PULSE POINTS
Millennials Value Increased Flexibility in the Workplace
According to Ernst & Young’ s( EY) Global Generations Research, maintaining work flexibility is one of the most important factors in making career decisions among young employees worldwide. The research surveyed nearly 10,000 young working professionals located in the U. S., Germany, Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, India and the U. K.
“ As management shifts to younger generations and more women are in the workforce, we wanted to get a pulse on the challenges employees at different companies face by country, generation and more,” says Karyn Twaronite, EY’ s Global Diversity & Inclusiveness officer.“ We were especially interested in millennials who are facing a perfect storm of increased responsibilities by moving into management and becoming parents simultaneously. Knowing that millennials and parents are under increasing pressure, we wanted to understand what employees seek in a job and why they quit, why they stay and how this differs by generation.”
Millennials are almost twice as likely to have a spouse or partner working full-time than the baby boomer generation. Twenty-six percent of millennials
said they are working more after having a child versus 13 percent of Gen X and 16 percent of baby boomers. In addition, the partner or spouse of millennials was also more likely to have increased his or her amount of time at work.
Across the board, millennials say they would be more likely to recommend a company to others, be more engaged, less likely to quit, more likely to join the company and work longer hours if flexible schedules and paid parental leave were offered.
How are you reaching out to the millennials in your workplace or making your company more attractive to this generation? Have you considered offering a more flexible work environment to cater to the growing needs of dualworker households?
“... millennials are facing a perfect storm of increased responsibilities by moving into management and becoming parents simultaneously.”
OUTSIDE THE WORKPLACE and inside a spa, what do millennials want? For a closer look at millennials’ attitude toward visiting a spa, turn to page 32 to read“ A Snapshot of the Millennial Spa-Goer.”
16 PULSE ■ March / April 2017