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Millennials and Older Workers More Alike Than You Think

IT workforce Understanding the Organization’s Business Strategy More than half of all employees say they don’t understand their organization’s business strategy, but 60% of Generation X employees (aged 35 to 49) said they get the fundamentals. Obstacles to Technological Innovation A full 72% of all employees cite customer experience as a challenge. This is followed […]

Written By: Michael Vizard

Mar 10, 2015

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IT workforce

Understanding the Organization’s Business Strategy

More than half of all employees say they don’t understand their organization’s business strategy, but 60% of Generation X employees (aged 35 to 49) said they get the fundamentals.

Obstacles to Technological Innovation

A full 72% of all employees cite customer experience as a challenge. This is followed by lack of leadership understanding and complexity of technology, both cited at 44% each.

Organizational Ability to Impact Customer Experience

While 70% of Baby Boomers (aged 50 to 60) and 60% of Millennials said their organizations are ineffective, 40% of Gen Xers said this was the case.

Making a Positive Impact on the Organization

A quarter of Millennials cited this as their top career goal, versus 21% of Gen Xers and 23% of Baby Boomers.

Faith in Leadership

Only 41% of Baby Boomers think leadership is most qualified to make a decision, versus 57% for Gen Xers and 53% for Millennials.

Reasons for Changing Jobs

Making more money and working in a more creative environment was cited by 42% of Millennials, the same percentage for Baby Boomers and 47% for Gen Xers.

Value of Group Consensus

Only 39% of Baby Boomers value this, versus 55% of Millennials and 61% of Gen Xers.

Approaches to Recognition

Gen Xers are a little more inclined toward recognizing the entire team (64%), versus Millennials at 55% and Baby Boomers at 44%.

Recognition for Information Sharing and Collaboration

Gen Xers and Millennials said this should be rewarded at 66% and 55%, respectively. Only 43% of Baby Boomers agreed.

Millennials Prefer the Personal Touch

Attending a third-party conference, completing in-classroom training or working alongside knowledgeable colleagues were cited as the top three ways to acquire new work skills.

Recognition of Employee Accomplishments

Only 38% of Baby Boomers think this occurs versus 62% for Gen Xers and 58% for Millennials.

Social Media Usage

Gen X employees are slightly more likely to rely on social media for work than Millennials. Less than half of Baby Boomers do.

Michael Vizard

Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a writer for publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight, Channel Insider and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.

Millennials and Older Workers More Alike Than You Think

Michael Vizard

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