 2008 graduates say they are willing to spend six or more nights away from home a month for their job; in 1982, 34 percent were willing to make the same trade-off
• When asked about the importance of the job in relation to other aspects of life (family, health, community, free time, etc.), 2008 respondents rated the job as more important or less important in the same pattern as did 1982 respondents
• Graduates from both generations rated family, health, happiness and ethics as more important than the job, while both groups said community, free time, and vacation were not more important than the job