Millennial Branding and Randstad US Release First Worldwide Study Comparing Gen Y and

Gen Z Workplace Expectations

Findings reveal Gen Z is entrepreneurial, less motivated by money and more focused on face-toface communication compared to Gen Y.
NEW YORK, September 2, 2014 Millennial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm, and
Randstad, the third-largest HR services and staffing company in the United States, today announced
results from the first worldwide study to focus on the workplace preferences of both Generation Y
(ages 21 to 32) and Generation Z (ages 16 to 20). Key takeaways from the findings show:
Gen Z has more of an entrepreneurial spirit
17% of Gen Z vs. 11% of Gen Y wants to start a business and hire others.
For Gen Z, its not about the money yet
Only 28% of Gen Z said money would motivate them to work harder and stay with their employer
longer, as opposed to 42% of Gen Y.
Gen Z prefers face-to-face communication over technology
Gen Z grew up with technology, yet 53% percent prefer in-person communication over tools like
instant messaging and video conferencing.
According to Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and Author of Promote Yourself, the
study reveals other attributes that distinguish Gen Z and Gen Y employees. Gen Z has a clear
advantage over Gen Y because they appear to be more realistic instead of optimistic, are likely to be
more career-minded, and can quickly adapt to new technology to work more effectively, Schawbel
said. Additionally, since Gen Z has seen how much Gen Y has struggled in the recession, they
come to the workplace better prepared, less entitled and more equipped to succeed.
Entitled Gen Y vs. Gen Z Workplace Expectations, the study queried approximately 1,000
individuals from each generation across 10 countries: the United States, Brazil, Canada, China,
Germany, India, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Generations are increasingly separated along narrower age bands, requiring managers to juggle
the needs and preferences of four or even five distinct generations working side by side, said Jim
Link, Chief Human Resource Officer, Randstad North America. This study provides an insightful
picture of what employers can use to motivate, drive and inspire this newest generation as part of
their overall recruitment and retention strategy.
The following are detailed results from the survey:
If youre the leader, be honest

Take note business leaders: One-half (52%) of both Gen Z and Gen Y state that
honesty is the most important quality for being a good leader.

The generations agree that after honesty, leaders should exhibit a solid vision
(Gen Z 34%, Gen Y 35%), followed by good communication skills (Gen Z 32%, Gen
Y 34%).

Lets talk. In person.

Contrary to the assumption that younger workers want constant connection to

technology, a majority of Gen Z respondents say they prefer in-person

communications with managers (51%), as opposed to emailing (16%) or instant
messaging (11%).
The same trend applies to Gen Y: in-person (52%), emailing (18%), instant

messaging (11%).
And few believe that technology actually enhances personal relationships with
co-workers (Gen Z 13%, Gen Y 14%).

Technology is a distraction

Slightly more than one-third (37%) of Gen Z ranked instant messaging as the

biggest work distraction, followed by Facebook (33%) and email (13%).

Gen Y reports being most distracted by email (31%), Facebook (28%) and instant
messaging (25%).

And not all of us like to multitask, after all

When asked if they like to multitask, just over one-half (54%) of Gen Z responded
in the affirmative, while two-thirds (66%) of Gen Y said yes.
Gen Z is not as inclined to work in a fast-pace environment: 59% of Gen Z report
liking a fast pace, while 68% of Gen Y says the same.

Lifers arent the norm anymore

When asked about the number of companies they expect to work for during their lives, both
generations clearly expect to switch employers several times, but Gen Z indicates that they plan to
work for four companies compared to Gen Ys five.
But then again, maybe Ill stick around
Employers have an opportunity to build employee retention and loyalty by addressing the different
factors that motivate each generation to work hard and stay on board with their employer.

For Gen Z, one-third (34%) are most motivated by opportunities for

advancement, followed by more money (27%) and meaningful work (23%).

Gen Y is primarily motivated by more money (38%), opportunities for
advancement (30%) and meaningful work (15%).

Least important for both groups is having a good boss (7%) or working for a fastgrowing company (6%).

Getting the work done

According to the research, approximately four-fifths of both Gen Z and Gen Y like

to work with technology to help them accomplish their goals (Gen Z 77%, Gen Y
81%).
Both state a strong preference for being hands-on with projects (Gen Z 76%,

Gen Y 81%).
Gen Z and Gen Y both selected a corporate office space as their top work

environment; however Gen Y (45%) has greater preference for a traditional office
than Gen Z (28%).
Notably, the generations second choice of work location is a co-working space

that operates independently of the employer (Gen Z 27%, Gen Y 26%), and Gen Z
shows a slight preference for a home office (Gen Z 19%, Gen Y 13%).
Gen Z (61%) has stronger desire for managers to listen to their ideas and value

their opinions over Gen Y (56%), and Gen Y (58%) has a stronger desire for
managers to allow them to work independently than Gen Z (46%).
Both Gen Z (65%) and Gen Y (69%) say the people whom they work with would
enable their best work. While facility location is more important to Gen Y (47%) over
Gen Z (36%), Gen Z (38%) has greater interest to personalize their own work space
than Gen Y (34%).

What I like about you

When asked to associate certain stereotypes with their peer group, both feel their own generation is
creative, open-minded and intelligent.
However, when asked to rate stereotypes of the other generation, the groups show a difference of
opinion:

In addition, when reporting on their own peer group, one-third of Gen Z (37%) feel they lack focus
and 32% say they are self-centered.

Media Contacts:
Millennial Branding (Spokesperson): Dan Schawbel, Managing
Partner, dan@millenialbranding.com, (617) 840-0073
Randstad US: Lesly Cardec, Senior Director, PR & Content
Marketing,lesly.cardec@randstadusa.com, (954) 308-6302

About the Survey

Research findings are based on a survey fielded in the United States, Brazil, Canada, China,
Germany, India, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom between April 9 and April 24,
2014. For this survey, 1,005 respondents aged 1620 (Gen Z) were asked about their thoughts on
their future employment and workplace environment, while 1,016 respondents aged 2132 (Gen Y)
were asked about their thoughts on their current employment and workplace environment. For each
country, at least 200 respondents were surveyed with a minimum of 100 within each age group. The
survey was completed through GMIs Global Test Market double opted-in panelists who have
registered to participate in online surveys. All sample surveys may be subject to multiple sources of
error (i.e., sampling error, coverage error, measurement error, etc.).