For a person to be placed in the millennial generation, the “older millennials” were born between 1978 and 1987 and the “younger millennials” were born between 1988 and 1996.
The study, conducted in April 2022 by leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder and managing consulting firm Kearney, surveyed over 8,000 people all over the world to see “where divisions exist among generations” and how these generations can help “close those divides.” They surveyed people from five different generations—baby boomers, Gen X, older millennials, younger millennials and Gen Z—across eight different countries.
Researchers found during the survey that generations wanted similar things in the workplace and in life: 82 percent of every person surveyed believe that personal well-being, stability and work-life balance matter more than money. When surveying what people value in a leader, the characteristics remained similar as they all want a leader who listens and empowers others.
However, the millennial generation has the most optimism when it comes to overcoming life’s challenges: 70 percent of millennials are more willing to leave their jobs for a more meaningful position than Gen X (59 percent), Gen Z (58 percent) and boomers (54 percent).
The survey also found that 38 percent of millennials have the most ambition to be promoted to higher positions at their work, including executive leadership roles, compared to Gen X (18 percent), Gen Z (19 percent) and boomers (16 percent).
“Millennials are a key generation to examine, with many of them moving into leadership positions. It is this generation that will drive the next wave of change within organizations,” Egon Zehnder consultant Karena Man told Newsweek.
While the study found millennials are the most optimistic about the future, Gen Z is the “most uncertain.”
The work landscape has changed a lot over recent decades. Boomers could have one career their whole lives while more recent generations don’t have the same career stability. Due to increasing inflation rates, many things like school, food and purchasing a home was relatively cheaper than it is today. For example, the median price of a home in 1953 was about $18,000—about $200,000 in today’s money—whereas the median price of a home in 2022 is $428,700, according to Motley Fool.
Man also discussed how the millennial generation had the highest career ambition, felt the most control over their own lives and was willing to lower their expectations in areas including risk-taking and brand and cultural relevance for a job with good pay and benefits.
Millennials were also the most interested in a four-day work week compared to Gen Z (42 percent), Gen X (44 percent) and boomers (38 percent).
Man explained that reasoning for conducting this study was to understand what different generations look for in a place of employment and what the implications for leaders are.
“There could be a lesson here for emerging leaders, many of whom may be Millennials who previously had to earn the trust of older generations as they entered the workforce. It’s now your turn to earn the trust of younger generations, Based on this data, and how we have seen successful leaders operate, we advise that leaders evolve to be curios and transparent, inviting teams to co-create a vision for the future,” Man said.
